Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Holly stop," Tan shouted behind me but I walked on, furiously blinking the tears trying to find their way out of my eyes. He didn’t deserve and a drop of them. Bastard.

"Dammit! I said stop! “He grabbed my arm, grinding me to a sudden halt.

When I turned around, his lips were pulled into a thin line stretching all the way to the edges. The playfulness was gone from his eyes, aggravation slipping in its place. So what could possibly be the reason he had that look on his face when I was the one who got hurt by him? He couldn’t even pretend he was sorry for a damn second.

"Why should I stop Tan? So you can try to get me into your bed like those girls you sleep with every day?" I questioned, pulling my exposed arms around myself to shield myself from the cold chills.

"Because I don't want you here Holly. I want you gone, far away from RCU. I don’t want to see your face or be anywhere near you," he blatantly pointed out, no hint of remorse in his voice.

"Excuse me?" Was he being serious right now?

"I said I don't want you here," He spoke with lips thinned to form a straight line.

"And here I was hoping for at least an apology if not an explanation," I shook my head in disbelief.

"Too bad then because I'm not sorry I left but still you need to leave by tomorrow," ice glided along his tone but the urgency in his voice was quite surprising.

"I'm very much capable of taking care of myself Tan. Maybe you should be the one to leave. That's what you are good at, right?" He clenched his jaw then unclenched it.

"Listen Holly, I'm not even in the slightest sorry that I left because I'd rather have you hate me for that, instead of living my entire life hating myself for being the cause of your death. So you need to leave. Re-enroll back to Harvard, get your degree, get a job, get married and have that life you've always dreamed about,"

"Wow! You really haven't changed Tan. So now you are going to insinuate that someone is going to come after me because of you? You are such a dickward!" I spat, turning around to walk away but he stopped me again, this time coming around to face me.

"I'm serious Holly. If you don't leave, you are going to die and I'll have myself to blame for that for the rest of my fucking life,"

"You know what? I take my earlier statement back. You've changed Tan. The guy I fel-knew back in high school was apologetic even over insignificant things but this one right here is not just unapologetic but apparently has humor too. You should reconsider your major," He ran a hand over his rugged mess of hair.

"So you think all of this is funny? You think I wanted to stay away from you all these years? You think I wanted to come to RCU?" His voice was drawn into a compilation of insufferable amount of rage.

"No. You just wanted to stay away from me," I filled in for him.

"Exactly. Hate me all you want but just so you know, you are the only person that mattered enough for me to stay away," his words stopped me. I had to blink twice just to remember I was still so damn mad at him.

"Mattered to you? Really? You left me. No word from you and then I come here but you are not even a tad bit sorry. Now does that sound like you care about me? Because honestly it seems like my presence disgusts you. That's why you want me away, again," A tear slid down my cheek and I furiously dubbed it away.

"That's not why I want you gone. I care about you and you already know that," He was now reduced to pleading.

"I doubt you really know the definition of the word care. You know what? I'll make this easy for you. Stay away from me and I'll be sure to keep my distance off you. Sounds fair?"

"You don't understand. As long as I'm anywhere near you, he will find you and make mincemeat out of your skin and bones," the desperation in his voice matched the one in his eyes. Against my instincts, I sighed making an in the moment decision.

"Who will find me?" A conflicted look crossed his eyes.

"My father," he sounded defeated but I was not about to bring my guard down.

"Let's say for a moment I believe you, explain to me why your father whom I've never met would want me dead,"

"Because...because..." He trailed off, completely lost with words.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," I brushed him but this time he made no effort to follow me.

"It's because you'll never believe me even if I told you, “I ignored him and instead concentrated on walking as fast as my heels could allow me.

The high heels were killing me with each step I took. The eerie silence of the night was unsettling enough. Maybe I should have just waited for Alex at the club. I tried to call her but they went straight to voicemail. Having no other option, I unstrapped the heels dangling them in my hands as I found my way home, fighting the tears still attempting to run down my face. Ugh! Why couldn’t I be able to keep my composure around him? Why did he still affect me this much?

“Damn you Tan,” I cussed into the cold, empty night.

The sudden hooting of an owl made me stumble on a piece of grass by the gravelly road. I cussed my wild imagination under my breath. Just because they told stories about the bad luck brought by the hooting of an owl at night, it didn't mean it was true. Besides, the only bad luck I had today was my meeting with Tan. Why would his father, a man I've never met and the one man he never talked about, come after me? Maybe he just didn't want to be sorry. The was why he was concocting a story that did not make any sense at all. I frowned instinctively. Why was I still thinking of that relentless asshole?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I did not see the well-dressed man I front of me until I ran smack into his lean body.

"Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was I going," I muttered.

He smirked slightly and even though he was older, his undeniable resemblance to Tan made me take a step back. It was too uncanny.

"What the hell!" I gasped in shock.

"What the hell indeed. Hello Holly," a sick grin twisted on his face.