" That was me behaving like a girl," She shrugged and leaned back on the wall, eyeing me as if I was a piece of cake.
" So," Mason drawled," Will you join us?" My short-lived success had come to an end. I couldn't outplay my hand. Any more excuses and Enid would become suspicious.
" Sure," I half-heartedly agreed, wiping my clammy hands on my trousers.
Feeling the sweat slowly trickle down on my back, I gulped " I just need to get changed," I needed a shower, and change my clothes since the ones I was wearing were five minutes away from being soaked in sweat.
" What you are wearing is fine," Will interjected, giving me yet another once over, biting on her lip.
" These are the clothes I wear to the soup kitchen, " I replied with a sorry excuse for a smile, " I won't take long, " I added and hurriedly began making my way towards the corridor before anyone would say anything else.
Turning on the shower, I peeled off the t-shirt and threw it in the laundry basket, even though I had worn it for ten minutes. The rest shortly followed, even though I didn't want to go with them, I had found myself yet again dragged into it.
A little disgruntled, I washed myself trying to shake off the feelings he'd ignited in me. After all the effort I had put into keeping my feelings on a tight leash, I still struggled to contain them in his presence.
Angrily, I wrapped myself in a towel and stepped inside the bedroom, and nearly screamed when my eyes fell on him sitting at the foot of the bed.
" What are you doing in here?" I asked when I recovered from the mild shock.
" You've been avoiding me for days, Lily. Why?" The deep frown etched on his face, was unexpected. His usual calm demeanour was difficult to pierce through.
" I'm not," I whispered, " I haven't," I closed my eyes, and grimaced at my own lie.
" You know you are a horrible liar. Quit while you are ahead," He sighed, plopping himself on the bed, resting his chin on his knuckles.
" Fine. I have been avoiding you. You are not making things easy. What do you want me to do? I don't why we are having this conversation. What's the point? What is it going to achieve? Why? Why?" I gestured with my hands, as I poured out all of my frustration, affronted and felt the towel slip off, and pooling at my feet before I even had a chance to react.
His brows quirked, as he measured me from head to toe.
He pushed himself off the bed when I lowered myself to pick up the towel and hugged it at my chest in an attempt to cover my nakedness. I had no idea why I was even bothering to do that, but lest I tried to be decent, he wasn't going to stop greedily staring at me.
Clearing his throat, he opened his mouth to speak, but after a few moments of silence, he turned on his heels and scurried out of the room. I was speechless, and my discontentment bubbled further fuelling my belief that I had made the right decision to stay as far away as possible from him. Something I should have done in the first place.
Angrily, I tugged on a pair of jeans, and a long sleeve shirt slipped on my everyday shoes and made my way out of the room, stomping the ground beneath my feet.
" Finally, we can go," Will sighed, relieved, as I carried on walking towards the door, without even bothering to look at them. I was fully aware that it wasn't the best way to act, but I couldn't help it.
A bundle of emotions stormed inside me, wreaking havoc. Once again, I was inside out.
Carter whom, I hadn't laid eyes on in several months stepped out of the five-seater car, and opened the door for me to climb in.
" I'll sit in the front," grumbled as I walked around and climbed into the passenger's seat in the front.
Glaring at the scenery in front of me, I heard the car doors shut, in a sequence and shortly after Carter slipped into the driver's seat next to me.
" It looks like it is going to rain today," Carter chirped with a chuckle, most likely to ease the heavy tension in the car. The sky was crystal clear, for the very first time in a very long time.
" I hope not," Enid sighed," I haven't ridden in a very long time and today I was hoping to make the most of it," Enid replied as Carter slipped into Morston traffic.
Carter clicked his tongue, at ease with himself, while I stared at a fixed point on the dashboard, trying my best to appear calm.
" I hope so too, but Arcadia is the wettest town in the south, Enid. I should know, I grew up there," Carter delivered the news a little sullenly, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.
" I'll do my best to get us there as fast as possible. Usually, if it is going to rain it will be in the afternoon," He added with a crooked smile, as we crossed the border between Morston and Triarth. A small townlet, on the northwestern side of Morston, beautifully nestled at the end of Niat Valley.
" Well, in that case, I suggest you talk less and drive faster," Mason sternly rasped, and I felt my heart ready to jump out of my chest, at the thought that he was right behind me. Oh, dear god, I thought and let out a silent shaky sigh, in a miserable attempt to contain my rattled spirits.