Chapter 4 Chapter 4

Chapter 4

/Elio/

I froze and lay still to see if he would repeat those words, and sure enough, he did.

"And I will never let you slip through my fingers ever again," he added.

My blood went cold, and yes! I do mean it literally. 

I no longer felt my legs, my arms, or any part of my body. It occurred to me that I had gotten myself in a much messier mess.

The whisper crept through the darkness too quickly that I had to doubt my sanity for a second or even more.

My eyes snapped open quickly; had I done the wrong thing by coming here? 

For one disoriented second, I thought of running, but then, to where? Run out of my own skin?

I swallowed hard, stared into the darkness, hoping that my heart wouldn't fall off with how violently it throbbed beneath my ribs.

"Elio, it's nothing," I whispered to myself. "You are just creating those scenes yourself." 

Trauma it was. It had trained my brain to always hear danger. Most times, a whisper from the television next door felt as though someone was calling my name out loud.

"Be calm," I whispered again, then squeezed my eyes shut and pretended to fall asleep; maybe, who knows, if I pretend like that, I would actually sleep.

Barely five minutes after I had cajoled myself into fake sleeping, I heard something else, though vague, that was still loud and clear as though two men were speaking. "If I ever lay my eyes on him, I won't be so nice as to give him the pleasure of a quick death; I will rip him off limb by limb and......" the voice faded as though the speaker was moving farther away.

My blood turned to ice. No way this was also my head playing games with me; I could swear on my life that I had heard that.

I dashed upright so fast that the silk blanket tangled around my legs, almost dragging me to the ground.

I stared towards the hallway leading to Caius's nothing, no one.

"We can track him....." I heard it again; I had never been so sure in my entire life.

My leg moved, slowly at first, then quickly as though I was acting on an external force.

A handsome face and kindness didn't mean safety; serial killers had neighbours, monsters blended in; these were my thoughts as I walked towards the door down the hallway 

I slowly pulled out my pocket knife, hoping to put an end to whatever this was, once and for all. Every instinct told me to run again. But run to where? Back to my apartment? Who knows who or what I would find there now?

I finally placed my hand on the doorknob. At first I tightened my grip, not sure if I was ready to meet any funny sight, then turned it only to stop dead in my tracks.

Caius was sprawled on the bed, completely asleep, snoring slightly. He looked completely at peace with himself, one arm resting over his stomach while the other was by his side.

His dark long hair had fallen slightly across his forehead, and though I hated to admit it, he looked so innocent and soft.

Heat rushed to my face. I was wrong once again; it was my crazy imagination.

When would it stop? I whispered to myself, would I always live my life like this? Running away from the shadows Marcus had created?

I stood there watching Caius sleep peacefully, too peacefully in fact.

Gently I lowered my weapon and pressed my trembling finger against my forehead.

"You are finally going crazy."

That bastard Marcus had done more harm than I even thought.

"Hey, pretty ghost," Caius said softly, scaring the hell out of me. When did he wake?

His eyes opened slowly; for a second he seemed confused, then it was replaced instantly with concern.

"Is everything okay?" He whispered and sat up quickly 

"Why are you here? What's wrong?"

I wanted to disappear. No, I wanted an earthquake to happen; I wanted to be non-existent. That was how ashamed I was.

"Elio?" Caius called out again, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," I blurted too quickly.

"I uh, it's just a little cold out there."

Caius arched an eyebrow. "You are a cute, terrible liar. Now tell me, what is it?"

I felt my legs weaken.

"I uhm....." I faked a laugh. "I can't stay alone," my voice broke.

"I just can't. I think my mind is playing games with me. I hear things, I....."

"You hear things?" He repeated. "It's that bad?" 

I nodded, wishing to see any sign of him speaking minutes ago but found none.

"Hey, it's okay," he whispered. "I promise, you are safe here. It's all in your head, and it will leave soon."

Everything went silent.

Under the low lighting, I couldn't help but notice how charming Caius looked. His lips were so small yet seductive as hell. He wore a loose singlet that left his bare, almost white skin exposed.

I looked away immediately; now wasn't the time, for goodness sake. 

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Tell me what you heard," Caius leaned on the bed frame, studying me carefully.

"No," I shook my head. "It's nothing, but please can I stay with you tonight? I don't think I still want to be alone......"

Wait...what! 

The words had already rolled out of my mouth before I realised what I had just said.

I felt embarrassed.

"Are you sure?" He stood and began to walk towards me. I instinctively began to move backwards before catching myself midway.

"I don't mind, Elio, but as I said earlier, I don't want it to look as though I am taking advantage of your situation to......" he paused. "I can sit with you until you fall asleep again," he offered quietly.

"We can both use the bed, can't we?" 

"Yes, we can. There is plenty of space, as you can see, capable of containing three more of your tiny size."

My cheeks turned red.

No way, I was feeling hot because he had said something about my size.

"Come," he pulled me slowly towards the bed, then used pillows to demarcate it into two. 

"It's two rooms now," he smiled 

"There was absolutely no need for that," I said, and I meant it.

"I wasn't implying......"

"You absolutely were," I answered.

He smiled again. The way he curved his lips and his eyes at the same time did something to my stomach, something I didn't want to admit; it was too early for that.

Still nervous, I climbed into the bed cautiously.

My body, that traitorous little thing, relaxed almost immediately, and I unconsciously let out a deep sigh of relief.

He smiled at me before turning the other way.

I lay on my back for seconds wondering what to do with my pretty miserable self until my eyes caught something on the table.

"No way!" I screamed with a shaky voice.

"What is it?" Caius jumped out quickly, and his eyes moved to the exact table my eyes were on. "Shit," I heard him whisper. 

What the hell had I gotten myself into?