Love Bites

LOVE BITES Chapter 17 : Human Eye

Chapter 17 : Human Eye

When I opened my eyes again, the first thing I saw was Alastair's beautiful face.

His ash mauve eyes danced about my face, a smile different to any he'd given me before reflected on his own. It was a look of guilt, like he was apologetic for something.

"You're awake," he said. It sounded more like a question.

I became aware of the way my head was angled back, the arm supporting my back and another beneath my knees. Alastair was holding me bridal-style in his arms. I blinked, gazing up at him. It was difficult to focus but the sound of his voice somehow broke through my haze. My head rolling to the side, my eyes fell on numerous bookshelves. They surrounded us, all lined in straight rows and pointing towards the front. Each shelf was stocked with a wonder of books, leaving no room for more. A library? No, it was too small to be. A book shop?

The place had an odd feel to it; it was homey and strangely familiar. The lighting was dim, the walls and ceiling painted a dark beige colour. To the far side of the store, behind the many bookshelves, I could see a couple of red satin lounges. I had the uneasy feeling like I'd been here before but I couldn't quite remember when.

I turned my head back to Alastair. He was still looking down at me, waiting for something.

"I passed out?" I asked softly.

"Only for a few seconds," he replied.

At that I couldn't help but frown. Only a few seconds? My head pounded as I tried to understand his words. But how could we have gotten here in only a few seconds? Any shop, by driving, was at least a few minutes from the manor and walking was even longer.

Despite my state, I couldn't help my cheeks from tinting to a light pink when I realised Alastair was in fact carrying me.

This is so embarrassing. I'm probably really heavy...

Averting my eyes I mumbled, "You can put me down, Alastair. I can manage walking."

His arms tightened around me. "Are you sure?" I nodded.

Carefully, he lowered my bare feet to the carpeted floor but the sudden weight of my own body shocked me and my knees instantly buckled. I couldn't be that heavy!? If Alastair's arms weren't still around me, there was no doubt I would have crumbled to the ground.

After a few seconds, I reassured him I was alright and subtly tried to fix my T-shirt which had rolled up my stomach and hooked under my bra. I was still dressed in my pajamas, the attire too large for my petite body but airy and comfortable. I seemed to be going out in public in my pajamas a lot lately. I regretted changing out of my school uniform, the puffy shorts I was wearing were crawling up my ass.

Alastair grabbed my hand before I had a chance to fix them. He led me up the main isle, in between all the rows of bookshelves. There was no one else around. Each step made me think we were walking on sacred ground, an area we weren't suppose to.

"Alastair," I said softly, ignoring the jolt of excitement I felt whenever he held my hand, "what are we doing here?"

My feet soaked in the luxury of the lush red carpet strewn across the floor. We stopped in front of counter, the maroon acrylic countertop barely reaching the height of my chest. Alastair didn't even look at me, let alone answer my question. His eyes were fixated on the arch doorway behind the counter. It was closed off by long threads of beads, a vague darkness looming behind it. I was about to ask Alastair again when the strings of colourful beads were pulled apart and a girl, probably around my age, greeted us.