Chapter 13

“The fuck Lucas! You scared the crap out of me!” I yelled as I turned to see him settling himself on one of the rocks ringing the pool. 

“Have you forgotten what happened the last time you snuck up on me? Or does your face need a reminder!” I said through clenched teeth, sinking myself shoulder deep into the dark water.

“Sorry…. I just wanted to-”

“What Lucas? You just wanted to what? To find another way to invade my privacy? Or maybe you just-”

“I just wanted to apologize!” he shouted over me, cutting me off. “Look, I’m really sorry about what I did. It was stupid. But I honestly was just trying to do something nice for you, I didn’t think it through and I’m sorry.”

Taking a deep breath he hesitantly continued “I just don’t want you to be scared of me.” He added in a solemn tone.

“Why would you think I’d be scared of you?” I asked, feigning confusion. Knowing exactly what he was talking about.

“Most girls wouldn’t have gone toe to toe with me the way you did back there, after what happened in your house earlier. They’d probably leave running and screaming.” Lucas said, referring to him and the officer and everything else that followed afterwards.

Since getting in the jeep, I’ve tried to put the entire scene out of my head. Lucas slaughtering the offi-, I mean demon? like he was a just some rabid animal that needed to be put down. Lucas wasn’t wrong, in a way he did scare me, his strength and the brutality in which he went after the demon was more than intimidating. But a little voice in the back of head, probably my gramps’, kept whispering that I could trust them both.

I mean, I’ve been alone in the middle of the forest with both boys for almost two days now. If Daniel or Lucas wanted to hurt me they probably would have already, right?

I thought, dipping myself even lower into the water, hiding from the cool breeze that  began to make me shiver.  

“Lucas, he- that thing it attacked us. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn’t done what you did. You were just protecting us.” I said to him with sincerity and gratitude.

“Daniel said you were different from most girls.” He said to me, his mouth curving into another one of his panty dropping smiles.

“Lucas, couldn’t this conversation have waited till we were all back at the cabin?” I asked him, trying my hardest to stop my teeth from chattering.

“I figured this way you’d have no choice but to accept my apology.” He answered, his smile turning into a wide toothed grin as he lifted his left hand, holding out a soft yellow towel.

“If looks could kill.” He said with a short laugh.

“You’d probably be dead already.” I retorted, forcing myself to pull my eyes away from him before I was even more tempted to slap that grin off his face.

Sweeping my gaze across the river, my eyes landed on the spot where I glimpsed the unusual dark shadow. Now shaded by soft moonlight, the trees casting eerie shadows as their branches shifted in the wind. Flicking my gaze back to Lucas, I watched suspiciously as he folded the towel and neatly laid it on the boulder, next to my shoes and my drawstring bag

“Thank you. So very much.” I said dryly.

“You’re welcome!” he replied purposely ignoring my snide remark.

Jumping off the rocks he walked a small distance from the pool, close enough that I could still see him as he stood there with his back to me. More than ready to get out of the water, my fingertips all turned to prunes, I dashed out the pool quickly grabbing the towel and drying off, never taking my eyes off Lucas’ back.

“You don’t have to wait for me!” I shouted in his direction as I began wringing out my braid.

“Not a problem!” He replied barely tilting his head in my direction.

Finished dressing I shoved my toes into my shoes as I slung my used and damp towel over my shoulder and pushed my hand through the drawstring of the black velvet bag, I still hadn't opened. Grabbing Daniel's used clothes I walked past Lucas following the river downstream back to the cabin as he kept pace beside me, scanning the trees as we passed by.

Looking over to the other side of the river, back at the shades in the trees I couldn’t help thinking about it. The dark shadow and how-

“Looking for something?” Lucas asked, his warm breath close to my ear startling me out of my thoughts.

“What! No!” I blurted out, taking a step back from the delicious heat of him.

            Turning forward, I continued walking, feeling Lucas watching me. Refusing to meet his stare I wrapped my arms around myself to deter the nip in the air. It doesn’t snow or have four seasons in Troian but as the October month began the days grew shorter as the nights grew colder. 

“Can I ask you a question?” I hesitantly asked between the choruses of chirping crickets, my eyes staring straight ahead.

“You just did.” Lucas teasingly answered as the sound of the crashing falls faded away into the distance.