Delicate [45]

"Katherine--- wait!" He said pulling me back by grabbing my arm.

I winced in pain and shut my eyes. It was the same hand where Sophie had hit me. His tight grip loosened on my arm and his expression was a worried one.

"What's wrong?" He question and placed a hand on my shoulder.

I groaned and held my arm with the other one. His grip had reminded me of the ache in my arm.

"It's nothing." I said opening my eyes.

"You call it nothing." His voice was indignant now. "Tell me what happened?" He demanded.

"I ran into a locker." I lied and noticed his eyes were not buying it. I didn't want him into my private disputes. As far as I knew, it was childish and stupid to rant about some other girl I hate.

He pushed my hairs back and tucked them behind my ear, searching for my eyes. His fingers were cold and my face burnt up in response. "You are a bad liar Katherine." His fingers moved from my ear to my cheek, bringing my face to meet his and he held my face with one hand. I didn't withdraw from his touch. Instead I was mesmerized by the way his ashen eyes were assessing me. I was frozen on my spot and he was too. "You know I can ask Cee about this." He challenged.

His voice snatched me out of my thoughts and I suddenly realized we were needlessly close. I brought my hand to his and removed his hand from my face. He swiftly twisted his hand out of my grip and grabbed mine. I let him do that. On an ordinary day, he was mischievous, sarcastic and cold. Today he was a lot different. Vulnerable, delicate and warm.

"Cee won't tell you anything." I challenged him back.

"And why won't she?" He was right. Why would she keep it from him? In fact she would tell him without him trying. Someone just needs to mention Sophie and Cee would bombard a list of reasons why she hated her and how degraded she was.

"I'll convince her not to."

"I can be better in convincing than you." He smiled and I took his comment as a personal insult. He brought my hand to my side and released it slowly. I retracted it back to my lap.

"And if you ever decide to side with my siblings then consider yourself lucky. They might actually team up with you." He instantly changed the topic and shifted back in his seat. Something about his voice told me that he was in despair.

"Why would I team up with them?" I asked confused by the sudden mention of his siblings.

"Weren't you planning on going against me a little while ago?" He smiled.

"Was I?" I grimaced and then smiled at him but his expression was grave.

"Katherine!" He asked, looking away at the blurred glass of the windshield. "If you ever have the opportunity to go against me and team up with my siblings, would you take the chance?"

I didn't understand what he was talking about. But I noticed his face fall on the mention of his family and his siblings and I wondered what was wrong with his family. His head drooped. Something was bothering him. This was the first time I had seen him troubled. I didn't get his question well. There was some hidden meaning the way he put it. In fact everything he had ever said had more than one meanings. One which people perceived. The another one was latent and subjected only to him.

"I won't. I have known you before them so I'll choose you over them." I answered and he was stunned by my response as he turned to me and eyed me intently.

"Even if I'm the bad guy?" He verified.

"I don't think you're the bad guy. You just act like you are." I answered.

He didn't respond to my reply. He just kept staring at me with his stormy grey eyes and I couldn't tell what was on his mind. I thought through my replies again. Have I said something I shouldn't have? Or did I again hit some nerve? Even if I didn't give much thought to my replies, I believed that's the only obvious thing I would do. Why would I side up with some stranger I don't even know? He raised his hand and he was reaching out to hold my face. But he stopped midway and then instantly retraced it back, turning away from me.

"Thank you Katherine!" His voice was soft and very low, but enough for me to hear.

"For what?" I demanded.

"Nevermind." He said still looking at the blurred glass.

"Are you having some kind of sibling trouble?" I assumed this had something to do with his siblings who were coming over tonight.

"I have had my siblings torture me ever since the beginning." He said still looking away.

"I don't know what it's like to have a sibling cause I never had one. But yours sounds like jerks" I said delving into the trance thinking about what it would be like if I had a brother or a sister.

"You're lucky." He turned back and kept his eyes on the front of the car.

"But it would have been good if I had a sibling." I said out loud.

"Trust me, it's nothing good."

I wondered why he sounded so dreary and downcast. Maybe the reason he was acting so strange was because he was stressed about the little family reunion he mentioned earlier. I assumed his family and siblings must be asserting their wills on him in an arrogant and bossy way. Unconsciously, I felt a bad for him. An hour ago, I was cursing him for the way he antagonizes me and now here at this moment I felt guilt-ridden for wronging him.

He glanced past me at the blurred window glass. It was still pouring like frenzy outside with the constant pitter patter sounds. "Well are you not going home today?"

"Oh yeah. . . I have to go." I didn't want to get out of the car. I wanted to talk to him sitting inside for hours. He was unusually delicate today and I wanted to savor this side of him for longer.

"Why does it sound like you don't want to?" He grinned.

"Does it?" I wished he could stay a little longer. But maybe he was really running out of time.

"It sounds like you don't want me to go." He responded. His smooth voice was gone now and the sarcasm was back.

"Enjoy fraternizing with your siblings tonight." I said as I pulled my hood over my head and clicked the door open.

"I would rather sleep and dream about you than get along with them." He teased.

"Goodbye Lucas." I smiled and left the car.

"Goodbye Katherine!" He brought the engine back to life and drove away.