◾◾?◾◾CHAPTER 3
RED IN THE WOODS
When the cla.s.s finished by 5pm Chloe is reluctant to leave her friend on her own, but Alice a.s.sured her that she can go back alone. No matter how many haters she got on her first day for b.u.mping the dark prince, Eros Ziegler, she will not let them get on her skin. She transferred school to have a break from home so she needed to survive her days at the academy.
"Just go practice. I heard that the cheerleading is on next month." She said. "Don"t worry about me. I can handle myself."
"Call me when you needed help."
Chloe left her without giving her phone number, nevertheless, she forgot to ask about it too. She decided to head at the library to do her a.s.signments, she does not want to be alone at her room so she can just wait for another hour before going back.
The hallway is already isolated, cla.s.srooms are empty, and the students are running at the field to chat and banter with their friends. For once, she felt the loneliness she"s been trying to avoid for years. Two years have pa.s.sed since two of the most important women in her life left, and during those years she tried hard-- harder-- to forget the loneliness and grief, even her father has tried his best to fill the void in her heart, but the more they try the deeper the wounds it became.
They are both struggling to move on. Imprisoned between staying behind or moving forward.
And the death of her sister has scarred her for life that she feared the darkness and has stopped eating apples.
Alice was just about to open the library door when two guys wearing a huge grin on their faces approached her. She stepped back suddenly feeling nervous.
"Hi, Alice. Ahmm... Can you do me a favor and go with us as quietly and obedient as you can?"
"Sorry." She swallowed a lump on her throat. "I... need to do my a.s.signments."
"Don"t worry. It won"t take a while." The guy on her left stepped forward, leaning his body at her. She flinched when the smell of cigarrette filled her nose.
"I need to go." She turned away from them, but they grabbed her and covered her mouth, m.u.f.fling her scream.
Struggling to free herself one of them hit her in the stomach that she fell limp on their arms, her body weakening as they dragged her towards the woods.
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Eros has been staring at the ceiling for half an hour. The necklace, with a crescent pendant, is dangling from one of his finger. After the incident in the morning, Don noticed the necklace hanging on one of his coat"s b.u.t.ton. They realized that it might be the necklace of the girl who b.u.mped him in the hallway, and he has been thinking about her since he left.
Her striking dark pair of orbs that matches his, and the long wavy hair, he can still remember her scent when he walked past her-- the sweet smell of strawberry.
"Rain." He called. His friend lift up his head, they were staying at his room for a while now.
"What?"
"Find the girl and bring her to me."
"You mean the new girl?" Don interrupted. "Everyone"s talking about her. I can hear her name on every corner of the academy."
"New girl?" Rain asked, lying comfortably at the sofa.
"Yeah. She came yesterday afternoon and the guys" have been itching to get her number. She became popular the moment she step her foot at the building, at least that"s what I heard."
Eros brow furrowed. Glancing back at Don he regarded him with a cold look.
"What"s her name?" He asked.
"If you are going to punch her for making a scene, don"t do it, she"s too gorgeous to deserve it." Don managed to say, smiling mischievously at him.
"Who says I am going to hurt her?"
"Oooh. Someone"s has a crush on Aliceeeee."
Alice. He smiled secretly upon hearing the name, and his brows furrowed deeply making a scowl on his face.
"Phillip already made her move towards her, Tania told me."
"Bring her now!" Eros shouted at them, making the two stand on their feet and ran towards the door.
He waited for about half a hour before Don and Rain entered the room, no girl on their sides but two boys trembling tremendously beside them. Rain is dragging one of them by their collar and he forced him down to his knees.
"I told you to bring Alice, not a punching bag." He said, his tone colder.
"But Alice is nowhere to be found." Don told him, pushing the other guy. "We found this two talking about her and how they easily kidnapped the new girl."
"They won"t talk, you know." Rain shrugged, walking towards the sofa with his arms crossed.
Eros pursed his lips and made his way towards one of the new girl"s kidnapper. Grabbing a fistful of the guy"s hair he tilted his head upward to meet his eyes.
"Where.is.she?" He emphasized each words as if the trembling guy would not undertand him. "I"ll give you three seconds to answer, if you fail, you will have a long talk with my fist."
"I... It was just a prank... A.. Isabella...! She said it was to welcome the new girl... I... I"
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Alice awoke with a red blanket above her head. She removed it only to find herself lying at the cold mushy ground of the forbidden woods of Ravenlan Academy. The moon has rise as the darkness loomed all over her, the dark... it made her tremble that her chest tightened and her breathing ragged.
No...
She hated the darkness. She feared it more than anything.
No...
"N-no..." She stuttered, covering her face with her shaking hands. Cold sweats are starting to form on her forehead. "D-dad..."
She felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks then the panic arrived. She cried helplessly, body trembling, grasping her hair and pulling it hard. Eyes closed, Alice tried to think of something else as her sister"s face started invading her mind. She can imagine her lying dead in front of her with a slit on her throat and fresh blood gushing from it.
She screamed kicking the soil beneath her feet and scrambing towards the closer tree.
Aria"s face. She can"t stop imagining it. Her face distorted with wide eyes looking back at her. Hands outstreched, reaching for the apple.
Another scream erupted from her mouth when someone grabbed her hands.
"N-no... No! Please... No! Please!"
"Shhh. It"s okay." Eros whispered. "It"s okay."
Grabbing his shirt she buried her head on his chest, crying and shaking, while Eros pats her back to calm her down.
"It"s okay." He keeps on repeating, until she stopped crying but the shaking is still there.
He carried her in his arms back to the dorm building. His body warm compared to Alice"s cold skin. The way down to the building is dark with no one to be seen loitering around, and Alice did not dare to open her eyes.
Chloe was just about to leave her room to report her roommate"s disappearance when a knock on the door made her jump.
She opened the door thinking that it was Alice. "Thank G.o.d, I thought somethi-- what happened to her?!"
Eros continued his way inside the room, still carrying the new girl.
"Where?" He asked.
"The bed beside the wall." The cheerleader answered immediately, seeing how dangerous Eros" expression is she knows that it could lead to her death if she annoyed him.
He gently put down Alice on her bed, and the latter finally opened her eyes to see the person who carried her back at her room. Her eyes went wide at the sight then she immediately lowered her gaze.
"Eros...?" She said in a low voice, he nodded at her then left the room without a word.
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