I stare at the ring on my thumb in disbelief.. how did Ivan's ring get inside my room? He had to have been there sometime soon..
"You okay Illa?" Nate asks from beside me.
I look up at him and show him the ring, "He was there.."
He gives me a confused look, "Who was where?"
I lower my voice to make sure Ivan doesn't hear me, "Ivan was at my house, this is his ring. I didn't connect the dots until I saw his hand. The one that always has a ring on it."
He gives me an even more confused look, "Why would Ivan be in your room?"
I go to comment when his statement stopes me, "I never told you it was in my room.."
His face goes white and he stutters, "L-Lucky guess?"
My anger bubbles over but I keep my voice down, "Nathanial Marven Becker, you will tell me exactly what you've been hiding from me or I will never speak to you again."
He gulps visibly and I see him starting to sweat, he was never good at keeping secrets from me if I somehow started putting pieces together. I glare at him, waiting for his genius answer. All of a sudden he gets very still and sits up calmly, not even a single hint of nervousness.
I give him a strange look and he clears his throat, "I took his ring, I put it in your room to see if you'd notice it was his. I was correct."
I stare at him wide eyed, "Why in the world would you do that?"
He gives me a soft smile, "Because you like him, and you notice things about the people you like."
I choke on my saliva, "I'm sorry WHAT!"
The whole class gets quiet and I look around, noticing everyone's heads are turned to me. I smile nervously and wave my hand slightly, and everyone returns to their conversations.
I glare at Nate, "Why would you say something like that, I don't like him. I have a boyfriend Nate."
He nods, "You do, but your boyfriend is an airhead and doesn't notice shit."
I look away, knowing it was true. "So what.. He loves me and I love him."
"Do you though?"
I go to snap at him but nothing comes out of my mouth. I have nothing to say to that, because I honestly don't know what I feel anymore. The teacher walks in giving me an excuse for not answering and I turn back to the front and prop my head on my hand, focusing my attention to the lecture. The rest of class I wasn't really paying attention, I could see Nate paying attention and writing things down but I had no idea what she was even talking about. I know we were talking about geography, but that was all the knowledge I had at the moment.
Throughout the whole lecture, I could feel eyes on the back of my head. I refused to turn around because I already knew who it was. Ivan was staring at me, but I didn't know why. What I really couldn't figure out is why Nate would put Ivan's ring in my room? Honesty, this whole thing is messed up. When the bell finally rung I grabbed my bag and got out of there as quickly as I could, Partly through that my body started to give up on me and I had to lean against the lockers. I was a bit out of breath and began getting dizzy, I tried to keep myself up right but then my legs caved in underneath me.
Before I could hit the floor a pair of arms caught me and held me up.
"Woah there, Princess are you okay?"
A couple seconds later Nate is running up to us concerned, "Illa are you alright? Where does it hurt?"
I breathe out heavily, "Just a bit sore is all, I probably should get some food in my system."
"Rillan why are you sore?"
I look up at Ivan and he's looking down at me with genuine concern, part of me screams to tell him the truth but I lie anyway.
"I'm a runner, I just pushed myself a bit too hard last run. I'm alright."
He doesn't look convinced.
I try to give him a reassuring smile, he sighs and helps me up right. Nate rushes over to my side and rubs my arm softly.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
I nod, "Yeah, I'm fine Nate."
Nate looks up at Ivan, "Take her."
I snap up, "I'm sorry what!? You're not taking me anywhere!"
Ivan nods and grabs me by the waist gently, tugging me to the front of school. I should be more worried about the fact that I've missed more school this week then I have in my entire life. I can't even make it a full day without leaving early. Scratch that, I can't make it a full period. I look up at Ivan furious but he looks down with an equally pissed off look and I immediately shut up. I get dragged all the way to his bike, He grabs his helmet and turns around, placing it on my head.
"What about you?"
He chuckles, "I'll be alright princess."
He picks me up and places me on the back of the bike, I hold on to the back of the bike while he swings his legs over and rests on the front. He starts the bike and peaks back at me.
"You might want to hold on princess."
I snort but as soon as he kicks the stand and zooms off, I squeal and grab onto his waist. I feel his body move as he laughs. I close my eyes, feeling the sharp wind knock against my helmet. My arms lock around his waist tighter, my head resting on his back. I feel him tense for a moment, but he soon relaxes. Eventually, he begins to slow down and I open my eyes to see an apartment complex in view. My eyes widen at the fancy looking building. Ivan rolls into a parking spot and turns off his bike, kicking the stand out and propping his bike up.
He climbs off and grabs me again, lifting me off of the bike. My eyes are still locked on the building when he begins pulling me in the direction of glass doors.
"You live here? I thought you lived in my neighborhood." I ask, still dumb founded.
He chuckles and holds the door open for me, "My family lives there. Sometimes I like my own space."
We pass the front desk in a large front room, decorated with elaborate furnishings and paintings. A lady looks up and waves at us.
"Why hello there Darius- oh who is this?" She looks directly at me, here eyes showing clear curiosity.
I can't help but shrink behind Ivan, my body not liking the thought of her judging me.
Ivan reaches behind him and grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers. "This is a friend of mine, she will be staying with me for a while so I'd like to get a key made for her."
I peak out from behind him and she perks up, "Oh well of course! I'll let you know when It's ready."
She waves goodbye to us and Ivan leads me to an elevator. He clicks a button and the elevator doors ding before opening for us. We walk in and he clicks a button at the top of what seemed like 50 buttons.
I look at him curiously, Who are you Darius Ivan...
After what seems like forever, the elevator finally chimes and the doors slide open. We walk a little ways down a hallway and enter 1 of 3 doors. I look behind us and see two other doors opposite of each other on either wall.
Ivan pulls out a set of keys and unlocks the door at the end of the corridor. He takes my arm gently and guides me in before closing the door behind us and locking it.
"You're not going to kill me, are you?"
He chuckles, "Not unless you break my rules."
I place my hands on my hips, "Is that so? And what are these rules per say?"
He smiles and walks into a giant front room, I look around in awe. There's a beautiful coach in the center facing a huge TV mounted on the wall. A fire place sitting underneath it. Before I could continue looking around a Loud bark catches my attention.
"Samual Come!" Ivan says with a very assertive voice.
A large pit Bull runs around the corner. My eyes widen and I scramble back. On the right of me was a kitchen, I slide behind the counter and try to calm my heart beat. It was becoming increasingly harder to breath.
"That's a good boy! I bet your glad I'm home, you get to go for a walk soon!"
If I wasn't almost having a panic attack I would have thought Ivan baby voice was hilarious. I grab the front of my shirt hard, trying to breathe in and out.
"Rillan? Where'd you go?"
"D-Don't let him near me!" I managed to croak out.
I hear him shuffling and a door opening and closing, he rounds the corner of the kitchen and sees me on the floor having a hard time breathing. He gets on his knees and pulls me into his chest.
"In and out princess, in and out. Slowly."
I do as he says and breath in slowly and release it when he tells me to.
"That's it Princess. Now can you tell me why you were just freaking out?"
I was reluctant to say anything. It quite embarrassing for me to admit.
"It's kind of embarrassing to admit."
He chuckles, "well if we are going to be living with each other we might need to admit a few things."
He sigh, "I'm afraid of dogs."
He bursts out laughing, "Are you serious!?"
I don't say anything.
He laughs for a good couple minutes before he realizes I'm still not saying anything.
"I-I'm sorry, it's just not something I'd expect from you Princess."
I groan and look away, "Yeah, so I'm afraid of dogs, so what? I didn't exactly have a nice one growing up."
He holds out his hand and helps me up, I follow him into the living room and we sit on the couch.
"Tell me."
I look into his eyes, part of me wanting to know why I'm here, and why he was so eager to have me stay.
"My parents got a dog when I was about 10, he was friendly at first, but then over time my evil little sisters started abusing him. They thought it was funny when he put his tail between his legs. I went to pet him one day and he snapped at me, I was rushed to the hospital because he nearly took off my fingers."
I hold up my left hand and show him the scars. The were faint but jagged and could still be seen if you looked for them.
"After that my parents still decided to keep him, said he would be a good guard dog now." So they tied him to a fence post outside with a chain and left him there. I was told to feed him and I would get.."
I pause, trying to avoid what really happened.
"..grounded if I didn't. But every time I would go to feed him he'd leave me with another scar. One day I went to feed him and I stepped a little too close, he lunged when I was putting his bowl down and he got my back. He tore it up and nearly killed me, I was bleeding out for almost an hour while he stood over me barking and growling."
"Where were your parents? Why would they do that?"
He didn't answer him.
"By the time someone found me it was a neighbor going to get mail, they saw me laying in the grass and came up to say hello. But when they saw the blood they immediately called an ambulance. The dog was taken away by animal control and put down a couple days later."
"My parents never came to the hospital to see me, my step brother came to pick me up when I was discharged and also was there when I was recovering. He's always been there for me, more times then I can count."
"You didn't answer my question."
I look up and see his very pissed off expression.
"Just forget it, I told you what happened and why I'm afraid of dogs. You don't need to know anything else."
"Can I see?"
I freeze, he wants to see my back?
I nod and turn around slowly, I feel his fingers at the bottom of my shirt and I straighten up.
He lifts my shirt and I grab the end of it once he pulls it all the way up. He sucks in and I wait in anticipation. Suddenly I feel his fingers run along the scars on my back. I shiver against his touch and he halters. I glance behind me and suck in a breath too. His face is so close to mine I can feel his breathing.
He continues tracing the scar on my back and my skin reacts to his touch. My breathing stops and I hold my breath. Relishing in his touch.
"They.. they aren't too bad now." I say slowly.
He traces up towards my shoulder and I shiver again.
"No, they aren't." He responds, his voice low and husky.
I breathe in and out, trying to control myself. I can't let myself be another one of his whores.
He brings his hand up and traces down my spine, I grip my shirt and decide I'm not going to be able to control myself any longer, so I drop my shirt and pull away. His fingers leaving my skin so suddenly, making me feel cold.
I turn around and freeze, his face is so close to mine. He stops breathing, both of our eyes wide and staring into each other's. His emerald green eyes feel like they are piercing my soul.
I lean back and cough, looking at anything but him.
"I'm kind of tired, I'd like to just get some sleep. Where am I sleeping?"
He blinks a couple times and coughs as well, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.
"Right, um, you can take my bed, I'll sleep on the couch."
I give him a confused look, "do you not have two rooms?"
He chuckles, "I do but the other room is for my dog. And also my gaming system. There's a bed in there but unless you want to share it with Samual, I'd suggest you take my bed."
I laugh nervously, "yea your bed sounds good."
He nods and gets up moving towards a room behind us, I follow and see a very messy room. I slap my hand over my face.
"Do you even know how to clean? The rest of the apartment looks great! How is your room a mess?"
"I don't let the cleaning lady in my room."
I laugh, "what is she scared to come in?"
He shakes his head with a serious look, "I don't let people in my apartment, I don't even have guests over other then my best friend."
I swallow, "I'm sorry."
He gestures for me to come in, I step over laundry and sit down on the bed, it's surprisingly comfortable.
Although, something else is weighing on my mind, I've never slept in anyone else bed, it's always been my own or Nates. I'm really hoping that tonight.. is not the night I start getting my nightmares.