To Love and Avenge

Chapter 11

My initial instinct was to observe first and to just stay alert for what might come next, but my reflexes did it ahead of me anyway. I grabbed his left hand which was shaking on my shoulder tightly and gave a quick twist on its wrist. The intruder wails in pain as he stumbles and eventually falls on his knee to my right. Planning on taking him down, I wasted no time. I spun my leg up around, followed by my lower body above him, and pinned him on the ground. With a smooth, swift movement, I was able to land and sit on his stomach, still holding on to his twisted wrist. But what I was not prepared for was his sudden counteraction. He is way stronger than I am. I can't argue with that.

Later, he lifted his waist against me to push me up, so he managed to twirl around and changed our current position, now pinning me on the sand under him while my hands rested just right above my head, pinning them there. He moves so fast that he seemed to me that he is a well-trained person. I struggled to break free from his grasp but was surprised when I sensed the familiar scent of musk and, later on, his silhouette. I stop resisting when I finally recognize him.

"what the---"

“Dauis?” I ask, asking if it is really him while I breathe heavily beneath him.

“I'm glad that you finally recognize me now,” he answered while smirking at me. He didn't even bother to loosen up his grip.

“What are you doing here?" I asked in a daze.

"I thought you were an intruder. It's common for a person when it smells danger.” I continued to say, reasoning to him.

“You almost got my bones broken. And for your information, I will never be an intruder in this place. Now, how about you? he reiterated.

"I- Uhm..."I stammered.

"What?"

“Only if you at least called my attention and introduced yourself properly, this wouldn't have happened," I said, starting to blame him.

"So was I at fault?" He asked in disbelief.

"Who else?" I angrily shouted at him.

“Okay, it is my fault then that I came here thinking purely of saving you,” he responded nonchalantly, still not moving. Feeling discomfort in our position, I slightly pushed him up using my body, indicating for him to move away.

“Will you get off of me?” I hissed.

“Not yet, sweetheart, don't you like us to stay this way, but you know what? I like it better when you were above me.” he teases as he grins at me.

“p*****t!” I pout and rolled my eyes at him. I don't know what was funny about it, that it made him laugh loudly.

But guess what, I find it sexy that my heart starts to thud loudly.

“Of course not. When I saw a car from a distance and saw you lying here all alone, I first thought you were somebody. I called you many times and you didn't answer. I thought you were dead, so I checked you by shaking, and you are still not responding. What do you think I should do? You're lucky enough that I was not just somebody intoxicated passing by or else you will end up being r***d in an instance." he said as a matter of fact.

"Who could resist looking at the hot-like goddess on a very cold night under the shining moonlight, while half your body is wet? You mustn't be using your coconut young lady." he sarcastically said, still grinning at me.

“Oh, you're still a p*****t! That won't change the fact.” I gathered all my strength to push him but my strength failed me. Sensing my struggles, he stood up still holding both of my hands and pulled me up towards his body. I suddenly bumped into his chest, and he hugged me. His other hand immediately supported me, resting directly on my lower back. Still laughing in amusement.

“You are cold, yet very hot. Let us go.” he later said in a low voice.

“Hey, where are you taking me? I have my own car.” I pulled back when he started to lead me in the opposite direction of my car.

“Just leave it there, we will just fetch it tomorrow. I have a house not so far from here. That way I first saw your car.”

“Okay, but mind you, I can walk by myself, so no need for you to hold me still.'' Pretending not to hear me, he continued, leading me to the other part of the shore. Not long after, I saw a huge dimly lit house from afar. I think I'm in Baller, Aurora (I'm not sure though since I am so taken by my anger at not realizing my whereabouts.) The house, still almost covered by trees, is visible with a Spanish-inspired structure.

We continued to walk in the house’s direction. A very secluded one with almost no neighborhood around.

“And we are here,” he announced.

“Who’s house is this?” I asked, looking at its surroundings. There was no towering gate, instead, it was surrounded by ornamental plants. And the house was situated away from the highway. Outside it, it has no lamp posts either; the light from the moon and those from inside are the only ones illuminating its surroundings. With the absence of those, you cannot say that there is a house here.

“Mine,” he proudly says.

I stayed silent while looking at him, waiting for him to go on.

“Actually, it’s my grandparents’. It was our vacation house when they were still alive. But later leave this to my care. So, basically, it is mine.”

“Okay” I responded, still admiring the beauty of the place.

“It is quite smaller than that of our house in Manila, but I love it here. It is peaceful here and the scenery plus the ambiance of the house are what I love the most. It has been a long while since I last came here.” He smiled a bit before his expression changed into a serious one. Well, at least we managed to talk calmly now. “This is my escape place when problems occur.” he opened up.

“Oh.” is all I can say. Truth is, I don't have much to say, it always made me uncomfortable when someone opens up about their personal life. Because I suck. I always suck.

As we entered, I roamed my eyes around, admiring every piece of driftwood artwork that was meticulously crafted and arranged neatly outside the receiving area. Although I saw a few from outside, I had never seen those clearly. But what caught my attention is a finely sculpted picture of a naked man and a woman hugging. It was meticulously sculpted and it made it look real if you don't look at it closely, since both expressions are visible too. You can easily tell how these two are feeling about each other. Trailing my fingers in it, feeling the smoothness of its fine wood, I smiled. Just when I heard soft coughing from behind.

“You like it?” he later asks.

“Yeah, It's very beautiful.” I complimented.

“Yes, they are. They were originally designed by my late grandfather as a token of love towards his wife.”

“Wow, they must be very in love with each other,” I exclaimed, full of admiration.

“Yeah, and oh by the way, before I forget, you have to change your clothes, you are soaking wet.”

“I left my extra clothes in the car.” I shyly informed him.

“It's okay, go to shower first, you can find a bath towel in the cabinet just under the sink. While I go look at what I have that you can use.”

“Thank you, it's your fault anyway.” I blamed him, which made him laugh.

“Here we go again. Can we stop arguing about things?” pushing me into- to I think was a master's bedroom.

“Go, the shower is on your right. I will just see what will suit you, and I will cook dinner after. I assume you don't have your dinner too.”

I only nod at what he says. I'm thankful yes, but a pang of discomfort always hit me. I'm not used to depending on someone in any situation, much more if it is him. I never expected that a time would come when we would both act civilly. My encounters with him are always disastrous. He always bullied me and ended up getting me either hurt or crying. I hate him so much to the point of wanting to kill him for causing me that. Of course, in a child’s mind.