Broken Fantasy

Chapter Two ✔️

"Can't you watch where you are going?" he barked.

C H A P T E R  T W O

AUDREY

What is he doing here? I grab the hem of my shirt tightly with my right hand as I feel his eyes on me, watching every move. I wipe my left palm on the side of my jeans trying to let the frustration and embarrassment go. My heart pounded in my chest as if it were locked inside and was trying to get out of its cage. A severe headache crawled its way into my head like lava bursting out of a volcano.

My head snapped up when I heard his voice.

"Who are you?" His thick English accent was evident as he spoke. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion as he stared right into my dark brown eyes. He ran his hand through his hair, studying me. I felt the hair on my arm slightly rise.

"How do you know me?" He asked once more, trying to get something out of me, but I said nothing. With that, he clenched his hands tightly and released them every few seconds. The warmth that was once in my chest was now replaced with an empty cold feeling. The warmth that was once there in his eyes turned into stones.

What do I say? I thought of many excuses, but none reached my mouth. I felt like a net had captured my voice box and trapped it inside. I stared at him with a perplexed expression.

"Have we met before?" The boy asked as he took a step forward so he's standing right next to Connor. His head was down and he was wiping the side of his nose with his right thumb. As if he knew that I was staring at him, he looked up. The curls that were once piled up on his head came down slightly. His eyes hardened when he locked his eyes with mine.

It was Ryder Prescott, Connor Black's childhood best friend.
I've known them my whole life, but they don't know that. I sighed when I realized that they were still waiting for my answer. I looked away, uncomfortable, as they continued to stare at me.

"I'm sorry that I'm late. There was a lot of traffic." I sighed in relief when I recognized her voice. I looked over at the door to see my best friend, my cousin, Kylie. She ran her hand through her brunette hair and put the umbrella down on the rack right next to the door. She then took off her shoes and made her way toward the dining area.

Her dark grey eyes finally met mine and I smiled. She had saved me. What happened? she mouthed as she took her red trench coat off that complemented her red lips. Oblivious to her surroundings as she had always been, I motioned her with my eyes to look at the two boys that were standing right in front of us.

Her eyes moved over to where I was looking and they widened in shock. She quickly recovered herself and shifted her leg uncomfortably. Her left hand shook and she immediately placed her right hand over it, trying to stop it.

Her eyes met mine for a quick second and my eyes slightly widened. Fear. She was petrified, her feelings were prominent and unfamiliar. Her once plump cheeks became an apparition. This was the first time I've seen her this scared.

"Are you going to answer my question?" Connor's eyes slightly hardened giving me a stone-cold look. He took a step forward and I immediately took a step backward. He had caught me off guard. Ryder put his hand on his shoulder stopping him. Connor moved his head slightly to the right and Ryder took a step forward and whispered something in his ear. Whatever he said seemed to have worked because Connor calmed down. His shoulders relaxed slightly. He took a deep breath and nodded. What did he say? I wondered, even though I knew that I wouldn't get an answer. As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.

I turned my head slightly to find everyone at the dining table watching our little encounter. I sighed and turned my head back and looked at Kylie.

"Kylie, why don't you come with me," I said, trying to lay the first stone. I decided not to answer Connor's question and ignored both of them. I tried to walk past Connor, but bumped into him again. He stopped and looked down at me with those beautiful eyes. He held onto my arm, trying to steady me so that I wouldn't fall again. I couldn't look away for some reason, it had something to do with those beautiful eyes.

There was something about them... they were captivating and alluring, asking me to look at them even if he didn't want me to, dragging me closer and closer to him, making it hard to turn away. The cold and icy glare that he gave me somehow also gave me a sense of warmth. It reminded me of a cold night at the beach as the sun shone.

Realizing that I was staring again, I got out of his hold slightly jumping back a little as if his touch had burned me. Feeling flustered, I diverted my attention elsewhere. Anywhere but his face. I grabbed Kylie's arm, who was also standing next to me and opened the door to the kitchen. The kitchen was connected to the dining room with the door, giving us some privacy.

I closed the door a little so they couldn't see the both of us. I let go of Kylie's arm and looked at her carefully. She still had that look on her face.

"Did something happen?" I asked her with concern laced in my voice. She shook her head no. She's lying.

I ran my hand through my hair in frustration.

"Why are you lying to me?" It bothered me that my own best friend was lying to me. She had never lied to me before so why would she now?

"Did you two get the plates? Or should I come and help you two." my mother said with a sweet tone. I knew it was forced and I knew better than to get my own mother angry. It isn't pretty when she gets mad. I quickly got two plates and motioned Kylie to come with me.

 
We made our way into the dining room and looked around confused. Where was I supposed to sit? I found my mother and father's eyes and they both were glaring at me. Just when I took a step forward, Connor shoved right into me, making me stumble back a little. Luckily, Kylie caught me from behind saving me from a great epic fall.

"Can't you watch where you are going?" he barked.

"I'm sorry." I apologized thinking that it would ease the tension that we had between us, but it seemed to do the opposite. He pulled the chair back harshly, making me flinch.

"Connor!" Lauren exclaimed in a hushed tone, but Connor didn't budge off. He opened his mouth to say something but his grandpa beat him to it.

"Behave, boy." Just those two words made Connor sit back and with that, he didn't say anything.

I looked around to see that when I was gone, they had changed the seats and as of right now I had no choice but to sit right next to Connor. One thing caught my eye- Connor's grandma was sitting in the armchair, away from all the grownups. I sat down with Connor on my right and Kylie was across from me. She didn't seem pleased by the seating arrangements and I couldn't agree more with her.

"Excuse me, can you pass me a napkin." I look up to see a girl with blond hair and blue eyes, just like Lauren's. She must've been here this whole time, but how did I miss her? Her face was stone cold, just like her brother's, giving no expression whatsoever.

Chloe, I thought. This must be Connor's twin sister. I must've said that aloud because Connor whipped his head towards my direction. I wanted to throw myself off a roof. I grabbed the napkin and smiled slightly as I gave it to her. Her stone-cold face had cracked like an egg and gave the same look her brother had just given me.

This is going to be an interesting dinner and I simply couldn't wait for it.

Q/A: WHAT IS A GOOD SONG TO GO WITH THIS CHAPTER?