Chapter 12

I waited a few minutes after he left, then got up and opened the door. The hall was empty so so I took a few steps out then looked around cautiously. There were three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs but no one inside them. The staircase was beautifully crafted, a dark wood that was well taken care of, soft to the touch. I went down a few steps then felt someone behind me but there was no one there, so I turned around and there was a guy very close to me. I gasped loudly and fell backwards onto the stairs.

"So you're what the fuss is all about." he said kind of intrigued and angry.

"Um.... I....I..." slowly getting to my feet.

"Spit it out" he said.

"I'm Marina" I was scared because he was about twice my size and gave off the macho man vibes. I knew these types so I stood my ground.

"Well Marina, I'm Drake and I don't see why everyone is making a big deal about you" he crossed his arms.

"Well Drake, neither do I and you don't scare me" I said getting closer to him.

"I can change that" he bared his fangs at me and took a step closer to me slowly but I wasn't backing down.

"THAT'S ENOUGH DRAKE!" Erik yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Drake rolled his eyes and backed up.

"I was just playing with her, I wasn't gonna hurt her, ya party pooper." Drake said looking down at him.

"Leave her be." Erik just glared at him.

"We'll play later little Marina" with that Drake disappeared.

"I thought I said to stay in the room" Erik was fuming as he walked up the stairs.

"And I said I need to move around" We matched each others glare and neither of us backed down.

"You're persistent" he said.

"You're stubborn and controlling" I saw him flinch a little as if I struck a nerve with that insult but it was gone in a blink.

"Fine, we'll compromise but you have to listen this time" he said taking a step back.

"Deal but you have to stop acting like you own me"

He took a deep breath and thought for a second.

"You can go around the house and the yard area around the house but not into the woods. In the areas we can all keep an eye on you" He said.

"I can do that" I smiled a little.

"Good" he started to walk away.

"Erik" I said quickly.

"What" he said with irritation in his voice.

"Why do you want to protect me?" my voice softened and his expression relaxed a little.

"There's something about you the makes me want to. No....need to protect you" he looked at me with an almost sad look.

"Can we start over?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?" he asked confused.

I walked over to him and held out my hand.

"Hi, I'm Marina" I smiled at. him and he stared at my hand for a second then realized what I meant.

"I'm Erik, nice to meet you" he let out a soft chuckle as he shook my hand. His hand was chilly and it made my nerves loosen up.

"Well Erik, you say you want to protect me but how can you protect someone you don't know?"

"Uh I don't know, why?"

"Since we'll be spending time together I think we should get to know each other, what do you think?" I asked. He thought for a few seconds.

"I promise to be 100% cooperative but I would like to get to know all of you. If I'm not mistaken it could help you figure out who's after me because the last week has been really weird." I said.

"Fine but don't push your luck" he said.

"Ok, luck won't be pushed" I smiled.