Chapter 5 - Julie

I'm humming the Taylor Swift song that's been stuck in my head all day as I walk to my car in the dark. I see nothing as I trip, but I feel the shift of my balance as my body falls, and I'm flailing as I see the ground racing up to greet me.

Fuck!

My body tenses, bracing for the impact as usual, but it doesn't come. Again. Just like in the store, I feel strong arms wrap around me, though this time, the ground is much closer. My breath catches as his arms flex, pulling my body closer to him.

"If you're trying to invent new dance moves, Julie, I admire your creativity. But maybe we save those experiments for the bar, yeah?"

Kaius. What the fuck is he doing here?

My mind is reeling. He shouldn't be out here at Uncle Merl's house at this time of night. I know he has some sort of arrangement with Cyrus and the research team about the mine, but it's well past midnight.

He pulls me flush against him as he straightens up from the crouched, lunge position he seemed to have put himself in out of fucking nowhere—which is creepy as hell. The lack of a crowd and the sheer bizarreness of the situation give me the courage I need to stand up to him.

"Let go of me," I snap as I push away from him, "What the fuck are you doing out here?"

"Late night experiment, needed to check out what the temperature changes were doing to the climate within the cave. Cyrus likes his measurements."

I narrow my eyes as my head shakes. I don't really believe him. I don't know what it is, but something about all of this just sounds like bullshit. Creeping this close to the cars and not the mine? Being out here in nothing but basically jogging sweats when it's all of thirty degrees? I'm not buying it for a dollar.

"You go down in the mines at this temperature, late at night, in just that?" The accusatory tone my voice takes only increases as I cross my jacket-covered, gloved hands in front of my chest. There's something in his closeness. As much as I can feel in my bones that he's lying to me, I also want to wrap myself back up in his arms. That rush I felt when he pulled me closer was absolutely wild.

Unbridled passion indeed. Maybe they need to write about geologists because… Damn.

"I ran here. I killed two birds with one stone," he comments and tilts his head slightly to the side, studying me for a moment. "I think this is the first time you've spoken to me."

"This is the first time you haven't had an audience to torment me in front of like the world's biggest asshole," I snap back.

The moonlight on his skin highlights his high cheekbones and those ridiculously light-hazel, almond-shaped eyes. I can't argue the fact that he's fucking gorgeous. It's just too bad he comes across like a narcissistic asshat.

Been there, done that, and have that particular trauma t-shirt. No, thank you. Even if he makes my body tighten in all the deepest places with just that look.

"I don't always—" He breaks off, turning his head to scan the trees over his right shoulder. In a breath, he closes the space between us. His arm is around me, and he's steering me toward my car. "You need to go. You shouldn't be here at night."

"What are you talking about? You shouldn't be here. I'm fine."

"No, Julie, please. I need you to trust me. Just this once."

He says it with such a different tone. I turn to look up at him, struggling to reconcile this genuinely concerned tone. His eyebrows pull together. He's frowning, and those eyes are darting back and forth through the trees, scanning. His arm tenses around me, and it feels like his whole energy shifts. I can't place it, but he feels like he's on high alert.

"I heard something in the woods. You need to go. It's not safe out here," Kaius insists as he pulls my car door open and holds it open for me, trying to guide me in. I stop turning to look at the tree line myself. He's being silly.

"It's probably nothing," I argue as he gently but firmly forces me into the car. I sit in the driver's seat when there's no choice but to fold myself in at his persistence. I stare up at him from my car in absolute confusion.

"Please, just head straight home." He glances down at me and adds, "Is there any way you can send me a text when you make it there safely? All the way in your apartment, doors locked and all?"

"Why? It's most likely Roscoe or a deer. You're being weird."

He leans down, pulling at the seatbelt that I haven't moved to grab, and leans down into my car, pulling it tight across my body and buckling it. His face is inches from mine. The want for him is aching through me, but I am beyond confused by this worry and shift in his entire demeanor.

Kaius pauses, reaching down and plucking my phone from the center console. He holds it out for me, and I blink up at him. What the fuck does he want me to do? Text him now?

"Unlock it, I'll add my number, then I really need you to get out of here and go straight home. Hurry, please."

I shake my head but slide my finger in the Z pattern I use to lock my phone screen and hand it over silently. He is so weird. His fingers look comically large compared to my small phone, but he taps his number in quickly and hands it back to me seconds before slamming my car door closed. He taps on the roof impatiently until I turn the engine on and start backing out.

As my headlights flash over his body, I notice his fists clenching at his sides. His weight is on the balls of his feet; he looks like a boxer ready to start a fight. What the hell is he hearing in the woods that I am not? I've been hunting all my life in these woods, and I can't hear a thing.

I pull out of the small driveway, losing sight of him. I question why the heck I'm listening to him, anyway.

"Maybe, because you're a people pleaser who's a sucker for a narcissist? Maybe because he's got pretty eyes and nice arms? Maybe because you have the self-control of a toddler around men?"

Awesome. Now I'm just talking to myself. I'm just embracing the whole journey down the rabbit hole to crazy town at this point. The drive back to Georgia's is only about ten minutes from Uncle Merl's, and I pull into the small, covered spot at the apartment complex and put my car in park. I sigh, looking around before I get out.

I don't know why. This is Greyson Ridge. Nothing happens here. Kaius is probably just overreacting. New to the woods and the sounds of it. That's what I'm going with because no other explanation makes any sense. I pause with my phone in my hand and look down at the car door.

The intensity of his eyes, the genuine concern in his voice. Do I really think he believes I'm in some kind of danger? Yes. Am I petty enough to not tell him I made it safely? I bite the corner of my lip, push my car door open, and make straight for the stairs, taking them two at a time until I reach the second floor.

I stumble off the top step and hustle the last couple of steps to Georgia's door. I fumble with the keys but can feel my heart racing. I don't know why. There's literally nothing to have me on edge other than Kaius getting in my freaking head. I open the door with a sigh of relief and close it behind me with a satisfied nod. Flipping the deadbolt and sliding the chain in place.

I feel ridiculous as I lean back on the door. I unlock my phone and glance down at the screen. It's still on the new contact that he added to my phone. I bite back a smile that's trying to turn into a laugh. The name "World's Biggest Asshole" is there with a number I have never seen.

It's a little funny.

I type out a message with as little information as possible. Just that I'm home, safe, and the door is locked.