Beating Hearts [Knight's Rest #1]

02

She was different from the others; of that he was sure.

For one, her hair was the fiercest red that he had ever seen. So luscious and unruly; untameable. Most people would dote on her hair, believing it to be her best feature when in reality, it was her third. It followed closely by her dark grey, almost black eyes that seemed to look into the soul of everyone she interacted with and her plump, full, ruby red lips that were only a shade lighter than her hair. Her cupid's bow was defined and her bottom lip slightly fuller than her top.

And two, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

She was no doubt the most beautiful woman he had ever had the pleasure to lay his eyes upon.

He had seen her around campus a couple times now in the past week. On Monday she had been locking lips with a lanky blonde male whom was groping the breast of the blonde female next to him as they made out. The redhead had her arms wrapped around his neck, her eyes closed and her head tilted up, blissfully unaware of the blatant disrespect and hoodwinking going on right next to her.

On Tuesday she had been with a small group of friends, talking animatedly as they walked the halls after class. She had bumped shoulders with him by accident. He was just able to make out the strawberry scent of her shampoo as she turned around and offered him an apology accompanied with a smile which made his otherwise dead heart beat faster than it ever had.

On Wednesday, she was by herself, lazily typing away at her phone with one hand. Her lips curled up into a brief smile before she placed her phone in her back pocket. Her eyes connected briefly with his and in that moment, a flash of recognition sparked in them. He wanted to go up to her and introduce himself, tuck her unruly locks behind her ear and whisper an innuendo or two. But he remained scowling instead.

Her attention deviated away from him when her boyfriend approached from behind and grabbed her around the waist as he pulled her in for a hug, a familiar blonde following closely behind him.

On Thursday the Earth had spun on its axis as she leant against the wall of her classroom, her face devoid of the usual smile that she sported; a frown in its place. Her eyebrows knitted together as she stared ahead at the door in front of her, her eyes swarming with emotion.

She wore her heart on her sleeve.

On Friday, she blinked back tears as she watched her boyfriend, or presumably ex-boyfriend now, make out with that same blonde right in front of her. She had pushed herself off the opposite wall and walked in his direction. When she was right next to him, he made sure to nudge his shoulder.

She didn't turn around this time, just muttered an apology under her breath as she continued walking, wiping away the stray tear that had surpassed its barriers.

Darcy Blake.

That was her name. Well, the name written on the cover of her notebook anyway. And that was also the last time that he had seen her before university ended before summer. At first, he had feared that she would graduate and he would never see her again. But when he returned as a cleaner on the first day after summer, he noticed her walking with two other girls, much happier than he had last seen her to be.

He was glad. She deserved to be happy.

"Darcy," he tested the name on his tongue later that evening as he lay awake in bed after a hard day at work. When he had initially agreed to momentarily take over the cleaning job at the university for his friend, he hadn't thought that it consisted of so much work. Juggling both jobs was more tiring than he had anticipated, but friends looked out for friends.

"Darcy Blake." Turning onto his side, he unconsciously fisted the duvet as he remembered the tear that had begun trailing down her cheek before she swiped it away angrily.