Chapter 4

Victoria's pov

A ringing sound pulled me from my melodious slumber.

I groaned as I threw the pillow over my head to block out the noise, but to my demise, it continued to sound through the room. I assumed it was my alarm, so I made a mental note to get rid of the annoying thing.

Forcing my eyes open, I grabbed my phone to shut it up, but I was stunned that it was only 12:30 a.m. Confusion dawned on me, and I rubbed the sleep from my eyes to check again, but the time remained unchanged.

But if it was still night, my alarm wouldn't have rung off. The sound boomed through the house again, and that's when I realised it was the doorbell.

Who the hell...?

I climbed out of bed and wobbled over to the bedroom door, trying to get my feet awake. A yelp of surprise escaped my lips when a tired-looking Luka appeared before me.

He resembled a five-year-old who had a nightmare and came to sleep with his parents.

Awe.

"What is it, Luka?" I asked in a baby voice, smiling. He looked confused, but chose not to comment.

"I heard the doorbell multiple times, and I don't think it was my place to answer it. So, I came here to wake you." He yawned as he ended. He looked so cute when he was sleepy.

As I went downstairs, I planned multiple ways to kill the person behind the door as it rang one more time.

"What!" I yelled as I yanked the door open. A shocked looking guy around my age stood in front of me. His eyes roamed my body slowly, then travelled back to my face, and I shivered under his intense gaze. Creep.

"Can I help you, sir?" I snapped, already bored and irritated.

"Uh... I came for Luka," he simply said, as if he didn't just ruin my date with Taylor Lautner.

I stared at him. Is this guy for real? Did he think I would murder his friend or something? I was about to slam the door in his face when Luka spoke.

"Caleb. What are you doing here this late?" Luka looked as confused as I.

Waiting to get his ass kicked--that's what he's doing here.

"Your friend called me and told me you were here, so I--"

"I told you to come IN THE MORNING! Now you're gonna pay for interrupting my sleep," I snapped, giving him my best glare.

He stared at me as if he was just seeing my face. He looked at Luka, then to me. He did it a couple more times before a smirk played on his lips. I didn't understand what was amusing, so I glared at him with my arms crossed.

"I see you have a type, bro." He smirked at Luka, glancing at me. "She looks oddly familiar. Too familiar." Luka stiffened beside me at his words.

At that point, I no longer cared, and I was exhausted, so I spun on my heels and made it for the stairs, ignoring his statement. It probably wasn't wise to leave two strangers in my house, but I don't think about anything when I'm sleepy.

"Take him if you please, or leave him till tomorrow. Don't wake me up again, that's all I care about." I glanced around for a quick second. Caleb invited himself inside and was comfortable on my couch. He better take his damn shoes off.

"Can he stay here till tomorrow? I'm too exhausted to drive back to the pac--I mean home," Luka said while I was already halfway up the stairs.

I would've interrogated Luka on his slip-up if I was awake, but I had no energy. I simply mumbled a 'hmm' and made my way back to my aunt's room.

Caleb was going to get a piece of my mind when I wake up tomorrow.

***

After snoozing my alarm for the fifth time this morning, I threw myself over the bed. Each day, I realised that I wasn't a morning person. I mean, I'm not a day or night person either. But the mornings are the worst.

I should beg for my Saturdays off at the hospital; I like my weekends free. Even though my shift was till midday, it was still quite exhausting.

After finishing my morning routine of sitting and staring at the wall, I walked to the shower to get ready for work.

Getting ready was always my favourite part of the morning. I could never get used to putting on my white scrubs that looked like they were precisely for my body. I added my signature red lipstick and pulled my hair into a high ponytail. I was about to head downstairs for breakfast when I heard a manly scream from the living room.

Rushing to the rescue, I stopped dead in my tracks as I took in the scene. I almost burst my lungs as I laughed like a hyena once I saw what caused the commotion.

Caleb was standing on my couch with a terrified expression, while Luka had my broom holding out in front of him like a protective sword.

I stalked toward them with a smile as I picked up my fluffy white cat, Twinkle, putting them out of their misery.

I couldn't believe that they feared my cat. She's so cute and harmless.

They looked relieved, but I remembered I owed Caleb something for ruining my sleep. I glanced at him with a devious smile as he tensed once again. He picks up fast.

"Caleb?" I sang in a sweet voice, causing him to gulp. "I think we should chat about your little visit last night." I took a step closer as he watched me closely, getting ready for me to pounce.

"I was just looking out for my friend. I had to make sure he was okay and--" He stopped as I took another step.

It's time.

I held Twinkle as I shoved her in front of him. She hissed and yanked her paw towards Caleb's face as he dashed off to the kitchen.

Twinkle must've really hated him. She was always friendly to everyone I brought home.

I couldn't contain my laughter as I dropped her to the ground, and she made her way behind him to the kitchen. Good. I hope he has learned his lesson.

"That wasn't very nice. Those things are pure evil." Luka shivered, seeming traumatised. He amazes me more and more by the second.

I chuckled and went to the kitchen for breakfast. Caleb came into view, and I was shocked that he looked relaxed, eating my Nutella on a spoon.

"Well, of course you may eat my food," I retorted sarcastically, but his smile proved he didn't pick up on it. Idiot.

He cleared his throat as he turned to look at me. "Well, I would like to thank you for accommodating my friend last night," he said formally and authoritatively.

He took me off guard with his quick change in demeanour, but I nodded, showing him I didn't mind.

"He told me what happened, so I'm grateful that you were there."

"He told you?" My tone and face only held shock, making him eye me quizzingly.

"Yes, why wouldn't he?" he asked as if it wasn't a big deal. Was this a regular thing for him? I shrugged while making a Nutella sandwich of my own.

"I thought--"

"I should really search for that asshole who hit Luka with his bike and left him there unconscious," Caleb grumbled through gritted teeth.

What?

"Well, there's no need for that now, Caleb," Luka added as he entered the kitchen. "Victoria was kind enough to take me into her home and offer me her help. I'm fine."

Luka's eyes were pleading to me to not push it, so I nodded in understanding but gave him a look that said, 'we're gonna talk about this'.

"Well, if there isn't anything else, I guess we should be on our way," Caleb said as he stood. I frowned but said nothing.

This can't be goodbye. I had to know that Luka won't pull a stunt like this again. As if reading my thoughts, Luka asked Caleb to get the car ready while we talked.

"So, are you gonna hide it forever? I mean, how can you be safe if nobody knows that--"

"Stop, Victoria," he snapped, clenching his jaw. "I don't need to be on suicide watch. I'm perfectly fine."

"No, you're not, Luka! You tried to jump off a freaking cliff!" I whispered the last part to be safe.

"I know what I did, okay? It was a rough day. Why do you care anyway? Before last night, you didn't even know I existed." Well, that's true, but I'm not heartless.

"I just care, okay? I'm not a bad person for trying to save your life, and I'll do it again if I had to." I folded my arms over my chest to show my determination and stubbornness.

"Stop trying to save me. Stop trying to fix me, okay? I don't desire to be fixed or saved; I just need to live my life. So please stop trying to change how I am now!"

I felt this went a little further than our conversation. It was like he was talking to someone else; his family, maybe?

"Luka..." I sighed.

"No, Victoria. I don't wanna hear it, okay?" I frowned at his interruption. I didn't understand why he was being so defensive with me. After all, he said it himself--I don't know him.

"Okay, okay," I said with a huff, holding up my hands in surrender. "I'm not trying to save you, fix you or change you. Let's just be friends."

He studied me for a second, waiting for me to add more.

Stepping closer to him, I put my hand on his cheek as a sign of comfort. It was weird, and I only realised when it was too late, but it always worked with Nick, so I gave it a shot.

He stiffened, then his eyes softened for a second, but it was gone in a flash, as if he was contemplating my offer. I even felt him... shiver at my touch? I tried not to focus on it too much. My hands were cold, after all.

"Okay, but no trying to change me," he said, and I smiled victoriously. "But I don't know how this will work because you won't see me again unless I come into town, and I barely do that," he added with a frown, evoking one of my own.

"Where do you live?"

"Um... Out of town, deep in the woods." His tone told me not to ask further questions, so I didn't. Such a mysterious guy. I like it.

"We'll make it work." I beamed. I couldn't let him slip away; he piqued my interest.

We exchanged numbers before I headed to work. As I drove off, I glanced in my rearview mirror, where I saw them pull away in the other direction.

Throughout the day, all I thought about was how conflicted he seemed to be when contemplating my offer of friendship. I couldn't help the hurt that ran through me, as I thought he didn't like my personality.

I'm typically always on edge, and I may have a temper, but I have a big heart, and I'm capable of friendship.

But deep down, I knew it had nothing to do with me; there's something else that made him doubt it at first. Maybe more than one thing.

I didn't intend to push him away, so I couldn't force him to talk. However, I have to break that shell of his, no matter how hard.

This may be difficult, but I'm up for it. I'm Victoria Deslandes, after all, and I love a challenge.