Chapter 4: Chapter 3 - Mystery Woman

Tuesday 1 December

~*Mystery Woman’s POV*~

Earlier…

“How are you going in there?”

I had locked myself in the toilet cubicle in the public bathroom that the talkative, short redhead had guided me to. The t-shirt and long shorts she’d given me were massive, but they covered all the important bits. Anything was better than the blanket they had wrapped me in. Although it had been scratchy, it had been comfortable, even though I was constantly adjusting it to make sure I covered myself.

I mumbled something incoherently in response, knowing that she wouldn’t understand me. How could she, when even I didn’t know what I’d just said? My brain was still in a fog, and I felt like I was walking in molasses, each movement slow and hard to achieve.

And damn it if my feet didn’t hurt.

I sat down on the closed lid of the toilet and brought my left foot up to my right knee so I could get a better look at the sole. Good grief, there were so many cuts and gashes. No wonder I’d had trouble walking. At least it looked like they had mostly stopped bleeding.

I quickly glanced at my other sole and discovered much of the same. Small stones had made their way into every open wound, and there was dirt and grime everywhere. I desperately needed to soak my feet. I had no doubt that that was going to really, really sting.

I couldn’t help but wonder what the rest of me looked like, as I hadn’t looked in the mirror when we had walked in. If my feet were any indication, I really wasn’t ready to see how filthy I looked. I knew I would have to eventually, but as I had no access to a shower, what good was it going to do me? Better to wait. The older woman had said she was going to be introducing me to someone nice, so I assumed that meant that they’d be okay looking at me the way I was.

I can’t say that it didn’t stop me from fidgeting with nerves, though.

After I finally opened the cubicle door and shuffled out, I folded the blanket and handed it to the girl. I wrapped my hands around my upper arms and stood still, purposely avoiding looking in the mirror’s direction. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do next. Hadn’t the older woman said something about a waiting room?

The redhead looked up at me, and then up some more. She really was so much shorter than me. I felt like I would have found it amusing typically, but I didn’t feel like I could laugh at anything right now.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s get you settled while we wait for Takeshi. Mum can talk to him for hours, so we might be in for a bit of a wait.” She placed her hand on my lower back and shuffled me forward.

“I’m sure you’d love to sit down again,” she continued. “There are all sorts of magazines out there that we could read. Do you know if you have any preferences?”

I furrowed my eyebrows at her in confusion. How was I supposed to know that? I couldn’t remember my name, and she was asking me what type of magazine I liked to read?

I think she got the message because she continued chattering away.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. It’s just like a doctor’s waiting room. Every magazine is at least two years out of date. You’ve probably read them all.”

Okay. Maybe she hadn’t.

I darted my eyes around the large open area she was leading me through. I felt incredibly unsafe in such an exposed space, but I had no idea why. We were the only two people who were here, but something felt off. Like I was being watched. The feeling made me nauseous.

We found our way to the area in front of the massive reception desk that had four box-like pale grey leather seats. Two faced the reception desk, the others had their backs to it, and the coffee table was right in the middle of them. The two that faced the desk also had their backs up against the wall, so I stumbled instinctively for one of those.

I needed to feel safe and sitting with my back to the room would not do that.

Although I had long ago tuned her out, I realised she was still babbling away. I could only focus on one thing at a time, and right now, her voice was not a high enough priority compared to the void in front of me. She picked up one of the magazines and flicked through it.

Curling myself into the chair, I tried to make myself as small as possible without touching too much. Looking around, I noticed I had left dirty footsteps everywhere on the tiled floor. I felt terrible. I’d have to ask them later where the mop and bucket was, so I could clean up after myself.

My head spun to the door when I heard it swish open. The young girl seated next to me also looked up.

“Oh, hi Bells,” she greeted the newcomer with a smile. “What are you doing here so early? I would have thought you’d still be asleep.”

He grinned at her as he changed direction and wandered over to us.

“Mum asked me to pick something up for her.” His voice was incredibly rich. “Apparently it couldn’t wait; she just had to have it right this minute.” He rolled his eyes at her.

My eyes widened. Oh my. His voice felt like a warm caress to my soul. It was delicious. I felt my cheeks warm. Was I blushing? That was new.

I looked up from my seated position. And up. And up. He was tall. I wondered if he was as tall as me. Maybe? But there was no way I was going to stand up to check. Then he’d see how much of a wreck I was. It was bad enough he had to see me like this. Ugh.

He looked just as delicious as his voice sounded. His black hair held tightly wound curls that stabbed out in every different direction. His temples were almost shaved, so there was a meticulousness to his hairstyle even though it appeared messy at first glance. He had stubble, like he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days, but again, there was a precision to it that made it look like it was meant to be that way.

Even the clothes that he was wearing leaned towards scruffiness. Worn in spots, the light blue denim jacket hid an untucked black t-shirt over wrinkled, dark blue jeans. If you looked closely, however, there remained an orderliness that held it all together. He was a walking contradiction.

And boy oh boy, did I love it.

His skin was a rich, golden brown, and his dark copper eyes swum with curiosity when they took me in. There looked like there was interest there too, but whether that had more to do with my dishevelled state than anything else, I had no idea.

“Who’s your friend, Cody?” he turned back to the redhead.

That’s right. Her name was Cody. I visibly winced, while I mentally smacked myself for forgetting.

“We don’t know. She can’t remember her name. We picked her up at the Black Spur on our way back from the Ball.”

He raised an eyebrow and sat down in the seat opposite mine. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and studied me. His jacket opened enough for me to see how fitted his t-shirt was and how muscular his torso was. I groaned internally. He was exquisite.

“Is that true?” he asked me quietly.

I nodded.

“You look like you’ve been through a war-zone,” he murmured. His eyes filled with sympathy. “How are you holding up?”

I shrugged slowly as I bit my bottom lip. I didn’t know what to say. God, please let him keep talking to me. I wanted to drown in his voice.

He reached out a hand to place it on my knee. I immediately shifted away. I was filthy, and I didn’t want him to get his immaculate form dirty.

He paused, his hand still hovering over where my knee had been, before slowly retracting it.

“It’s okay,” he breathed. “I won’t hurt you.”

I blushed again, looking down at my hands that were wringing in my lap. There was something telling me I could trust this man, but could I really believe that? I didn’t even know myself. How could I know if I could trust my instincts?

But oh, how I wanted to throw myself at him. Let him hold me, keep me safe.

What the hell was happening to me? My brain tried to make sense of it all.

Even though I wasn’t looking his way, I could feel his eyes on me. Studying me.

I slowly looked up at him, keeping my face angled down. I wanted to stare at him, but he made me nervous. But a good nervous. Like there were butterflies in my stomach, fluttering around, making my insides feel all tingly.

I had been right. He stared right back at me, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

I felt myself blush again. And damn if I didn’t notice his smile widen into a grin. Did he enjoy making me blush?

He shifted his gaze to Cody.

No. Bring it back. Look at me again. Please.

Of course, he couldn’t hear my inner monologue. Use your words. Speak.

“Do you… uh…” I stuttered. “Uh… come here… uh… often?”

I cringed. God, what the hell was that?? My blush deepened as Cody snorted. I brought my left hand up to massage my forehead to hide my embarrassment.

He turned back to me with the grin that had now turned into a wide, beaming smile on his face. Great. I amused him. Can’t say that that was what I was aiming for. I sighed internally.

“Yeah,” he replied. “My mum works here. Right over at that desk over there, in fact.” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the reception desk. His grin was wide, but thankfully, his words were kind. Maybe I could still get out of this with some sort of pride intact?

“Yeah,” Cody giggled at me, ruining any hope of dignity I had remaining. “She’s worked for Takeshi since before you were born, right, Bells?”

Bells. That was his name. I know Cody had said it earlier, but this time I made sure to file it in my memory. Well, whatever memory I had.

“That’s right,” he nodded proudly. “She always says she doesn’t want to work for anyone else. I’m getting the feeling she’ll be here until she retires.”

As he leaned back into the chair, his beaming smile that lit up his face now turned even warmer to show how much he loved his mum. I was glad, but also a little jealous. Could he smile like that about me? Would he…?

“Speaking of…” he trailed off, as he lifted himself smoothly out of the chair. “I should probably grab what she asked me to look for and get it back to her.”

No! Don’t go, stay! Talk to me more, please! I silently begged him. If he left, I was sure that I’d never see him again.

It was all in vain though, as he offered one last huge grin to me, then turned to head over to the reception desk.

I sighed longingly. He was leaving, and I’d never get to talk to this extraordinary man ever again.

He leaned over the front of the desk, balancing on one foot as he grabbed whatever he needed. His jacket rode up, giving Cody and me the most incredible view of his denim-clad behind.

I couldn’t help but choke as my heart stuttered. Sometimes life wasn’t fair to us mere mortals.

Cody burst out laughing at my reaction, which made Bells turn around and look at us. He must have noticed the blush that worked its way down to my shoulders, because he gave me the most wicked grin before he walked away, a quiet laugh following him out the doors.

Damn him. He had known exactly what he was doing to me. He’d done it all on purpose.

The feeling of unease quickly returned. I hadn’t noticed that the anxiety had disappeared when Bells was sitting opposite me, but suddenly, it was back in full force. The happy butterflies that had filled my stomach when he had been sitting opposite me, now transformed into wriggling caterpillars, and the sensation made me feel incredibly uncomfortable.

My eyes began darting around the room again. I could tell Cody was saying something to me, but I couldn’t hear her over the buzzing in my ears. My hands wrestled nervously in my lap once more.

“You can come in now,” the older woman said, startling me. When had she returned?

The buzzing in my ears got louder. The woman was saying something else, but I couldn’t hear it. I felt dread filling my every pore.

I looked over at Cody as she said something in response. She grabbed at the magazines again. I’m guessing that meant I needed to go with the older woman?

I gingerly rose from my seat and shuffled towards her.

My ears cleared just long enough for me to hear the ominous words: “Take a seat.”