He was looking at me with worried and restless expressions like a lover was looking at him beloved after she was rescued from a big problem.
I was stunned while staring at him. There were emotions swirling in his eyes. I saw those emotions in his eyes that I always wanted to see in the eyes of my mother: Care and worry for me
People rushed towards us and few of them hold the rod from his hand and he winced when someone touched his hand. I stood up on my legs and saw that his hand had blood on it.
"Are you okay?" He asked me after ignoring his pain and I was shocked. Nobody has cared like this for me. He put himself in pain to save me and now he's asking me if I'm okay rather than tending his wound.
Emily and Mark rushed and held me in their arms. There was panic everywhere and Emily immediately engulfed me in a hug and I saw that she was crying by then.
"I'm alright, Em. Relax." I whispered in her embrace. She broke the hug and angrily saw me.
"Never risk your life for anything, Alice." She took me to task and scolded me in front of everyone. I smiled at her gentleness and kind heart.
"Sir, you're bleeding." I heard Mark saying this and he immediately rushed to James and hold his hand. I forgot to ask him. It was for him that I was saved again.
"I'm okay. It's just a small wound." James said before gritting his teeth. He was actually trying to suppress the wince that wanted to come out his mouth.
I rushed to him immediately and took his hand in mind and saw that it was a deep wound.
"Are you nuts or what? You got a wound and you're telling us to ignore it." I scolded him. It was bleeding and my heart was sinking. This all happened because of me.
"I'm okay, Alice." He whispered softly as I was seeing his wound with tension and I was hyperventilating already.
"Just shut up, James! You're not to say anything in it? Why was there any need of you to jump and save me? You're not a super hero. You get it?" I yelled at him and there was a pin drop silence everywhere.
I realized that I had shouted at him and I definitely had created a scene in front of everyone.
"What?!" I shouted at everybody. "Am I having a picnic over here? Where is the freaking first aid box?!" I roared at everyone and they got scared because they had never seen me shouting at anybody.
I saw a boy approaching me with a first aid kit and I immediately caught it and I made James sit at nearby chair and I sat on a chair opposite to him.
"Everybody, Disperse and do your respective works. And I am coming to see that who the hell set those stage lights and metal rod? I'm personally going to come and kill that human! He has a dead meet." I shouted and immediately everyone dispersed to do their respective works.
I soaked antiseptic in the cotton and started applying it on James's wound and heard him grunting and wincing in pain. I ceased my movement and looked at him.
"I'm sorry." I said softly and started applying it slowly and softly.
"You don't need to apologize. Relax, Alice. It's not paining that much." He tried to convince me that it was not aching but I knew that he was faking it.
"You didn't need to save me, James. It's not your duty every time." I disposed the used cotton and started bandaging his wounded hand.
"Alice, look at me." He said softly and asked me to look at him.
I slowly raised my head to see him and saw him smiling beautifully. He was looking at me with such a beautiful expression that my heart started feeling jealous of the girl who would marry him. He was the man of elegance. He was graceful and so charismatic.
"What I'm seeing in your eyes, Alice?" He asked me softly and I was perplexed at his question.
"What?" I replied with an equal soft tone.
"I'm seeing care in your eyes for me and other than that I am seeing something which is very difficult to understand." He said softly and his hand softly touched my knuckles and started caressing me.
I took a sharp breathe. My world stopped because he was staring at me with the expression that I dreaded the most, the expression of love that my father used to give me.
He was looking at me like my father used to look at me.
"It's done." I said and stood up. I did the bandage of his wound and turned my back for him.
I couldn't look straight in his eyes else he would misunderstand my emotions and God knows what would happen. After a long I have achieved peace in my life and I don't want it to be destroyed at any cost.
Nobody can have happiness in their lives at the expense of my peace.
I took a sharp breath and turned around to look at him. I turned after knowing that I had successfully masked my emotions.
"Thank you, James. But you didn't need to." I gave him a fake smile.
"You know, Alice, I really didn't need to because you're no one to me. But I, unknowingly started making my way to save you. I had no control over my emotions and I jumped and saved you. I know that I have saved you before too but this time, it was different." He said with a soft tone. His voice was hoarse and when my name was rolling out of his mouth, my heart was slipping beats.
"Why it was different, James?" I asked him skeptically. I wanted to know what was going inside him or only it was with me. Yet I dreaded his answer.
"I don't know." He said in a audible whisper. If I was not paying attention. I would not have heard him.
He was staring at me with hope. I was looking at him with emotions. There a strong sense of infatuation and attraction between us. There was a electric bond that was keeping us rooted on the ground. My heart was thumping so loudly that I dreaded that he would hear it beating.
"What?!" We heard the shout of Emily and we both looked at each other in confusion.
We both rushed towards Emily and saw her sitting on the chair with her palm holding her head. I touched her shoulders and she looked at me with stress.
"What happened, Emily?" I asked her with a frown.
"Alice!" She hold my hands. "We ordered bride's dress like Clara had told us and it was supposed to be delivered today but we haven't received it. We called them and they said that it's not ready!" She was breathing heavily and tension was dripping from her face.
"Relax, Emily." I calmed her and made her sit on the chair.
"We are fired. Our company will lose this event even though we did all our efforts. I can't lose it, Alice. What will happen now?" Emily had turned paled and she had tears in her eyes.
I cupped her face and tried to calm her. "Emily, relax. We won't lose this event. We will make it. Don't worry I'll do something." I rubbed her arms and tried to help her in getting calm.
"What will you do, Alice?" Mark asked her after I nodded him come and handle Emily.
"I don't know. Let's see. You be with Emily." I said and immediately leave the avenue after getting my bag and mobile.
I heard the footsteps of someone following me. As soon as the intoxicated and strong scent of cologne hit my nostrils, I knew who the person was. It was so embarrassing that I had been so close to him a couple to times that I have started to recognize his scent.
"What are you going to do?" He walked and came to stand in front of me and raised his eyebrows.
"I don't know, James." I stuck my tongue out in a apologizing and innocent manner.
He burst into laughter and started clapping at my foolishness. I get embarrassed and my cheeks turned crimson red.
"Whoa! Seriously, Alice? Few minutes ago, you were mother Teresa over there that you'll handle everything and now you have no idea that what are you going to do?" He stopped clapping and questioned my stupidities.
"What would I have done? I can't see Emily in tension." I whined and he huffed and rolled his eyes.
"So you decided to be a super woman." He raised his hands in annoyance and dropped them.
"Stop stressing me if you can't help me!" I snapped at him and he looked at me with annoyance.
"Do you have any idea?" He asked me a few seconds later and saw me with a annoying face.
I shook my head and started chanting "google google" and pressing my head.
"But I have an idea." He said with a smirk on his face and I knew he could help us.
"Really?" I asked to which he nodded and I immediately jumped into his arms and gave him a tight hug. He immediately held me in his arms. He stiffened at first but later when he realized that I freaking hugged him, he got relaxed and engulfed me in his arms.