Chapter 19: Wreck

Five days went by in a blur, Cloe had fallen into a routine where she got up early, took a shower, grabbed breakfast, and met Derek at the pool for swimming lessons after that she had the entire day to herself which she would just spend sulking in her room until it was lunchtime. When evening came she waited for the chef to retire after which she then made her dinner and ate at the kitchen island. By accident, she had found out that the bodyguards ate their meals in shifts and she had learned to avoid the kitchen during those busy hours. On one occasion she had run into Derek, she had quickly grabbed a snack and retreated before the silence became overbearing. After the tense conversation by the pool, they hadn't spoken to each other apart from when he was giving her instructions during her swimming lessons.

The guilt she had been feeling about her father's murder had grown each day. A part of her knew that it was unhealthy to bottle up such strong emotions but another part of her felt that she deserved to suffer in silence. During that period of self-loathing, it dawned on her that she was completely alone, even with two handfuls of bodyguards, a chef, Derek and whatever Ms.Croton was, she felt alone because even if she could swallow her pride to talk about the guilt that was eating away at her, she felt like she wouldn't have anyone to truly talk to, they were all strangers to some extent.

On this particular morning, the sixth day, Cloe avoided going to the swimming pool for her swimming lessons, in fact, she stayed in her room the entire day. Her eyes were puffy and swollen from simultaneously crying and sleeping. All the events leading up to that point had finally caught up with her mentally and she was having a complete meltdown. She knew exactly what her father would say if he saw her in her current condition, she could almost hear him taunting her.

Weak

***

The morning air felt crisply cool rushing past her skin, the grass coating her feet with water as she stepped on their dew-filled blades. The first lights of dawn were beginning to show as she made her way to the oasis. It had crossed her mind how odd it was that this oasis seemed even more beautiful than the woods that banked it from the side opposite to the estate. Sitting down she rested her back against the trunk of a tree and sat staring at the woods beyond the oasis, it seemed to beckon her with the appeal of its dark mysteriousness but it dimed in comparison to the water before it, shifting her gaze to the water she was startled when she saw a figure break it's still surface.

Derek's back was turned to her, he was waist-deep in the water with his top half-naked, pushing the hair out of his face he slowly began to rise further from the water. She watched mesmerized as beads of water rolled down over the muscles in his back that contracted and relaxed as he moved. She felt like she was witnessing something she wasn't supposed to see, her heart rate quickened. She pushed herself back against the tree, squeezing her eyes shut she tried desperately to disappear.

"Cloe?" her name echoed across the surface of the water.

Opening her eyes she saw that he was now facing her his v-line just above the surface of the water, smooth broad chest and well-sculpted abs glistening on full display. She felt her face heating up, scrambling to her feet in an attempt to run away backfired as a full day of not eating and crying rendered her weak. Her head spun as she leaned against the tree for support, squeezing her eyes shut she tried to fight against the lightheadedness her sudden movement had brought on.

"Are you ok?" his voice was clouded with concern.

She opened her eyes to see that he was now out of the water moving toward her, he was wearing shorts slung low around his waist.

"Don't come any closer." her plead went unheeded as he closed the distance between them, taking hold of her shoulders as she looked as though she would collapse at any moment.

She closed her eyes wanting to dig a hole and disappear forever.

"I-I wasn't spying on you, I just-"

"Look at me," he said cutting her off.

Reluctantly she opened her eyes and looked up at him. His eyes scanned her face taking note of her puffy eyes and how drained she appeared.

"Were you crying?" he asked quietly.

She didn't answer, this situation felt wrong to her, him seeing her in this state made her feel vulnerable.

Weak

Tears stung the back of her eyes, her face crumpled and she looked away from him. She tried pulling away from him but his grip was firm.

Weak

The tears began to overflow, running down her cheeks in streaks.

Weak

"Cloe..." his voice sounded far away to her, she felt herself trembling uncontrollably, her breathing quickened to the point where she couldn't get enough air into her lungs, she felt like she was going to die, raising her trembling hands to hide her face. She felt his hands disappear from her shoulders only to feel a strong arm wrapping around her waist pulling her against him as a huge hand cupped the back of her head.

"It's ok," he whispered into her hair as he pressed her head to his chest. They stood like that until he felt her tension slowly slip away and her breathing returned to normal she seemed relaxed, too relaxed. He tightened his hold on her as her knees buckled, she was out cold. Shifting his hold he scooped her up and headed for the house. His heart pounded as he set her down gently on the large white L-shaped sofa in the living room. Grabbing some pillows he propped her legs up. Pacing he ran his hand through his hair in confused frustration.

He was angry with himself for not checking up on her when she had missed her previous lesson, he had felt something was wrong but had decided that she probably just needed some space.

He paused his pacing to look down at her still figure.

"What's going on with you Cloe?" he thought plopping down at the end of the sofa.