Darkest Desire

Chapter 5

I turned off the light and crawled into bed, not sure what to make of today. Glaiza and I never spoke again after dinner, even though I spent a good ten minutes redressing her wound in the living room.

We didn't speak through the entire process. Our legs didn't touch. Her finger didn't touch my knee. She didn't even look up at me. She just watched her hand the entire time, focused on it like it would fall off if he looked away.

I don't know what to think about her or that kiss. She's obviously attracted to me. I wonder why did she lie to me about her being straight if she's clearly not?

I closed my eyes and try to fall asleep for the fifth time but it's pointless. I rolled onto my side and faced the door just in time to see the shadow of someone's feet approached it. I watched the door, waiting for it to open but the shadows disappear and footsteps continue down the hall. I'm almost positive that was Glaiza but only because she's the only person on my mind right now. I released a few controlled breaths in order to calm myself down enough to decide whether I want to follow her. I'm only on the third breath when I hopped out of bed.

I checked my hair in the mirror then opened my bedroom door and walked as quietly as I can into the kitchen.

When I round the corner, I saw her. All of her. She's leaning against the bar, facing me, almost like she was expecting me.

God, I hate that.

I pretend it's just coincidence that we ended up here at the same time, even though it's midnight. "Can't sleep?" I walked past her to the refrigerator and reached for the orange juice. I took it out, poured myself a glass then leaned against the counter across from her. She's watching me, but she doesn't answer my question.

"Are you sleepwalking?"

She smiled, soaking me up from head to toe with her eyes like a sponge. "Why are you still awake, Rhian?" She said, amused.

I looked down at my glass then back up to her and shrugged. She took a step towards me and motioned for the glass. I handed it to her and she bring it to her lips, took a slow sip and handed it back to me. All these movements are completed without her ever breaking eye contact with me.

I set the glass down beside me, gripped the edge of the counter and pushed myself up until I'm seated on it. I pretend she isn't invading my entire being but she's still everywhere. Filling the kitchen.

The entire house.

It's way too quiet. I decided to made the first move.

"You're not straight, right?"

She nodded without hesitation and I'm both shocked and extremely pleased by that answer even though I already knew the answer. I'm not sure why I liked it.

"Why did you lie?" She shrugged. She folded her arms across her chest. Her feet cross at the ankles. I've noticed this is her form of personal armor. She's putting up her invisible shield again, guarding herself from giving too much away.

"I don't want to get your hopes up." She said. Her voice soft.

Suddenly, I felt a stab of pain in my chest. I cleared my throat and tried to steady myself.

"Then what do you want from me?" My voice is embarrassingly weak.

Her eyes remained the same, but her mouth changed. Her lips curled up into a barely there smile. "I think you already know the answer to that, Rhian."

I blew out a controlled breath, not even caring if she knew those words affected me like they did. The way she said my name made me feel just as flustered as her kiss did. I crossed my legs at the knees, hoping she doesn't noticed it's my own personal armor.