Eyes Like Ice - Radia Al Rashid (novels in english .TXT) 📗

Are you not hiding something here? I’m saying it now in front of Kate, cos I don’t really want to start another bout of bad blood with you by making it more heated later.”

Anna chews on her lower lip and keeps remaining like this for couple of minutes. She seems trying to carefully re-arrange the words she’s about to spit out.

“This is Ma, I mean the cat was for her. She couldn’t buy one all this year cos I’ve been terribly allergic to these little monsters.” She flinches, “Anyway, this time she actually wanted to buy this particular tortoise-shell one. So, I told her to go for it, and it wouldn’t matter much as I’d grown up a lot, that discomfort and runny-nose would probably not be there as severely as before. But I literally could not stand the presence of this beast at all. The two weeks it was in the house, my nose was constantly runny and my head was always spinning. Even, that sleep-walking thing also began out of the thin air. But trust me, I didn’t kill it, I mean the cat. Why would I kill an innocent cat only because I hate it? No, seriously, I cannot kill a fricking life just like this. And you know very well the sleep-walking episodes only include self-harming shits, not harming someone or something else.” Her eyes fill with tears.

I walk towards her and pull her into a hug, “I understand Anna, but I think your mom is doubting you in this, which is why you fled away from her inquisition and came here, isn’t it?”

“Yes, yes, I’m so sorry I lied earlier. I was just too afraid to say any of these to you then. Don’t get me wrong.”

“Nah! You’re forgiven this time, missy. But next time, no hiding, cool? See how everything got so messed up only because of these hide and seeks?”

“I know, Eve! I’m terribly sorry. I really won’t, I promise.”

“That’s wonderful! Thank you, ladies for clearing up the mess.” Kate winks.

It’s almost 6:30, I look down at my phone. My stomach churns with the thought of meeting Ted at 8.

 

Chapter Twelve

 

I am hesitantly walking towards the backyard as Kate’s words keep echoing in my ears. The more I’m trying to shove aside the “what ifs”, the heavier the load seems to get. I can feel my feet getting tangled in some invisible shackle. Now my mind is wandering about the latest doubt, WHAT IF HE DOESN’T SHOW UP NOW? MAYBE HE WILL MAKE ME UNDERSTAND OF HIS REPELLENCE TOWARDS ME BY NOT COMING THIS TIME. Almost getting to the backyard, I decide to turn back and run to the house.

“Hey, Evelyn? Can I come in now? guess it’s 8 already.”

Ted’s voice freezes me right at where I am. Instead of the mixture of anxiety and panic brewing from the doubts, ting of unknown fear takes over my mind.

“Um... Evelyn? Is everything ok?” his voice gives off a touch of incertitude.

Clearing my throat, I turn around to face him standing right behind the wooden fence. I don’t have any idea how one can look this handsome in plain black shirt and grey trousers.

“Hey! You’re here, already, cool!”

“Yes, guess I’m a bit early then? I actually can’t be late, I mean, I have that being present before everyone else issue. Can’t help it.” He smiles scratching the back of his head.

“Yeah, course you do, the way you always remain so organized gives off this vibe about you.”

“O yeah? Glad you cared to notice.” A ghost of a smile appears on the corner of his lips.

“Why don’t you just come in already?” I sit on the wider bench in the middle.

“So? What’s so important that YOU wanted to talk about?” he relaxes back beside me.

“I-I don’t know...”

“You don’t know? How come you invited me then?”

“No, I know why I asked you over, but I don’t know should I say it or not.” I’m silently wishing I wasn’t stupid enough to make the request earlier. God knows what came over me!

“Hmm, seems you need some time to decide on that. Cool! I’m waiting, no worries.”

I can’t just tell him how his voice is scattering my thoughts further. Yet I try to pull myself together to start from somewhere.

“Kay, can I ask you something first?”

“Sure, go ahead.” He shifts his eyes directly on my face.

O boy! He should know glancing at me like this will not make things any easier for me. Shit!

“Well, I really want to share something I’m not feeling so confident nor comfortable about. Thought it’d be better if someone outside my family can bother a little to listen to the jabbering, y’ know. Um... but I actually am not so sure whether to blurt out stuffs from my personal life this easily with someone I barely know.”

Resting the chin on his hands, he keeps listening with unbelievable steadiness.

“So, I really want to know things... preferably more personal things about you first, course only if you want to share. Um... if it’s not okay with you, I don’t suppose you should tell anything to me then, and then I...”

“No sweat, Miss Evelyn Lawrence. You can ask me whatever you wanna know. I don’t think I’ll feel threatened to share any personal information with you. Or, should I?” he cocks his head to a side.

“No, no, course not. I’m never gonna tell anybody about your stuffs.” I rub the side of my face.

“Is it a gift? Looks pretty.” He eyes at the bracelet on my left wrist. The possibility of its being cursed or under some bleak magic spell threatens its way back to my mind.

“Nah, more like a hand-me-down thing.” I tweak the corner of the bright gold thread that’s been loosed a little from the bracelet.

“Cool, so, you already know my name, all of them I suppose.” He smiles a little. “Anyway, I’m from Ohio. Now, working in White Swan Inc. not unknown to you either, I believe.” He smirks obviously thinking about the embarrassing situation on the elevator the other day. “And now I’m living next door, over there. Um... can’t find anything to add to it.” He shrugs.

“Your family?”

“You can see, I’m living alone, not a family guy.” He answers in an easy voice.

“But...” I halt midway while trying to remind him of his own words that once he told me about the death of his family members. Maybe it’d be too inappropriate to drag down something like that here in this conversation cos he’s clearly not willing to share any of the... tragedy!

“But?”

“You married?” am I teaching how to blurt out 101 or what!

“Nope! Why do you ask?” he curls his lips into a ghost of a smile.

“Nothing. So, you’ve been working out?” the words traitorously leave my mouth without giving me the chance to think twice when my eyes catch the tightness of his shirt sleeves as he crosses his arms across his chest. I clearly remember the first time I saw him; he was not that ripped! Damn it, why did I have to ask!

“What?” a hint of a smile in his voice.

“A lot... I mean you’ve been working a lot, haven’t you? Your eyes... they look um tired.”

You’re such a blockheaded cluless virgin!

“Well, not really. I think I have that ingrained exhaustion about my eyes.”

You kidding? Your penetrating Icy cold stares can slap a fricking dead body to life in no time!

I swallow followed by an indistinct murmur, “Don’t think so!”

“Why not?”

“What? How do you manage to listen to murmurs? Aren’t you supposed to not hear these? Y’ know, people murmur when they talk to themselves, not to others.”

“Cool!” he laughed out loudly leaving me stunned once more. Stop it, you gorgeous monster!

“Apologies, ma’am! Can’t help overhearing stuffs. You know, a bit overdeveloped ear!” he humoredly motions to his ears and grins.

“That’s actually called nosy, not overdeveloped” I mutter under my breath.

“Was I supposed to hear that? Or, it was another MURMUR?” he air-quotes.

I smile at his sarcasm, “Whatever, Mister! I can’t help you with that.”

“That bad, huh? But good thing, you got to know another personal stuff about me. Having overdeveloped slash nosy ears.” he chuckles. “So? What is the thing you wanted to talk about?”

I chew on the inside of my lips. I shift to sit straight while gathering all possible vocabs from my dictionary, omitting the ones that have already been red-signaled with the presence of Miller. I have that thing with talking chronologically or, even clearly enough for other people to understand my words. I would fail big time if I was ever invited to a Ted Talk. Dang it! It’s a little more distracting than Ted Talk as Mr. alluring is constantly giving off that aura which is more than enough to zip my mouth until the next Christmas. I gulp hard to find my voice, the regular one, not the squeaky one that automatically comes to me whenever this Greek God is before my existence.

“Evelyn?”

“Yeah? I’m actually preparing... I mean, I’m kind of arranging the words... it’ll take a little while.”

You just officially proved yourself to be the biggest loser in the history of the entire frigging universe, you crazy! My subconscious is frowning at me like never before.

I nervously scratch my temples.

“It’s okay, take your time” he relaxes back, “but you can just blurt out words randomly, y’ know? I won’t mind knitting them orderly in my head later.”

“I guess you’re right.”

He shifts back to his previous position, leaning a little towards me with tinge of curiosity in those gravitating grey eye-balls. I gasp a little as his cologne smells much sharper than before because of the proximity. I reflexively back off a bit trying to make it look like a natural gesture.

“You already know about my accident and Jules... and that so not pleasant incident the- other day. So, I don’t wanna bother explaining those bit by bit now.” I inhale sharply.

“You’re doing good. Go ahead.”

“I’m not a kid!” I scoff.

In reply, he gives another oh-so-sweet-and-grim smile to hold me speechless for another minute. I think this is happening more frequently today. Never have I ever felt this paralyzed or affected by his grace before!

You’re falling for him, dumbo! Gather up yourself. And again, you’ve never come to this close to him nor talked with him sitting side by side, have ya?

I bite on my lower lip, “So, I was saying... there is something wrong about the atmosphere of the house. I don’t know exactly what it is that seems so off... but it’s definitely there. I am having hard times in believing people that are supposed to be my own, in fact, they are my own people.” I impatiently tug the strand of my hair that’s been dangling on my face, behind my ear. His cold yet non-hostile eyes keep steady on my face.

“I have the feeling that something, I mean some danger is waiting ahead for us. Call me stupid but my gut isn’t quite liking the restless vibe. My instinct always nudges me before any bad thing, only the time of Jules’ accident, I didn’t feel any danger beforehand.” I stop to catch my breath. The thoughts in my head are messing up big time. I have been feeling a twitch