Key To My Heart

12. "They're not on the menu."

(1420 words)

I went to bed late that night. Thoughts of Ethan kept me up but I finally managed to fall asleep around 2 am. I woke up about two hours later. I wasn't fully awake but I had to pee. I blinked my eyes, trying to force them to open. I was just so sleepy. I slowly and lazily sat up in bed but then froze. I saw a silhouette by the wall in front of my bed. I was fully alert now. Am I imagining things? I blinked a couple times and the silhouette was gone. I was probably hallucinating. That's what I thought.

I got out of bed, went to the bathroom, peed and returned to bed. Laying in bed, I checked my phone and saw that I had a few new texts from my friends. I scrolled through them and froze when I saw the last sender's name. My heart started beating fast in my chest and the hair on my neck stood in fear.

I looked in horror at the picture he had sent me. It was of me. It was taken right at that moment! It was of me lying in bed with my phone in my hand and was sent by none other than Aaron. That silhouette wasn't my imagination. I sat up straight in bed, alarmed. I turned on the lamp on my nightstand and carefully crawled out of bed and turned on the lights of my room. What do I do? Unfortunately for me, I was home alone. My gaze went to my open window. Ana, why the hell do you always have to keep that window open?

I cautiously walked to the window, looked outside but saw no one. I quickly closed it and went to stand as far from it as possible as if it was a tiger ready to attack me. The fear refused to leave me. Impulsively, I found myself texting Ethan.

Me: Ethan, are you there?

I waited a couple minutes for his reply but didn't get it. He usually replies fast...

You expect him to be up at freaking 5:00 am, Ana?

Just then my phone buzzed, making me jump in surprise.

Him: Anastasia, what are you doing up at 5:20 in the morning? Are you in the mood for a rendezvous perhaps?

Me: no. I'm scared.

Him: and why is that? Did Anastasia see a ghost?

Me: there was someone in my room.

Him: Who?

Me: I don't know! I saw a silhouette and then someone texted me a picture of me doing exactly what I was doing at that time.

I didn't exactly want to tell him whom that someone was.

Him: are you home alone?

Me: yes.

Him: I'm coming over.

Coming over?!

Me: wait what?

Him: I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Make sure all the doors and windows are locked.

I felt all warm inside knowing that someone cared about me. I began wondering what the hell Aaron was doing here and if he was even here. I never knew he could go to such lengths. What did he have in mind? What was his purpose of doing this? How did he find my new residence?

I stilled again feeling as if I heard footsteps. There's no one here but you, Ana. Relax. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I started pacing around my room in tension. I should've known. Aaron had really bad company. Even his cousins and relatives had a terrible reputation. I felt so stupid for ignoring all those red flags. It was stupid of me to think that he would leave me alone so easily.

On the other hand I couldn't believe that Ethan was actually coming over and that he was genuinely concerned about me. There had been numerous times where I would wake up in the middle of the night, feel scared and text Aaron about it. And he would make me feel pathetic about it. He never showed even 0.1% concern. How could I be so blind and stupid? He never really loved me, he just wanted me for my body. He didn't make me feel like a girl, he made me feel like a sex object. He wouldn't say, 'you're beautiful.' He'd always say, 'you're sexy.' He wouldn't compliment my eyes, he would tell me how big my breasts looked. No matter what we talked about, he would find a way to bring sex into it. That was all he wanted. He had tried to convince me to lose my virginity many times but he failed. I tolerated his disgusting behaviour for a very long time, hoping he'd change. But he never did. So I left him.

The doorbell rung downstairs, interrupting my thoughts. Must be Ethan. I was going to rush downstairs when I suddenly thought about my appearance. I definitely looked awful but there was no time to change now. I went down the stairs nevertheless. He rung the doorbell again and I quickly opened the door.

There he was, looking handsome as ever even though he was wearing a back half-sleeved shirt and black trousers. His hair looked messy. He looked as if he had just gotten out of bed. Still, he looked so handsome and attractive. And I looked like a rat.

I cleared my throat. "Come in." I said in a low voice, stepping aside to give him room for coming in. He walked inside gracefully and closed the door behind him, carefully locking it.

"Whom did you see?" He asked straight away. I shrugged my shoulders in response. "Is that person still here?" He asked again. I shook my head in reply. He let out a sigh. "Are you okay?" I nodded my head. He raised an eyebrow at me. "So I'm just gonna do all the talking and you're gonna either nod or shake your head?" I nodded my head again but couldn't help the grin spreading across my face. He grinned too.

"Where are your parents?" He asked.

"Out of city to attend a wedding." I replied.

"Good to finally hear your voice, Anastasia." He commented.

"You can call me Ana." I suggested.

"I like your full name better. It's beautiful." He replied, making me blush.

"You look cute when you blush." He said, making me blush harder. I averted my gaze from him and suddenly became nervous. It dawned on me then. We were all alone. I gulped.

"Everything okay, Anastasia?" Ethan asked, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Y-yeah. W-would you, um, like something to eat or d-drink perhaps?" I stuttered nervously, my heart hammering in my chest. He came closer to me, locking his eyes with mine.

"I would like to devour these beautiful lips of yours, Anastasia." He said in a sexy, low voice, his thumb grazing my bottom lip. My heart started beating faster and it became hard to breathe.

"They're not on the menu." I breathed out.

"Not yet?" He asked.

"Not yet." I answered, my voice hoarse.

"That's okay. I can wait." He said, his voice also hoarse. He dropped his hand and stepped back. I was surprised by his stance because I wasn't used to that. If he was Aaron, he would've aggressively pushed me against the wall and had me against my will because my 'no' never mattered to him.

"Do you want me to check the whole house to make sure that person's really gone?" He asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, though that would actually bring me a lot of relief. "If you don't mind." I replied.

"Not at all. Come with me." He said and I cautiously walked with him as he checked the whole house carefully. I was a little scared during the process but at the same time I felt secure because of Ethan.

"Okay, there's no one here. Shall we go sleep if you like, Anastasia? I have to work in the morning." He said, smiling sweetly at me.

"It's Saturday today." I enlightened him.

"I know. Who said one doesn't have to work on Saturdays?"

"Right. There's a guest room right there." I pointed to a closed door.

"I want to sleep with you. I'll keep you warm and safe." I blushed bright red.

"My room's upstairs." I whispered shyly, actually wanting his warm arms to be wrapped around me.

"What are we waiting for then?" He asked. I blushed again and started walking upstairs with him following me close behind.