I found myself thinking about the fact that my boss, Lewis, changed my shift to the graveyard one, and thenthishappened. It was a seriously weird coincidence. Maybe everything did happen for a reason.
We arrived at the estate while darkness still surrounded everything. Adriel pulled into the garage and gave his car a pat on the hood as we exited it.
“Well, that’s one shift down,” Adriel commented.
I winced. “Yeah.” Still overwhelmed by guilt, I felt the need to apologize. “Sorry.”
Adriel paused. “Excuse me?”
“I said sorry. For making you do all this, when you don’t want to,” I said. “It must suck.”
With unblinking black eyes, Adriel examined me almost in shock, like I’d spoken another language.
“W-what?” I said.
“No one ismakingme do anything,” Adriel said slowly.
“But… didn’t Pierce put you up to this?”
Adriel crossed his arms. “Pierce asked me to watch you, yes. But he’s not forcing me. Ineedto guard you, Caleb. I’m the only one who can do it.”
My heart fluttered at that statement, although logically I knew there was no way he meant itthatway. “What do you mean?”
As Adriel spoke, he moved closer to me. When he began he was on the other side of the car, and by the end of it, he stood right in front of me, a hair’s length away.
“Pierce is busy with Benji,” Adriel explained, “and Theo…” He shook his head. “He’s not a good fit for a task of this gravity. You saw what happened earlier. He doesn’t take things as seriously as he should.” He took a step closer, his presence overwhelming me. “Therefore, I’m the only one capable of guarding you from Margaret.”
My heart thumped faster. I couldn’t tear myself away from his serious, smoldering eyes.
“Oh,” I said weakly. “Um, I see.”
This is so weird,I thought.Does he know what he’s doing to me?
“Now,” Adriel murmured. “Is there anything else you want to say?”
Yes.My mind was a whirlwind of questions and comments. But were any of them actually going to come out of my mouth? Hell no.
Well, maybe except one.
“Do you hate me?”
Adriel’s jaw dropped. It was the first time I ever saw him too shocked to reply right away. This was nothing like the calm, collected Adriel I knew.
Oh god,I thought instantly.I broke Adriel.
Then, to my total surprise, he smiled. It was weird and awkward, like it was something he didn’t do very often, but my eyes weren’t deceiving me. He was actually smiling.
“No, I don’t,” Adriel said. “What makes you think that?”
I groaned mentally.I don’t understand this guy at all!
“N-nevermind,” I mumbled, shrinking into my shoulders. “Forget I asked.”
I turned to walk away and escape my sheer embarrassment, among my other assortment of intense emotions, but something stopped me.
Adriel grabbed my wrist and prevented me from moving.
“Stop,” he said. “Don’t walk away. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
