"No…no…no… it's my ex, that brunette guy over there, cover me up I bought all the necessary stuff, let's check out." She told me and tried to pull me by my forearm I didn't move an inch, I looked in front of me and saw a brunette guy examining a packet in his hand.
"Is he your ex-lover?"
"Yes, now move!" she pushed the thing, she called 'stroller' in one hand and pulled me along with her by my forearm.
We both stood in a line and she paid for the things with, wait! Was that a paper? These people were so weird we use copper, silver, and gold to buy something but here they use paper. I carried all her bags as she was so jumpy.
"Relax! You look so anxious" I tried to calm her.
As we tried to make our way out of the building a voice stopped us. "Adeline! Is that you?"
"Fuck!" she cursed under her breath. We both turned around to face the same guy as she pointed at the aisle as her ex-lover.
"Yes, I am!" she turned around and stood straight in front of him. She tried to look confident but I could see that she was shivering.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her while eyeing me like I was a threat.
"Grocery shopping, duh!" she answered him with a sass, he clenched his jaw at her answer.
"Who is this guy?" he grunted.
"That's none of your business," she snapped and motioned me to walk with her, we tried to get away from him. The keyword was tried.
"Are you slutting with this scum?" he yelled furiously and yanked her back by her arm. I was outraged by his disrespectful act.
"I demand you to release this maiden." I threatened him with a calm yet the deadly tone of mine. She started to shake in fear like he was a monster.
"Leave me, Luke, we are not together anymore." She tried to pull away from him but his grip was so strong.
"You're hurting me." She whimpered.
"You're mine!" he yelled at her and that made her shake further. I had had enough, I landed a punch to his face which made him release his grip on her immediately. She pulled away from him and kicked his knee. He fell to the ground with a grunt.
"You fucking bitch! Come here, how dare you kick me and you mother fucker is going to pay for this," I tried to land another punch on him but I was stopped by Adeline.
"Let's go, please." She was shaking, her ocean blue orbs held vulnerability and desperation to get far away from this monster of her ex-lover. My heart squeezed painfully for this beautiful maiden.
I wrapped one arm around her shoulder and held her closer to my sides, she didn't complain, she fisted my shirt and buried her face in my sides like she was trying to hide from this world. We both moved to her carriage and she unlocked it. I dropped the baggage at the back seat.
"Are you okay?" I asked her as I kept on rubbing her arms. She was still shaking, what the hell did that man did to her in the past?
"I…I'm fine." She gave me a forced smile. I felt so bad for her, so I hugged her so close to my heart, she smelt like mint and chocolate. She wrapped her tiny arms around my torso and sighed, I rested my chin on top of her head and we stayed like that for a few minutes. I was not sure whether to ask her about him or not, it seemed like a touchy subject, so I let it slide for now. I didn't want to upset her further by inquiring about him.
We both pulled away from each other and she gave me a grateful smile and I nodded at her. We both get into her carriage and she drove it to her home.
***************
Adeline's POV~
Traumatized was the only word to describe my current situation. I tried to act so brave in front of my ex but the moment he yanked me by my arm I started to shake like a leaf. We started dating during my freshman year of college, Luke was a senior and he was three years older than me. We dated throughout my college days, everything was perfect until one day he came to my apartment so high like he was on some drugs. That's when the problem started to arise, I shook my head to clear the thoughts of my dreadful past.
The entire drive was filled with silence. Arsenio would often take a glance at me to check whether I was alright or not. It was so comforting to have him by my side, I have no one to rely on but me. I was raised by my granny in Arizona, my parents died in a car crash when I was five, they both were high school teachers.
My granny died when I was a senior in high school due to her old age. I used my parent's savings to pay for my college. My life was not great but I'm still grateful for what I have and what I had. I didn't regret falling in love with Luke, not even a single ounce, I was disappointed with the way he turned out to be.
He still had a special place in my heart, because first love could be felt only once in your life.
I pulled over to the parking lot of my apartment building. "Adeline! Are you okay?" Arsenio looked so concerned. Gone was the playful and teasing side of him, instead there stood a responsible man. I never expected him to hit Luke. I was so shocked to my core. I thought he was such a player who couldn't understand a woman's feelings but I was proven wrong. He could do anything to make sure a female's safety despite his relation to her.
"I'm fine, Arsenio, thank you!" I gave him a genuine smile, he sighed with relief and smiled back at me.
"Let's go, I'll order pizza for lunch," I told him enthusiastically.
"What is a piisha?" he looked flabbergasted.
"What… are you serious?" he frowned at me like he was trying to figure out what was I talking about.
"You never tried that before?" he shook his head like 'No'.
"Oh my god! It is THE best food on this planet, you must try." He nodded his head with his adorable frown. I ordered two pepperoni pizzas with coke as we both made our way to the elevator. There was an old couple and they looked like they were in their late seventy's.
"Honey, I can carry this bag besides you're already carrying two bags." The kind-looking old lady told her husband as he was trying to carry all their bags by himself.
"Nah, I'm not gonna let you carry anything…Give that to me…" he tried to get the bag from her stubbornly but she was giving him a frustrated look.
"Robert!" she gave him the stink eye, which made him stop his action abruptly like he was caught red-handed while stealing a cookie.
"Jeez, are you mad at me?" his eyes were so wide, I could see Arsenio trying to hide his snickers by biting his lips. I jabbed his sides with my elbow, he looked down on me, rubbing his side. I motioned him not to laugh at the poor man.
"Why would you think that?" the old lady asked her husband remaining in her cool.
"Be…Because you're calling me Robert," the old guy whined like a kid. They looked so adorable.
"Because that's your name," she answered him coolly.
"But I want you to call me, honey!" he complained.
"And I want you to let me carry this bag." She retorted.
"Woman!" he muttered under his breath as they both exited the elevator. As soon as the elevator door closed, Arsenio was laughing his ass off.
"Damn! That was priceless," I raised my eyebrows at him and he stopped his snickers hastily. His expression was like 'What did I do?'
We both exited the elevator and I hear him mutter 'Woman!' under his breath as we both made our way to my apartment.
I entered my apartment feeling exhausted with the turn of events. I went to my bathroom and splashed the water onto my face. As I was exiting the bathroom, my doorbell went off, it must be the delivery guy. I took out some cash and opened the door, after paying for my order, I made my way to the kitchen to grab some plates.
Arsenio was nowhere near my sight, I noticed that my terrace door was open and the curtains were dancing to the rhythm of the wind. He was standing near the balustrade and taking in the view outside, it was one hella cold afternoon.