Chapter 14: Return of Terror

JADE:

My head was spinning wildly… the last time someone did this action towards me was back in high school… back when I was in my nightmare-like existence alongside Kix.

“That’s cool, Jade… I’m happy you still remember me.”

He removed his long, warm fingers away from my face and rested them firmly on my shoulders. He looked at me sideways from the left.

I met the familiar stare of his gray eyes – the eyes that had charmed me for a long time before… They were still very endearing, and now, slightly sickening…

“W-What? … Why?” My feet were wobbling as I stared back at him. He was six feet tall, so he naturally towered over someone like me who was a mere five feet and four inches in height.

He didn’t look oppressive, and yet, he didn’t look friendly at all.

How can I describe how he looked at me?... It felt like there was longing in his gaze…

Was that longing for me?

I brushed those thoughts away. The Kix I loved back in high school was no more. He had long been gone… This was the Kix who had been part of the most terrible time in my life, and now he’s here again.

“Jade, did you miss me? I didn’t think I’ll run into you like this, but here you are!” His voice sounded incredulous and excited.

I pushed his hands away from my shoulders. I shuddered at the thought that he was really there before me.

“Leave me alone,” I shouted loud enough to cause a scene.

Unfortunately for me, the streets were deserted. Not too many people were using that road to go to school.

“And here I thought you’d welcome me back. Is that how you still feel?” His face fell at the realization that I did not welcome his presence. How did he think I’d feel after seeing him like this?

“And who the hell is Liam, your new boyfriend?”

Rats. Why did I even bother to say Liam’s name in front of this punk? I should have known Kix would be the only one who’ll do that trick!

Even after some years had passed, he still looked the same. His dark brown hair that turned golden under the sun still illuminated his gorgeous face that I once fell for…

“It’s none of your business… Isn’t there’s a restraining order between us? You aren’t supposed to be near me,” I said, swallowing back the feeling of dread inside my chest.

“Well, that restraining order was against you. It didn’t say I cannot approach you myself, and I really wanted to approach you… Anyway, four years is a really long time.” He held my hand and intertwined his fingers into mine. “How about we try catching up on some of those lost times right now?”

I threw his hands away in disgust. When I looked back on his face, my eyes got caught on the light scar on the side of his left neck.

“I’m busy, and I don’t plan on going to jail or getting sent back to a hospital,” I said. Then, with all my might, I sprinted forward before he could catch me again.

I ran and ran as fast as my feet could carry me. I didn’t look back. I didn’t want to see his face yet again, and I didn’t want him to see my face too now that my eyes were starting to tear up.

As soon as I reached the gates of my school, I opened my bag quickly for inspection, evading people’s gazes, and then I went straight into the girl’s bathroom and locked myself inside a cubicle. Once inside, I started to cry uncontrollably.

That blasted Kix, why did he have to return? Why did we have to see each other again?

It has been four years since that incident, and I was just beginning to pick myself up again from what had happened… Why then did he have to return?

My mind drifted back to the first time he got close to me. It was in the beginning of the school year when I was a junior high school student at St. Joseph Academy.

It was a hot day, and the large molave tree provided me with just the right amount of shade so that I could finish my drawing.

“Wow, you’re quite talented!”

I looked up from where I was sitting on the ground to see a pair of gray eyes and one of the most beautiful smiling faces I’ve even seen from a guy. His wavy hair framed his face in a nice angle too… He would have made a lovely sculpture!

“T-thank you,” I stammered.

I can’t believe it! Kix Sarmiento – the most popular boy in our class and in the whole school just praised my drawing!

He immediately sat next to me on the ground. “Can I see it?”

Who am I to say no? I quickly handed him my sketchbook, still surprised that the athletic, sociable boy of my class was taking an interest in the work of a dorky, unknown girl like me…

“It looks quite nice. This would go well when colored,” he said, his gray eyes breaking into a smile of delight.

“It will. I’ll color it up with color pencils,” I mumbled back.

“Color pencils? Maybe it’ll be nicer with watercolor,” he said back. Aside from being the school’s star soccer player, he was also good at arts. I’ve seen many of his works hanging in the arts room.

“Yeah, but this sketchbook can’t handle water that well. It’ll be ruined.”

“I have plenty of watercolor sketchbooks back at home. You can meet me after school. I’ll give you some of them.”

That was the beginning of our friendship that blossomed into something else and ended into something very horrible…

I wiped my tears away. It was no use crying about Kix. He was a past I didn’t want to remember, and I shouldn’t be dwelling on such pasts. I must move forward…

Wiping the last traces of tear drops from my eyes, I gathered my things, washed my face, and decided to go to the library before class, trying to forget the sordid affair I just had.

*************************

KIX:

It was really Jade, and she was still really pretty!

Before she could protest, I locked my hand into hers, just like I had always longed to do for four, agonizing years.

“Four years is a really long time. How about we try catching up on some of those lost times,” I suggested. Fate must have wanted us to meet again, and I wouldn’t miss this opportunity in the entire world!

As expected, she threw my hands away in irritation. “I’m busy,” she angrily replied, “and I don’t plan on going to jail or getting sent back to a hospital!” Then, without another word, she sprinted away from me.

It was Jade alright… My elusive Jade… My beloved Jade…

“Sir Kix, that didn’t go so well,” Edril, my newly-appointed assistant said, approaching me slowly as if afraid that I would be angry because of what he had just witnessed.

“Hmm, on the contrary, it went better that I expected,” I said back.

My final memory of Jade was not a good one… It involved her striking me on the neck with a cutter in the bathroom…

Now, seeing that she could speak to me again without cursing my name or breaking into fits of tears, I am beyond happy. That means there’s still hope for us, right?...

“Sir, are you really going to do this? I mean, this plan is already dangerous on its own… What if Miss Jade reveals your true identity while you’re here?”

“That won’t happen, Edril. Jade was never the nosy and chatty type. The worst she’ll do is she’ll avoid me, but I won’t let her do that either.”

That’s right. I’ll make sure she does the opposite. I’ll make sure she seeks me and falls in love with me again, just like before.

“But, that’s far too dangerous to leave to chance, sir… Also, Miss Jade’s life might be endangered.”

Even before Edril said those words, I knew that already. “That won’t happen, Edril. Not when I am here… I’ll protect my mate whatever it costs.”

I had failed to protect Jade back then because I was powerless… Now that I’ve inherited my father’s corporation and the blessings of the pack, I have the capability and the freedom to protect her, and I would certainly not make the same mistakes like before.

This time, I’ll look after the one that the Moon Goddess had certainly destined for me, and I should probably start by knowing who that Liam guy is…