CHAPTER 14

Genesis's POV

                 Last night was the night I turned insomniac. I was unable to sleep. I sat upright on my bed, alone, my legs outstretched and covered with my warm duvet till I couldn't take it no more. I left the quiet room to make it all the way to my discovery beach. Unpopulated and serene, just like the first night I came upon the sands. Again, I let the water take me to greater heights as thoughts of Keegan trundled through my brain like a through train with no intention of stopping.

The face of him, the colour of his eyes, the softness of his lips and Christ, the intensity of his kisses. Those kisses. Soft and gentle, they turned my lips electric. I felt the earth move under my feet and the rapid beating of my heart in our oral connection. It was bliss. Nothing like I have ever experienced before. It felt like heaven here on earth.

I gazed into Lana's hand mirror in an attempt to find the exact thing he saw in me that made his interest pique. But what stared back at me was the girl I had known for years. Young, timid, uninteresting, not so attractive college girl with zero social skills who might actually grow old with a walking stick and tons of fallen teeth, a lot of cats by her feet and yet no life partner.

I have never been the kind of girl whose name is the sole name which crosses the mind of another at the peaks of night. I am not the kind of girl who can trigger a symphony of beautiful words and metaphor nor inspire others. Christ, people do not even ask me what my favourite colour is or what it is I love to do. My laugh is not music to anyone's ears and my smile has yet to be discovered as brighter than the sun.

I'm that girl who may pass through your mind every once in a blue moon, in the middle of the afternoon or maybe not at all. You do not fall asleep thinking about me. Nobody does. I do not inspire symphonies and my life is most definitely not a romantic metaphor nor an enigma. I do not dazzle others and people rarely glimpse in my direction. There are few people who bother learning few things about me or none who learns at all. My laugh is not even close to music in the slightest sense and my smile is not much more than just a smile.

This is all new to me. Keegan is all new to me and those things he said. The words he whispered into my ears. The ones that turned my legs into jelly and my mind harbour thoughts - thoughts of him that weren't pure in the slightest sense, I couldn't stop thinking about them. It left like they awoke something in me, something I never knew even existed. I'd heard of playboys and the ways and manners they treated girls emotionally but Keegan makes me want to try. Try out new things.

Till I fidgeted at the sound of the high pitched voice two metres away from me did I realize where I was and my thoughts come back to the present - to the now.

               "HEY!" My heart raced. I flinched as my eyes snapped up to meet Amelia's.

               "Lord, it felt like I was trying to raise the dead. I've been trying to get your attention for like twenty minutes. You were totally out of space. What's wrong? You're okay?" I stared at her with round eyes, disorientated for a moment as my ears drew in the loud chatter and uproarious laughter swivelling around me.

I casted my eyes about, taking in my surroundings. Densely populated with college students taking up the round tables and chairs pushed underneath, shoving food down their throat, chatting and cackling in between, my eyes didn't fail to witness the long queue in front of the counter waiting to purchase their food as the door opened and closed as people went in and out on a constant.

The cafeteria was taken. I noticed numerous cafeterias around the campus during our tour but this particular one was the most preferred. It could be the taste of the food or the welcoming atmosphere or the pleasant smell of baked foods, I don't know but this place reminded me of a certain someone.

I turned to take in my friend's inquisitive stare, asking, "How did we get here?"

Michael frowned, "What do you mean?"

I shook my head, confused, "I can't remember coming here." I said, glancing down at the round table we were seated, surprised to see my own side stocked up with a plate of spaghetti and balls of meat and my all time favourite doughnut resting just beside.

               "We walked here straight up duh...after our tour. You said you were hungry. Remember?" Amelia explained, popping a ketchup-ed chip in her mouth, the loud crunch resounding in my ears.

I grabbed the bottle of water in front of me and popped the cap, tipping my head back.

              "You're sure you're okay? You look kinda out of it." I locked eyes with Michael's concerned ones.

I gushed the water down only breaking to nod in affirmation. Amelia jerked her head at me, settling her eyes on my face.

               "So." She paused, taking another chip into her overly lip-glossed mouth. "What happened yesterday? Why did you run out like that? What happened?"

               "I don't understand."

              "Micheal told me you ran off, crying so much. You literally pushed him to the ground and stepped all over him. You almost sent him to the ICU but thank God, I found him earlier."

I blinked, "What?"

Michael smacked her arm, hurling the little piece of chip she was about eating through the air to God knows where.

She screeched,  "HEY!!! I was going to eat that."

               "I only said she slightly pushed me. SLIGHTLY PUSHED ME, AMELIA. I was never about going to an ICU and you never got anywhere. You got that?." She glared at him. He glared back. Just on cue, a glaring contest catapulted.

I wasn't too keen on watching their outstare or discovering who would take the trophy home.

              "Michael, I'm really sorry. I....I wasn't just feeling so well."

              "But you're okay now?"

              "But why the crying though? Did someone hurt you? C'mon, tell us. We are your friends."

I didn't know how to respond to Amelia. I didn't know what to say at all or how to say it. I didn't even know if I wanted to say what it was I thought of saying and it could only be one reason. It could only boil down to one person. One word. One name.

Before I could get a word out, the door whooshed open and slammed back. Engulfing the whole entrance was his bulky built frame, cladded in his usual clothing. Structured like that of a wild animal, untamed and predatory.

A stony silence possessed the entire cafeteria. He effortlessly stole their attention, changing the entire frequency of the four walls. Red as a brick, eyes squinting meanly as waves of fury and anger radiated off him like flames. His face was twisted in a venomous outburst. I watched his eyes sweep slowly across the room. Carefully and calculative, like he was looking for someone and the moment his hard gaze settled on our table, I knew just then and there that all hell was about to break loose.

He just found his prey.

Me.

Like an enraged panther, he stormed in my direction, eyes blazing, smouldering underneath his stony expression. The hairs on the nape of my neck stood on end, my nerves sparking like live wires. What made him tick, I couldn't decipher.

He snarled, "You."

In the spirit of silent panic, my eyes flew wide open. It started, building up like an unstoppable snowball in the pit of my stomach. My heart began to beat faster and harder. I shot up from my seat, confused as my brain started to fire off negative thoughts like a machine gun.

I caught Michael's eyes, inching to ask the questions his mouth swallowed back. A nudge on my arm caused me to rest my gaze on Amelia. Her expressions mirrored that of Michael's.

Her eyebrows raised, her lips moved, "What did you do?"

I could feel the pin-point stare of others penetrating through me, perhaps anticipating the incoming showdown. My brain short-circuted and my mind struggled to remember the events of the past days. I wasn't even sure anymore. The negative thoughts kept on coming like waves on rocks.

The soft leather of his jacket grazed my bare arm first followed by the woody scent of cedar which infiltrated my nostrils. He brushed past our table, past me. My brows crashed in confusion, my brain slowly putting the pieces together and coming to terms with the dawning realization that....

I wasn't the prey.

At a stroke, I twirled around just in time to catch him roughly seize a blonde-haired boy by the front of his shirt, violently pulling him up to his feet. His arm swung far back above his head and came straight for his face in a bone-crushing punch which sent his head reeling sickeningly to the left.

And just like that, destruction erupted.

He pummelled his fist again to the boy's face again snapping his nose into a grotesquerie. His menacing eyes were a blazing red and his dark hood hanging low from his head made the rest of his features indistinguishable.

I gasped at the brutality of his viciousity. Hitting, punching, ruining, head-butting. Then there was the rageful scream that paralyzed his prey's thinking, shutting them down into the fetal position to protect their vital organs and ride out the storm. He was a force and he was to be reckoned with.

The boy swung his fist forward in retaliation but his movements were far too slow. He was met with Dario's brute fist to the side of his stomach. He hunched over landing on the cap of his predator's knee. A rib or two must have snapped. No debate.

The shouts erupted throughout the cafeteria. It was hard distinguishing the voices from one another. The sharp sound of chairs crashing to the ground, tables tipped upside down. Voices clashed, chords strained. More shouting, more screaming, more running. The destruction was fierce, evident and disturbing.

So much force and anger in every blow. Dario rained blows onto the boy's face and body entirety as if he meant to smash him into the very earth.

What was his crime? Was it even equal to this level of brutality?

Fright consumed every cell in my body, swelling them with terror. With every second that passed by, I practically felt the rise of my blood pressure but I knew that this was the least of my worries. I worried more for the boy underneath Dario, unable to escape from his dudgeon.

It felt like he wasn't even there at all. Almost like he had zoned out. His face was blank. Almost like he had been spiritually possessed. With no form of facial expression whatsoever or anything giving away the fact that he knew what he was doing as he pounded the boy's face with blows after blows and no intention of stopping. The people who ran forward to stop him from murdering him were flipped off and sent to the ground.

He snatched him up by the shirt and sent him flying through the air, like he weighed nothing. At an instant, every part of me went on pause. My heart began to race. I stood, unmoving as if paralyzed from head to toe, temporarily incapacitated as my brain stuttered for a moment with half-baked thoughts and conflicting ideas.

Someone aggressively knocked me to the side and I stumbled into someone's arms giving way for his victim to heavily land on the surface of our table, smashing it down with the force of his weight. It was either the table or me and the decision was already made for me.

In shock, I stayed frozen, unable to comprehend the sense of it all when my heart raced, adrenaline kicked in, his usual scent engulfing me wholly and I knew just then that it was him. He was near me. I felt him before I saw him, holding down his friend, pulling him away, stopping him from going after the blonde-haired boy. Ian joined in accompanied with three other seniors, trying to hold the beast in front of me.

He roared, eyes the colour of a darker green, "Who the fuck do you think you are? I tell you this and you go do that? You sick or what fucker? Or you think I was fucking kidding? How dare you? You son of a fucking bitch." Shouting venomously, voice with a hard edge as a vein ticked by the side of his head. He appeared like he would explode if not detonated on time.

              "Dario, what the fuck, eh? What in fuck's name has gotten into you?" Ian screamed in his face, angry looking, eyes flaming. It was pretty hard understanding what exactly was going on.

If Dario heard him, he paid no attention. His focus and attention were solely pinned on the unfortunate boy he selected as prey for the day. Perhaps, the only thing going through his mind was how he could fight off al the seniors on his case and get to the boy.

               "You almost killed him. Are you insane?" Just on cue, the boy groaned. I turned. In one shattered moment, my heart and breathing stopped, just stopped. He was a bloody mess, nose smashed and eyes almost shut with swelling. His arms were wrapped round his guts like he was holding them in and to be honest he was beat so bad he could be.

               "Hey, chill out." Keegan blandished, on the other side of his arm. "Calm down. Look at me man. Fucking look at me." He gripped his head in between his palms. His gaze automatically averted to his, unblinking as vocabularies danced, swirled between their space, communicating without the deer need for words.

Understanding brewed, agreement ensued, some sort of concord kicked off as his eyes blinked and his muscles loosened. He gave his shoulders a wiggle and lolled his head in a circle though his hands remains clenched. From his looks, he was still furious. Whatever spell Keegan had used on him worked.

He shook off his hold and charged forward. My breath hitched in thoughts that he was going for the boy again but his direction veered toward the exit, rage radiating from him in waves. Abruptly, he stalled. He paused, turning, blazing eyes roaming across the room.

Snarling, spitting with fury, pointing a finger at the crowd watching him in both shock and terror, with horrified looks plastered on their faces, "And this goes for all you motherfuckers. If I happen to see this up, I'mma track you and I'mma find you and this little shit wouldn't even compare to what I'm dying to bring down to your table and I ain't even kidding. That's for dumbass sonofabitches like y'all. I'd fuck you dumbasses off. Sonafabitches."

I flinched at his outrageous outpour of profanities, shock rippling through me. But, I realized loo late my mistake for that small movement caused his eyes to fall on me. They glared at me with an intensity that tightened my chest. It was a look that conveyed a bubbling hatred, intently slaughtering me into littles pieces.

Keegan appeared in my train of vision, speaking to me, saying words I couldn't hear. It felt like I was entranced, hypnotized even. Till he spun and left did the spell break and Keegan's words become coherent.

              "Are you okay? Genny, please tell me you're alright."

I blinked, coercing my gaze to abandon the spot his friend exited, "Y-yes...yes...yes." I forced a pool of saliva down my throat, nodding. "I am fine. I just..."

The pad of his thumb swept along my cheek, conveying a torrent of tingles throughout my body, goosebumps taking over my skin. The slightest touch from him affected me in ways I would never riddle out. It skidded down, ever so slowly till it rested on my lips, caressing the tender skin. I sucked in a gasp when he parted them, the tip of his thumb lightly grazing the tip of my tongue.

With everything in me, I resisted the burning need to suck on it, barely able to keep my eyes glued to his alluring ones. His gaze lingered on my lips. I watched the colour of his eyes turn a shade darker than the original blue, morphing it into something entirely unlit. Abruptly, he withdrew, vigourously shaking his head, furiously blinking his eyes as if in a bid to get rid of some unwanted thoughts taking core possession of his brain.

Then, he took off, sprinting, running through the path his friend took.

I let out a breathe in an attempt to govern my thoughts, turning to find Amelia as white as a chalk. Her eyes and her mouth were frozen wide open in an expression of stunned surprise, still unable to sink down what just happened. Michael was dumbstruck.

The boy was badly hurt. His face bruised and bloodied. I saw some students come to his aid. They attempted getting him up on his feet. Though, it almost felt like he was better off laying on the floor because each time they moved him, he growled in pain. I still pondered what he did wrong to deserve what he got but no matter how hard I thought, I still couldn't come up with a reasonable answer. It baffled me.

              "What. Just. Happened?" Dawdling, Amelia turned, locking eyes with Michael and I and vice versa, searching for answers I didn't have. When it came to Dario, I had nothing. With him, you just couldn't predict anything and trying to be in the know was a total waste of time.

Michael shook his head, jaw slack, dumbfoundly looking, "I don't know. Amy, I have no idea whatsoever."

             "Is he even alive? Are we safe?"

The blood on the floor that once flowed in his veins now leaked around his teeth and over his wounded lips, and battered body, escaping as if it never knew it was welcome to stay. It had a smell, an odour. The bleeding continued, stark red in the daylight. I wished it would stop. I needed it to stop. My stomach vigourously squeezed and my throat kept clenching.

I suddenly felt light headed, woozy and unbalanced. Bile crept up my throat. I could taste it at the back of my mouth. The urge to vomit was overpowering as my surroundings began to spin in all directions around me. It was proving difficult focusing my eyes solely on one person or an object.

A voice whispered in my ear, "Someone is looking for you." And before I knew what was going on, I was dragged out, my legs set into motion, moving, stumbling out of the cafeteria.

The moment I stepped out, cool breeze  tackled my face. I breathed deeply the most needed air, suddenly swindled into lean and hard muscled arms. It felt warm and familiar, almost like I had been there before. I instantly hugged back, inhaling the all familiar scent.

Speaking into my hair,  "Genesis. Damn, Genesis. I missed you so much." The person tightened me in his arms, crushing me with so much excitement and warmth in his embrace.

It took some effort to pull back and when I did, I was instantly taken by surprise. It's been days since I saw him last. We have never gone days without seeing each other. I used to see him everyday. At home, at school, in my room. I've been so used to it. It's been forever and seeing him again and here on campus just rose up an array of emotions within me. One filled with happiness, love, content, joy amongst others.

Shocked to see him here, "Oh my God, Jace." Immediately, I closed the distance again, crashing into his arms, hugging tightly, unprepared to let him go.

His chin rested on top of my head. There, I realized how tall he had grown in just a short span of time. He looked more handsome, more mature, more Jace. Stubble of hairs had already taken place underneath his chin. My little brother had morphed into a man overnight and in my absence.

              "I can't believe this. Jesus Christ, how...." I locked eyes with Lana smiling at us. The previous night rolled by without her presence back at the dorm. I imagined she had found a 'hot, sexy' guy to have fun with for the night. The next morning lacked her presence as well. We still haven't spoken since her unpredicted outburst at me and I only hoped we could get back to the way we once were.

I smiled when she blew a kiss my way, mouthing, "I'm sorry."

              "He arrived minutes after you left. Asked for you but you had already stepped out. I guessed you would be at the cafe and I can't say I guessed wrong."

              "Mum was worried about you. You haven't called ever since you called last and that was three days ago. Dad said you were fine, probably just overwhelmed with school and all but you know how our mama is."

              "Oh yeah? I bet she still wants my head, doesn't she?" Lana chimed in.

              "You sure it's really that valuable?"

She gasped, shocked at his retort, diverting her eyes to me and back to Jace. He laughed, obviously proud of himself.

              "Mum worries more than necessary. If my phone isn't repaired soon enough, I'll be sure to get a brand new one. She shouldn't worry too much about me. Is that why you came?"

               "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

               "Uhh....guys, I've got to go." Lana walked over, pulling me into her arms. "Boo, I'll meet you back at the dorm. Jace...." She slitted her eyes at my brother. "...It's not so good to see you again." Leaning in, whispering into my ear, "And you've got to tell me why you didn't let me know my brother asked you out."

I sucked in a gasp when those reactions made themselves known again. She winked and left.

Jace ruffled my hair, the bulge on his throat moved up and down with each chuckle leaving his mouth. "I missed you so much, my short bunny."

I shooed his hands away, smacking him on his arm whilst craning my neck to frown at him, "I'm not short, you little kid."

              "Really?" He snickered, "You don't even touch my arm."

              "That's because you look like a tree, Jace."

              "And you're as short as a tree stump."

Shock rippled through me, stunned by his utterances, "I'm going to hit you so hard you'd never see it coming." Jace was growing wings and it's high time I cut them off.

              "What you gonna hit? My knees?"

I goggled, completely and utterly shocked at his jab. He was laughing. He actually thought this was hilarious.

In my moment of dumbfoundedness, when I realised it will take time for my brain to find the words to throw back at him, I twirled in an attempt to leave but he caught me by my waist, hoisting my feet off the ground. I squealed. His laughter ran long and loud in my ears as I made a vein attempt in putting some distance between us while feigning annoyance. Meanwhile, I was holding back a smile.

He spinned me around causing me to shriek as laughter mixed with happiness wracked through us. Passers and stand-bys turned to look in our direction. I could see the questions twirling beneath their eyes. Questions like, 'Are these two alright?'. I was sure if I tried to explain, they'd never understand.

I missed hearing him guffaw.

I missed seeing him this carefree.

I missed witnessing this other side of him - this playful side, the cheery part of him he never let out with Dad around.

Above all, I missed my brother.

But I sure didn't miss Keegan's deep blue eyes gazing at us, cutting between Jace and I from across the campus.

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