Ciara kept pacing in her room, unable to shake the awkward feeling away. She thought she felt uncomfortably awkward because she couldn't share the pieces of information that kept popping up in her mind, but she's told Raymond and that should have at least made her feel better, not this uncomfortable. She decided to do what she did best, crawl into Vanessa's arms. Without a single doubt, Vanessa had always been providing her with the motherly warmth she needed and she always sought Vanessa in times of distress. She knew Vanessa would drop all her personal worries and problems and tend to hers which made her feel selfish sometimes yet she couldn't stop herself from running to her whenever she was troubled. She left her room and soon found herself in front of Vanessa's door. Somehow her uneasiness heightened when she got there. Normally, all uneasiness would drastically reduce when she got near Vanessa, but she ignored the feeling. Without a second thought, she knocked on the door. Not waiting for an answer, she turned the door knob only to see blood rushing out of the room. Cindy let out a bone chilling scream and flinched from the door.
****
Theodore knew, Aida was no normal girl. He knew she could feel his power even though she doesn't seem to know it. His aura? Is that why she thinks she's afraid of him? It was undeniable that Theodore had an unwelcoming aura that made people fear him, yet he knew his hostility wasn't the reason why Aida got scared. He knew she felt like a prey before a lion. Having Raven's marks on her gave her the ability to sense his powers but not to the extent of scaring her.
'There's more to this girl than meets the eye' Theodore thought as he turned the knob to enter the room.
When he entered, he saw Aida tense up. He smiled to lighten Aida's mood as he stood, still holding the knob of the door.
"Did I interrupt anything?" Theodore asked feigning ignorance.
"No, you didn't. Come closer" Cindy said, and gestured to Theodore to move closer. Theodore moved towards them and stopped beside Cindy. Cindy patted an empty space on her seat and Theodore sat down. Cindy looked at Aida, who nervously stared at the floor.
"Aida, he's here" Cindy said, trying to get Aida to raise her head but she didn't. After a few minutes of silence, Aida said;
"I'm sorry about what happened at the dining hall. I will make sure not to repeat it again" as she nervously played with her fingers.
"At least look at me when you're apologizing to me. Don't you agree with me it's a bit offensive to be looking away from me while apologizing to me?" Theodore asked Aida.
Aida slowly raised her eyes to look at Theodore who smiled broadly at her when their eyes met. Aida's breath hitched when their eyes met. For a moment, she saw how Theodore looked soo handsome. How come she failed to see this the first time they met. She realized he wasn't as intimidating as she thought he was. Theodore wrapped his left hand around Cindy's waist, as he smiled at Aida. Cindy looked at Theodore who only kept smiling, waiting for him to reply to the apology.
"Come say "good morning" to me, first thing in the morning for the next thirty days and I might consider forgiving you" Theodore said still wearing a smile.
"Huh?!" Aida and Cindy asked in unison.
"Yep! You heard me right." Theodore said looking at Cindy who wore a confused expression.
"Stop being petty, Theo" Cindy said trying to coax Theodore.
"Who said I am being petty? Aida, am I being petty?" he intentionally asked Aida, trying to gauge her reaction.
"No, I don't think you're being petty. I will do it, so long as you may consider forgiving me" Aida replied forcing a smile.
"See..." Theodore said trying to prove he wasn't being petty.
"Seriously?" Cindy said as she looked from Theodore to Aida and vice versa.
"Oh, come on! Cee, it's nothing" Theodore said as he tried to tighten his grip on Cindy who tried to move away from him. Cindy pushed him away from her and shifted to create a little between them.
"Are we doing this Cee?" Theodore asked Cindy who looked away from him.
"Aida, do you know somethings your aunt make me do when I offend her?" Theodore asked Aida who seemed to be slowly walking out of her shell. Aida's inquisitive side won over her as she looked excitedly at Theodore, waiting patiently for him to spill the beans.
"She makes me c..." Theodore began, only for Cindy to tightly wrap her palm around Theodore's mouth, wearing a very funny expression. Aida burst into laughter, before she knew.
Theodore and Cindy smiled at each other as Aida laughed, proud they made her comfortable enough to laugh.
Before they could find out why Aida was laughing a bone chilling scream rang through the house.
"Ciara!" Cindy shouted as she rushed towards the door.