chapter 7

she ran into the garden, she spread her arms wide, I couldn't see her face only her back, but still I could see her. She didn't look like her intentions were to destroy the flowers, she just looked like she was basking in the beauty of it.

I caught myself smiling as I watched her.

I climbed down from my car to introduce myself to her, as I closed the door of my car she stopped, she must have heard me but she didn't turn around.

she was looking up at the butterflies, maybe.

I walked into the garden, and still she didn't turn around, not that I made any sounds that drew attention just that I was sure she didn't hear me get down from the car.

I stopped walking and I stood, about seven feet away from her, and I said.

"hey"

I smiled when I saw her body tremble because she was shocked.

She turned to me, my breath caught in my chest. she was beautiful.

I froze as she stared at me, her eyes were green and the darkness of her hair made it obvious, her lips were cherry pink and it was full and curvy in a way that turned me on. she looked exotic and mysterious, in a sensual way.

I wondered how someone could be this beautiful.

Her slim eyebrows came together in a frown.

"sorry I startled you" I apologized to her. She paused for a while.

"you call that startle?" she had dimples, her voice was sweet and soft, she asked me without even raising her voice and still I could hear the anger in the softness of her voice.I stared at her, I watched as her eyebrows got released from the frown.

"I'm sorry that I scared you" I told her this time.

Danielle's pov

"hey" I heard and I got shaken out of my happiness.

I turned around to see who it was, and it was a boy, he stood there with both hands in the pocket of his jeans and I wondered how long he had been standing there.

I was embarrassed that he had seen me running like a child, and he had caught me unaware, before now I thought that I had sharp senses, I thought that I would have noticed him from over a mile away.

He had sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, not the type Ara had but his were oceans blue, a more darker and deeper blue.

I didn't want him to notice that I was scrutinizing him. I felt helpless around this boy, I felt as if I was see through and this made me very angry.

"sorry I startled you" he told me, his voice was rich and deep, I almost smiled but I was angry that he made me feel nervous.

"you call that startle?" I asked him and he stared at me, his eyes roamed my face, and without showing any emotions.

My God, who was this guy.

"I'm sorry that I scared you" he said this time.

I shot him a smile, the smile was supposed to mean it's okay and I accept your apology, I'm no longer angry at you, and I'm going to be taking my leave. It was enough of getting startled in a day, I would go back to the rehab center and stare at the garden from a distance.

"you don't expect me to believe that that smile was real" he said smirking, he was handsome but that was not the case.

"ehmmm, who are you?" I asked him, why the hell could he read me.

"I'm Flavio and you are?" he said walking closer to me, it made me walk backwards, I wasn't sure of what he wanted to do, but when I saw that his hands were held out for a handshake, I felt ashamed, the wave of embarrassment was evident on my face.

"I'm Danielle, sorry I walked back I didn't...well it's time for me to go"

Flavio's pov

She was about to leave, but I didn't want her to, not that I wanted her to stay with me but I wanted her to stay with the flowers that she was so happy with.

"I saw how you ran with your arms spread wide" I told her.

" oh no" she exclaimed softly and I wondered if she ever forced herself to do things.

I saw her cheek colour a little and it hit me that she was embarrassed.

"Danielle it's fine" I told her reassuringly, she watched me intently without saying a single word, but I knew that she was ready to listen to anything I said so I spoke.

" it's fine to play with flowers they're beautiful and no one is too old to do stuff"

After I said this she still didn't speak or move, I liked the way the wind played with her hair.

" and you shouldn't worry that I saw any of that, I, too, would love to run around in these flowers, have you seen it when the sun is setting...it's like you're in heaven, because the flowers are a light purple, and then you'd look up and see the same colours in the sky, you'd look down and see sun rays so it's like they're exchanging colours, you'd never know anything this beautiful exists until meeting it first hand." I stopped talking and I turned to her forgetting the time I turned in the first place, she was smiling, deeply and whole heartedly this time.

"I thought I was the only one that saw sunsets like that" was her reply.

"nah, I love sunsets"

"me, too"

"you live around here?" I asked her trying to get even though a tiny bit of information about her.

"uh...I can't really tell you"

"why?"

" I can't tell you because it's a very embarrassing thing to say"

"what is with you and being so perfect"

"no that's not it, I'm not at all good so I try my best not to look stupid to others"

" yeah, that's why your eyes are so repelling, as if you're hiding something, you won't let me know where you stay for the fear of me getting to know you, the real you, because you're trying to save yourself from being hurt, whatever anybody does just scratch the surface, nothing ever gets to you, so you're hurt that I saw the real you, you wanted to leave and run away, it was the real you that was running maybe with her eyes closed, because it made you happy, and you feel that the real you is not enough?"

" woah, Flavio isn't that a rude way to act, just jump into conclusions, I mean you just met me"

" well I see people for who they are and I saw you, please Danielle correct me if I'm wrong" I waited for her to tell me something, anything, but she didn't. I still wasn't satisfied because her silence wasn't assuring, she might be silent and still feel that I was wrong so I was going to out what I said to test

" Danielle, tell me"

" tell you what?" she asked me

" prove me wrong that you don't hide beneath a mask and tell me about you, personal things, not so personal, just like where you live"

" I don't have to answer to anyone" she told me and started to walk away, I turned around and I watched her leave, wondering if I would ever see her again.

I don't know why it bothered me, I didn't know her before and if she left or stayed wasn't mine to control, I watched her leave, saw how her long legs moved gracefully, watched how her hands swept beside her beautiful form, watched her hips sway.

I turned around from her, I turned to the flowers, anything but her. I walked further into the flowers, I would go home, and take a nice shower, plenty of girls were begging for my presence and she just left me standing here. Her name rang in my head Danielle.

Danielle's pov

I didn't turn to see if he was watching, I knew he was because I could feel his gaze at my back, it made my legs unsteady on the ground that was covered in fine dark earth.

I walked past his car, it was a black bullet proof Chevrolet car, he was wealthy I knew it, it was evident from the rolex he wore and his earings were ice, he was wearing a louis vuitton jacket and underneath it he wore a plain white shirt, his trousers were a designer faded jeans.

I stopped in front of the rehab center, turned fully to face it, I didn't feel like entering just yet, it was a five storey building, there were no sign boards that was written rehab center but the building looked like that of a school and not a house, so it'd make you wonder what it was.

It had an attic that was always locked, bathrooms and kitchens on every floor, it was designed in a way that each floor was like a flat and everyone living in it was a member of the family, we did everything together, we came out for dinning and we ate together, At the back were courts for table tennis, and basketball, there were no football fields but there were soccer balls and soccer nets, there were more to the building but I just haven't ventured into places yet.

The building was made of bricks, it was good looking, and it looked well maintained.

It was built in a location that was quiet and removed from the city setting, there weren't much houses around here, there were trees, lots of them, and it was windy, too.

I looked to my right hand side, to see the same chevrolet driving towards me, it was coming from the direction of the field, I had every right to assume hat it was Flavio.

The car stopped few feet away from me, I removed my eyes from the car and started to walk slowly into the rehab center.

"Danielle" I heard a vaguely familiar voice call out to me.

I turned to see Flavio coming out of the car and walking towards me.

He stopped just in font of me, and took one more step to close the gap between us, he towered me, but I didn't have to stress myself to look at his eyes. I smelt his cologne, he smelt dreamy.

"hey" he said, his breath smelled like strawberry and something else, something softer.

I didn't step back away from him, I didn't feel the need to. I queered my head to the side to ask him what he wanted and he smiled.

"you intrigue me" he said and I understood him.

"this is where I live, temporarily"

I saw the confusion in his face while he still watched the building trying to figure out what it was.

"it's a rehab center" I stated

He turned to me, not abruptly but very slowly that I watched his head turn and I held my breath when his eyes met mine, our gazes locked in place.

"well that's for starters" he started "please watch the sunset with me" he asked me.

I followed him to his car, for all I knew he could have been a murderer that wanted me to enter his car so he'd take me somewhere far away, somewhere hidden and kill me, but I trusted him, the way I was not supposed to trust strangers.