He can't hurt you

"I'm fine Lucas, get her, she has what I'm looking for, she has the gem...... Don't let her get away"

Lucas nodded reluctantly and started running after Aurora 

* * * * * * *

It didn't take long before Aurora ran out of the bar, she ran as fast as she could like someone was chasing even though she didn't know if that was true or not...

She stopped for a while and looked around to check for Ryan, but no sign of it...

Suddenly, she saw the same man that was with Ryan in the bar earlier, she noticed that he was heading towards her direction. She immediately got scared, she ran as quickly as she possibly could, trying to find a way out, something to help her, but she couldn't see anything, and there were too many people on the street, too many obstacles and she knew she had to hide now...

But where? Where? Her eyes scanned desperately around the street when she suddenly noticed a small alley. She was so relieved, she didn't know what to do. She tried to hide there behind some garbage cans and bushes that stood on opposite sides of the alley, she hid in them and waited for him to disappear from her sight. But instead, she could hear him coming closer, she couldn’t run away anymore, so she decided to just try to get it over with, it’s not like anyone will recognize her if they see her, anyway, she’d never been recognized by strangers or by anyone in general really

Her legs started giving out, she felt dizzy and lost her balance, but the next moment, she was grabbed by someone, she screamed and struggled against the person but he kept hugging her tight, almost painfully so, and held onto her tightly, almost like he wanted to choke her, and he had his hands over her mouth to muffle her screams.

He lifted her off the ground easily and placed her on the ground behind him, she tried to reach for something to defend herself but the arms around her body prevented her from doing so. The arm around her shoulder restrained her more painfully, "Don't move" whispered a low voice.

Aurora closed her eyes in fear and waited for the pain to end, but nothing happened and soon, she was being pulled up again

She opened her eyes to see who was holding her so tight, but instead of a hard face, she realized that he was staring at her intently, "who are you?" she asked quietly

"My name is Lucas" he whispered back with an intense expression on his face, Aurora noticed how his eyes seemed to shine and she thought they were beautiful 

"what's your name?" Lucas added, breaking the silence

Aurora hesitated for a second 

"What kind of maniac chases a girl, chokes her, and suddenly asks for her name? You almost murdered me?"

"I don't know, I find you gorgeous"

He calmly said staring beautifully at her

"Huh?"

Aurora was caught off guard by how smooth his voice sounded

The guy didn't seem like someone who would be so charming and polite all along

And she also thought he sounded weird saying stuff like this 

Her heart was beating fast and she felt her throat tighten, she tried to speak up before he did something else but no words came out

 it was deep like velvet, sweet and soft

"I don't know, maybe I found something about you that attracted me, you're mysterious,"

he added smiling slightly as he watched her blush in embarrassment

She had no idea what to say in this situation

"Why on Earth would you possess the stone, you look so clueless"

"What stone for crying out loud!!!"

Aurora yelled at him as her heart started to race faster

Lucas was quiet while he observed her reaction

"Ummm, can you let go of me now"

She said breaking the long silence

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Ryan needs what you possess"

He said holding her hand tight against his chest

The girl in front of her gasped and started squirming 

Ryan didn't seem interested in anything but whatever it was Aurora possessed

As soon as Aurora began to struggle he released her abruptly causing her to fall backward on the ground with a thud

Lucas smiled and helped her up

"You are quite clumsy, you know that"

He said as he knew her 

"What are you talking about? you just met me"

She released herself from his grip and moved back a bit as Lucas walked closer to her, her body tensed as she saw Lucas's face come to within inches of her

"Well, I am going to ask you one more time to relinquish your possession"

He said his voice low and calm

"I don't even know what you are talking about, I think you got the wrong person"

She said trying to pick a race

"No matter how fast you run, I will find you, you know that right?"

Lucas smirked and turned away from her again

"I don't think so, you know I can just escape, but for some reason, you are allowing that"

Aurora said awaiting his answer...

she looked around her trying to figure out if she could slip past him without leaving a trace

Lucas laughed loudly and turned back to her 

"Just go, if Ryan gets his hands on you, believe me, you won't last a second"

The young man smirked and turned around again, his eyes never left hers for a split moment

Aurora turned around and ran as fast as she could into the forest, hoping he would forget about her, but when she realized he didn't follow her, she slowed down to a stop and leaned against a tree...

She needs to rest, a lot has happened in a few hours, first, a man almost forcing himself on her, Ryan almost murdering her, and Lucas here letting her go for some reason ...

Aurora took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and thought of everything that had gone wrong lately. She just shrugged it off and went her way...

* * * * * * ** * * * * * *

It took a while but Aurora finally reached her home, she dragged her feet aimlessly like she was just chased by an animal

Her eyes were bloodshot and the bags under them had grown so much that it threatened to tear at the skin of her face. She didn’t have the energy to take care of such things and they probably showed on her face. The only thing keeping her awake is the adrenaline running through her body

"It's about time, what took you so long young lady, I thought I clearly said three hours"

Her grandmother yelled right immediately after she opened the door. Aurora winced, "Sorry grandma, I...lost track of time..and then..." Aurora trailed off, she felt bad lying to her grandmother and she knew how disappointed her grandmother will be if she tell her about her day

"Aurora, are you okay? you look stressed"

Her grandfather said coming out of the kitchen 

 with a cup of tea and some biscuits in his hand

"Aurora, sweetheart?" her grandmother asked again

Aurora smiled brightly, "I'm fine, Grandmother, I just ran into some trouble today",

she paused, "but I promise I'll explain everything tomorrow"

Aurora's grandparents shared a worried glance

Aurora tried to exit their presence but her grandmother grabbed her hand with a full glare on her face

"Aurora what happened? Did you meet someone unusual today"

She asked like she knew who Aurora might meet

"Umm....no.... nothing like that grandma, I'm just exhausted, that's all, I'll go upstairs now"

She said heading to her room but suddenly stopped...

She was curious to ask a question

"Grandma, do you know what a gemstone is?"

She asked and her smile went down when she saw the worried look on her grandmother's face 

Aurora wasn't sure if asking the question was a good idea or not

After a moment of silence, both her grandmother and her grandfather gave her a very different look, one which told her something bad is gonna happen

"Why do you ask Aurora? Who do you meet?"

Her grandmother curiously asked

"Nobody, I'm just curious that's all"

Aurora said regretting the fact that she asked the question

"Curious my foot"

Maltida said, grabbing Aurora by her arm and dragging her upstairs

Aurora's heart beat faster than normal, her palms were sweaty, and she could feel her pulse going crazy in her neck.  

The second they entered the bedroom, Maltida closed the door behind them

"This is what happens if I let you go out for three minutes, I will not lose you, I won't let him take you away from me"

She said firmly, her eyes narrowed. 

Aurora swallowed hard. 

"Did you meet him Aurora?"

Her grandmother yelled with her head tilted back so her neck would be more relaxed.

"No.....I.... don't know what you are talking about"

Aurora lied, feeling guilty about her actions.

Maltida gave Aurora an evil glare that almost looked like it had some kind of magic powers.

"Don't lie to me Aurora, you met Ryan, didn't you? You met that demon"

Aurora's eyes started to widen.

"You know him?

She whispered but Maltida heard clearly

"Did he hurt you?"

Maltida yelled squeezing her hand tightly, making Aurora wince

Aurora shook her head frantically trying to calm down

"Of course, he can't hurt you, you are way more powerful than he is"

 Her grandmother looked madder than before

Matilda put her hands on Aurora's shoulders and forced her onto the bed

"Make sure you pack all your loads, tomorrow we are moving"

And with that, she turned around and left the room.

Aurora was sitting there motionless, staring blankly ahead with wide eyes

TO BE CONTINUED...