Always a step away

Celine's POV

I continued to walk ahead and Faye followed behind. When I saw that she was close enough, I halted suddenly and turned to confront her.

"I have to go this way," Faye spoke before I could.

I blinked, surprised. She didn't wait, and turned to the left and began to walk away.

Was I wrong? I scrunched up my face. Did he really let me go without a guard? I should feel good, but crazily, I felt upset.

Just as I stomped my feet and was about to continue, Ethan suddenly appeared. I almost jumped backward, a frown invading my expression.

Before I could think to scream, the boys with him charged forward and covered my mouth. They dragged me with them and stopped at a secluded place, throwing me against the wall.

"We meet again," Ethan said, moving forward.

My feet shifted back slowly, watching my steps and looking for a direction to escape. "Unfortunately," I muttered.

He chuckled, the sound making my face scowl harder.

"You still owe me, Celine Sawyer," his voice turned hostile again.

I clenched my fists. "I don't owe you anything. Whatever happened then, you brought it upon yourself."

His face twisted bitterly, hate flashing in his eyes. He rushed at me as I tried to run and grabbed my arms.

"Stop pretending to be all that. The Montessori family has already abandoned you," he snarled, his grip hurting me.

I clenched my jaw, not letting myself show pain in front of him. I tried to push him off, but he thrust me against the metal rods lying on the ground and I crashed onto them.

I bit off a low groan and looked to see my palm scraped by one of the rods.

Ethan wore a wicked grin. "Just because I tried to date you, I was kicked out of the city. Now, I'm going to make you regret it."

He signaled the boys with him, and they grabbed a rod from the ground. Fear gripped my heart; I thought of the excruciating pain I was about to suffer.

One name slipped from my lips in that moment. I shut my eyes as the boys moved forward. Instead of getting hit, I heard a loud screech from one of the boys instead.

When I opened my eyes, another boy was thrown into the air and landed right beside me. My gaze darted up and I saw Faye grabbing the rod from one of the boys who had hurled his rod at her. She kicked his chin and tossed him away.

I got up slowly and watched her. A hard gulp went down my throat.

Ethan, who looked afraid now, moved shakily and tried to grab a rod from the ground. I rushed at him and kicked him in the butt, he fell face-flat with a loud grunt.

I turned to Faye and saw that three of the boys had gotten up. Seeing that, I rushed to her and grabbed her hand as she punched one of them.

"Let's go," I said, dragging her out of there.

We ran until we were back on the road. I turned back to see if Ethan was after us, but he wasn't.

"I could have taken those guys down," Faye said, turning to me.

I gazed at her. No doubt, she wasn't just an ordinary housekeeper. "You..." I wanted to ask, but a car pulled up in front of us. Dave appeared in a blink and rushed to me.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his eyes searching me over.

I flinched and turned back to Faye. "You already called him?"

Dave didn't wait; he pulled me into the car with him. I quickly stopped him. "I already missed school yesterday, I can't miss it again," I told him.

"School is not important. You were almost harmed," he said, breathless. His eyes dashed to my bleeding palms. "You're injured."

I looked down at my palms. "I can just..."

He didn't let me finish. "No, you're getting treated," he said, stubbornly.

I pulled my hand from his grip. "Stop it. I'm fine, a bandage would do," I insisted.

He wanted to argue again, but my glare stopped him. He turned to Jeff, who drove to a pharmacy instead.

I gave him my palm and he cleaned the wound carefully, watching me as he did it. I stared at him, not taking my eyes off him.

"Did you even leave?" I asked.

He didn't answer. He just focused on getting my palm bandaged.

I bit my lip angrily and pulled my hand away again, grabbing his face. "Want to explain Faye?"

He stopped, taking in a sharp breath. "You already figured it out, why ask again?"

I moved closer and put my arms around his neck, tightening my hold and pulling him close. He didn't resist. Our faces stayed close, and I held his gaze.

"Are you alright?" Dave's voice was filled with concern.

It made me realize I had worried him again. I pressed my lips gently together and released them slowly.

"If you're so worried about me, why did you leave me for two years?" I searched his gaze.

He pried into my eyes, his arms slowly moving behind my back and pulling me in. "Who said I left you? I was always watching you," he answered.

My arms loosened around him; I moved back a bit, but his hand pushed me back, not letting me go. My gaze faltered, and I looked down. Dave grabbed my chin and lifted my gaze back to his.

"Don't tell me you didn't notice, all this time, that I was always watching you?" he asked.

I subconsciously pulled my arms back; he grabbed them and put them around his neck again, his hand caressing mine. I can't deny that over time, I never felt that someone was protecting me, which was why I dared to be so reckless.

Dave's face leaned closer, his breath falling slightly on me. I looked at him again and felt a little nervous.

What was he doing? I forced my arms from his grip this time and pushed at his chest.

"Let go," I said, putting distance between us.

He didn't fight it. He just took my hand again and helped me bandage my palm. "I will take care of the boy," he informed me.

My eyes flickered up to him. I stared for a second before I swallowed. "Be gentle with him, he's just a brat," I said.

My mind drifted to what Ethan had said. I thought all Dave did back then was just to scare him away from me. But then, seeing how bitter he was.

Dave stroked my hair gently, a little smirk on his lips. "Baby girl, don't be too kind," he said, gazing into my eyes.

I nodded obediently, my palm resting in his, I relaxed into his touch.

There was silence for a second, then Dave's expression turned serious.

"And don't ever trust anyone, no matter what they say," he said.

I nodded again.

It doesn't matter anyway the only one I trust and love is him.