Day 2 (III)

"I know I haven't hurt you. I could never intentionally hurt you."

...

Rudy waves at me and starts running away. I pick up the showpiece in Ayan's room and follow him. It is an animal figurine of a horse.

"Naira give it back," I hear Ayan's voice growing fainter as I dart after Rudy.

"WOMAN it was a joke," he screams, stumbling down one of the stairs but unfortunately, not falling down the stairs.

It would be hilarious to see him trip and die a painful death.

I shake my head. My brain is a wild mess.

Why would I want him to die like that when I can kill him with my own hands? Haha.

"I'll show you what a joke is," I reply.

"She's a devil. A DEVIL. A DEVIL IS AFTER ME. HELPPPP. She's going to kill me."

"Naira, stop behaving like a child," Ayan calls out from behind me, drawing out a sigh.

I tear my eyes away from Rudy's behind and glance at Ayan. "I'll show you who a child is," I say, flipping him off with my middle finger.

I go in the kitchen and lift the vase over my head to smack him but the sight in front of me makes my jaw drop.

Uh-huh.

I quickly hide the vase behind me and smile sheepishly. "Hi Mary, didn't see you there."

Rudy is standing behind her, using her as a shield. Her arms are crossed over her chest and her mouth is set in a scowl. She has an apron tied to her chest and there's a bit of flour on her face.

"What are you hiding behind you, sunflower?" Ayan asks innocently, despite the malicious grin curving the corners of his lips upwards.

I shove the figurine in his hands. "He dared me to hit Rudy," I babble, "Shame, Ayan. Shame." I shake my head at him, mockingly.

He frowns at me. "How can you look Mary in the eye and lie to her face? Shame, Naira. Shame," he says, imitating me.

"You-"

"Enough," Mary roars. That shuts me up.

"Naira, I expected better from you. You've shown such juvenile behaviour," she states, disapprovingly.

"Haha," Rudy grins. Mary pulls his ear tightly.

"Ow, love. It hurts."

"You're no better, Rudy," she remarks and I suppress my smile.

"Sorry, love," Rudy mutters. Mary raises her eyebrow at me.

"Sorry," I mumble weakly.

She nods her head. "Good."

"Ayan, take care of them. I'm setting the table. Come and eat." She smiles at Ayan warmly and leaves the kitchen after untying her apron.

As soon as she leaves, Rudy does a victory dance by shaking his hips in a very vulgar way. When he's done with his obscene display, he smirks at me.

I grab his hair and pull it tightly, making sure it hurts. He yelps in pain.

"Ow ow ow ow WOMAN Ow Ow. Leave my hair."

Mary didn't say anything about pulling Rudy's hair, did she?

Loophole!

Ayan catches my wrist and pulls me away from Rudy. I huff and spare him for now.

"What the hell, Naira? Are you crazy?" Ayan scolds, setting his lips in a thin line.

"She is. She's a devil reincarnated," Rudy chimes in. He places his hand on Ayan's arm. "Bro, you should reconsider marrying her. She doesn't seem right to me."

Yeah, right. Look who is talking.

I tilt my head and shrug. "Maybe, you should."

You really should. I smile evilly.

...

We're currently playing hide and seek and Zubair is the seeker.

"Tick tick 1..." Zubair yells.

It was surprisingly Sasha's idea to play that game.

"Tick tick 2..."

I look around, trying to figure out where I should go and hide.

"Tick tick 3..."

There are bedrooms I can hide in but that's obvious.

"Tick tick 4..."

I decide to go and hide in the storeroom.

"Tick tick 5..."

All I can hope for is that there won't be any spiders or lizards or mice there.

"Tick tick 6..."

I'm terrified of them. I'm terrified of animals in general.

"Tick tick 7..."

I tiptoe up the stairs, to the storeroom trying my best not to draw any attention towards me.

"Tick tick 8..."

"What are you doing here?" I ask Ayan, wide-eyed. I shut the door behind me and fit myself in the free space. The room is pretty small, making it the smallest room in the whole house. There's a painting of two dogs kept along with an old armchair and many carton boxes stacked over one another.

"Tick tick 9..."

"The same thing you're doing, sunflower... hiding." He shifts closer to me.

"Tick tick 10..."

I glare at him. "Why are you always around me?"

"Tick tick 11..."

"I like your company." He smiles at me broadly.

"Tick tick 12..."

"Feeling isn't mutual at all."

"Tick tick 13..."

"No. You're just too stuck up to admit it."

"Tick tick 14..."

"You're impossible." I scowl at him.

"Tick tick 15. Ready or not, here I come."

Isn't he supposed to count till 20?

"You like that about me, baby." He winks.

I roll my eyes. "I like nothing about you."

He gapes, "You mean that you don't like this?" he gestures towards his body.

I shake my head. "I don't find you attractive, Ayan."

"Really?" He brings his mouth closer to my ear and whispers, "You sure, sunflower?" My breath hitches at the close contact.

I gulp and nod. "Hundred percent," I voice shakily.

"Caught you both." Zubair grins. I glare at Ayan. "This is your fault."

"No-" he replies but Zubair interrupts him, "This is why it was so easy to catch you both. I just followed the arguing voices.

"Now help me catch others." We check Rudy's room first. The room I could have been sleeping in, alone.

His bed is unmade and there are clothes piled up on the floor. His suitcase sits, empty near the washroom.

"Why are you always so loud? We got caught because of you," Ayan complains, checking the closet and then proceeds to check the washroom.

"Why are you always an arse?" I retort, looking under the bed. When I don't find anyone, I stand in the hallway.

I hear slight moaning sounds coming from the next room and I call Zubair and Ayan.

"Do you guys hear that?" I question. Zubair nods and opens the door.

My eyes widen.

"Were you both making out?"