Joe's world

chapter 8

Several weeks had passed since the day I first met Atticus . We did everything together like real friends did . I was slowly warming up to him . Everything Atticus did reminded me of our secret place .

There was something magical about his presence . Everytime he showed up I could feel a peculiar aura around him . That is the main reason I found him intriguing .

Atticus skipped school most of the time , claiming that he had go take care of his little sister . I loved spending time with him that I'd sneak out with him on most days  .

We'd venture further into the forest , play by the river and sometimes enjoy the tranquility of our secret place . The Garden .

" I can't believe I'm skipping school yet again , my mom will be so pissed if she finds out . " I whined exasperatedly .

Atticus and I were walking to our secret place hand in hand . His long white hair flowing with the wind's direction as he kept his citrine eyes on the road ahead . He smiled softly as he spoke .

" You'll just have to make sure that she doesn't find out . "

" I hate lying to her Atticus . She's done so much for us and the least I could do , is to be honest with her . "

" The least you could do is be honest with yourself ." Atticus said after a while .

" What do you mean ?"

" What I mean is that you -- do you smell that ?" The tall boy suddenly turned to face me . He was sniffing the air , his body twisting and turning .

" No ... " I said sniffing the air as well .

" I smell something ... or someone ." Atticus said , his yellow eyes scanning over the forest .

" Can you cut it out , you're scaring me . We're in a damn forest , of course we're not the only ones here ."

" But -- you know what ? You're right , maybe I'm overreacting a bit . Let's just go ."

" Yeah let's go ."

We continued walking down , silence bring the only thing we could hear . Neither Atticus or I were speaking . He looked shaken a bit and I was starting to get worrisome .

" Are you okay ? You're awfully quiet ."

" I'm fine Joey , I'm just thinking about Eros . I hope she hasn't been chasing that damn dog ."

" I'm sure she's fine ."

He nodded his head before squeezing my hand . I look down on our interlocked fingers and smiled to myself . It was a simple gesture but my heart was beating faster than the usual and I could feel my face heating up .

" You're heating up Joey . " Atticus said , his smile amused ." Do you want to go swimming to cool down ?"

" Yeah sure , why not ?" I said nervously .

Atticus led us to the river before stripping down until he was stark naked . His back was facing me , his long hair covering the good parts . He grabbed his clothes from the ground and threw them on the side .

I watched as he slowly turned around , his hands tying his hair up in a high ponytail . I swallowed thickly as I tried not to let my eyes wander further down . He was coming towards me , his eyes not leaving mine . It felt like time had completely stopped as I watched the naked boy making his way over to where I stood . I could feel my palms sweating in anticipation .

Atticus stopped in front of me , his slim hands reaching out to touch the hem of my shirt . My breath hitched when he lifted up the clothe . My eyes roamed his face and the moment our eyes met , I released a soft breath .