Erica’s POV
He leaned in closer, just a few inches away from my lips. He closed his eyes and then I snapped.
I raised my hand and slapped him across the cheek. The sound rang loudly into the night and he pulled back and looked at me in shock as he held his face.
I had tears in my eyes and my nose was a little runny.
In those briefs seconds, I had had thoughts rush in and out of my head. I couldn’t bare to make things more complicated than they already were. I was cheating on Lorenzo with Dante and it would be terrible for me to bring Javier into the mix.
He was a nice guy but I couldn’t do it. I took him as a friend and business partner. How dare he try to take advantage of my vulnerability?
“Erica…”
He was lost for words and I could tell that he was sorry.
His golden eyes were sad and stunned. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him anymore.
I grabbed my bag and my children’s take-out and walked away.
“Erica!”
I heard the sound of running footsteps and a hand touched my arm.
“Erica, I’m…”
“No! Leave me alone. You…I…I told you how I felt and you tried to capitalize on it. I can’t believe you!”
“Erica, it’s not what it looks like…”
“It’s exactly what it looks like, Javier. Just leave me alone. I want to go home.”
He was relentless and stood in front of me, blocking my path.
“Let me make this up to you. Let me drive you home or get a taxi for you…”
“I think that you’ve done more than enough. Just leave me alone…”
I pushed past him and walked out of the park.
Hot tears were streaming down my face and my hands clutched the take-out bags tighter. My other hand clutched my chest as I walked away. It hurt so much.
I trusted him. I fell too deep into his comforting stare and…
No. I was doing it again. I was shifting the blame on someone else again. Javier was kind and he cared about the kids. I was the one that couldn’t make up my mind. I was the one that was cheating on my fiance with the man that abandoned me.
I crossed the road as fast as I could and waited for a taxi. I tried not to look at the park. I couldn’t bear seeing Javier standing there, looking at me in disappointment, his golden eyes slowly losing their glow.
I couldn’t help it and finally looked up. He was still there but he wasn’t watching me in disappointment. He had his hands in his pocket and was walking away. He didn’t even look at me.
My heart retched painfully and I knew that I had to leave there. I could flag down a taxi somewhere else.
I clutched the bags tighter and walked down the lonely road.
The lights were on but the streets were scanty. The wind blew hard and I was grateful that I brought a coat. At least I could make up my mind about one thing.
I sighed and lowered my head. My eyes were fixed to the concrete as I walked. My mind flashed and I relived the night that I spent with Javier. He was soft and gentle. He was a great listener and he knew the best jokes.
If he liked me, it wasn’t his fault. I probably gave him the wrong signals. If I wasn’t keeping so many secrets and harbouring guilt, I could have told him that I was engaged to Lorenzo.
Even thinking about our engagement made me uncomfortable. I didn’t love him. I thought our love would grow but it wasn’t. Something was off about him. His actions seemed forced and ingenuine, or maybe they weren’t, but my stale affection for him made it seem that way.
I turned the corner and I slowly realized that there were no cars. The taxi’s seemed to have disappeared from this part of the street. The people were few and as I walked past them, they gave me uncomfortable stares.
My hands felt chilly and I could feel my wolf uneasily prowling in my head. I walked forward and saw a small crowd of suspicious looking men forming a small circle in front of me.
I halted and slipped into the shadows just before they could see me.
I was breathing heavily and could even hear them talking amongst themselves.
“… you saw something, didn’t you?”
“… focus. It was probably a dog or cat. We need to find the stash in the warehouse…”
I could feel my heart hammering my rib-cage and struggled to take deep breaths.
I offered a silent prayer of thanks to the Moon Goddess and made my way into the darkness.
I walked in the shadows gingerly. My senses were on high alert and my muscles were tense.
“The forest.”
A light forest faced me and I decided to slip in there and find my way back, or at least, find a good place that I could flag down a taxi.
Silently, I regretted slapping Javier and declining his offer to drive me home or get a taxi for me.
I had no other option and I ran as silently as I could and slipped into the shadows cast by the trees.
I beat the thickets off my face and soon found a path.
I sighed and walked on it. This wasn’t so bad. I was scared and the starry night sky did little for me in terms of lighting.
I considered turning on the flashlight on my phone but it would only draw attention to the fact that someone was in the forest.
I walked silently and slowly, the fallen leaves crunching softly beneath my feet.
I gripped the bags tighter and…
“Grrrrrrrrrr.”
I gasped and turned around.
“Who is there?”
The growling sound startled me, goosebumps dotted my skin and the hairs on my body stood on end.
I looked around frantically.
“Is anyone there?”
All was silent. My heart was pounding even harder in my chest and I was scared that the force would fracture a rib.
I stood still and nothing happened. The night continued as before.
I sighed. Maybe it was my imagination. I was so scared that I…
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!”
I felt something sharp sink into my flesh, in the faint glow I saw blood and golden eyes staring back at me…