Chapter Eighteen

I had been so excited to see the city, I had dropped my bags by the front door, and didn't even bother to check out the rest of the house. My father had insisted that I stay at a home he rented out for Sebastian and I. He said it would be easier to have my bodyguards with me always, without the school getting in the way.

I also had him promise that during school hours, Alex and his trainee Daniel, were going to stay at the front of the school in the parking lot, and would wait until I was done and ready to go back to the rented house. I wasn't able call it 'home' just yet.

Since I had agreed to stay at the rented house, my father had agreed to my demands at the least, but I could tell that he hadn't been pleased with it. It had been almost impossible to get them off me when I had tried to leave. The car was already packed, and even Alex and Daniel looked impatient, as my parents had hugged me over again.

"How much time do you think we have?" I asked Sebastian after he had moved all his things inside. He looked at his phone for the time and our class schedules for the first week.

"I'd say we have a solid two hours, before we should head back here and start unpacking a bit."

I nodded in agreement. I wasn't too worried about unpacking, other than my clothes and a few personal belongings. My father had said that the house was prepared before we had arrived, and I from what I could see from the front door, I had assumed the entire house was furnished, even the bedrooms and bed sets.

Alex was still in the car when we walked down the driveway, ready to take us wherever we wanted to go. Sebastian searched a few popular sights on his phone, and told Daniel so he could direct Alex around the city. We made sure to cross over the Golden Gate Bridge – even if it was just to turn around and go back the other way.

That was when Daniel started speaking of a park nearby, and asked if we were interested. We hopped on the idea, and we were disappointed when we had arrived. The place was incredible. Two museums occupied the grounds, as well as many other attractions. There was even a buffalo habitat!

The moment the car had parked and turned off, Sebastian and I rushed out and ran off before Alex and Daniel could react. I could hear them call our names, but I was too distracted by the many different colors and people around me. I had no idea what to focus on first, and before I knew it, I had lost track of everyone, and was alone in the crowd of strangers.

I could feel my heart start to pick up speed, and sweat had gathered on the palms of my hands. I tried to take a few, calm breaths and look around for Sebastian, or even Alex and Daniel, but I couldn't see anyone over the sea of bobbing heads and hats.

Curse my shortness!

I was almost in full panic mode. I had to get out into open space, so I could at least feel like I could breath. I didn't like being in a crowd of complete strangers, let alone be sandwiched between them. I tried my best to muster all my strength and shove through the crowd, when a hand wrapped around my arm and yanked me back. I was too shocked to scream, and there were too many people around me to fight off the attacker. I could feel my heart about to lunge out of my throat, and I briefly wondered if this was how I had felt the first time I had been taken.

My senses returned to me when we had burst through the thick crowd and landed in a clearing. I started to lash out and fight back. My kidnapper screamed in response, but didn't hit me.

"Ava, stop! It's me!" I vaguely recognized Sebastian's voice. He released my arm and I dropped to the ground. I looked up and I was glad that it was just him. Alex and Daniel had run up to us shortly afterwards.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know who you were," I said, and realized I was slightly out of breath. I could still hear my heart in my head, and feel it thump painfully against my chest. Sebastian reached out to me and tried to hug me, but this time, it brought me no comfort.

"Can we go back now?" I asked suddenly. Sebastian frowned at me, but nodded and helped me to my feet. The ride back to the house was quiet, with a tense air surrounding us. Alex and Daniel were now on edge, and ready for anything else to happen, and I could hear Sebastian mope next to me.

The minute we pulled into the driveway, I went inside and grabbed a few main boxes, and picked out a bedroom. It was obvious which room was mine, and there were two other decent sized bedrooms for Sebastian to choose from. I was told that Alex and Daniel would have their own set-up in the basement.

I closed the door and locked it. Once I knew I was alone, I looked around the room, and slumped to the floor.

Had I made the right decision?

Was this going to fill the void?

***

It was a struggle to wake up the morning of classes. I hadn't had to get up so early in what seemed like literally, a lifetime. When my alarm had blared, I slammed my phone and had accidentally swung it off the end table. That was my motivation to get out of bed.

I groaned and dipped down to pick my phone up and finally turn the alarm off. I didn't want to look at myself in the mirror, and walked right past it as I moved to the shower. The weekend had felt like it never existed. I had spent most of my time in my room, arranging, and then rearranging my room. I could no longer recall how many times I had moved my stuff around.

Once I dried my hair and applied a bit of make-up to at least look presentable for my first day of college, I struggled to find the 'perfect' outfit to wear. I had so many clothes to choose from, but I didn't know what went with what. For the first little bit after I had left the hospital, my mother or a housekeeper had helped me sift through my clothes, and pick a reasonable outfit to my liking. But during those times, I got the familiar sense that they had just helped me, so they could also keep an eye on me. I had been frequently asked how I was, what I had been thinking about, and it had drove me insane.

It was the only reason I had told them I could handle picking and outfit on my own. In truth, I had no sense of fashion or style, and had no idea what the recent fashions even were.

I huffed, frustrated and too tired to deal with petty stuff. I grabbed what I hoped was a clean navy blue, button up blouse, and a pair of black leggings. I went through a couple boxes, until I had found my box of packed shoes. I picked out a pair of black wedge heels; it was too warm for the thousand pairs of boots I seemed to possess.

Sebastian was already outside waiting for me. We hadn't said much to each other over the past couple days. I had assumed he was also unpacking, but I knew in the back of my mind, that he felt guilty about what happened at the Golden Gate Park. Like everything else he had felt guilty about, it hadn't been his fault.

But I also knew, there wasn't much I could do to convince him otherwise. I had freaked out and panicked when he had grabbed me, but he was just trying to help me.

It was all my fault.

And those who kidnapped me.

I hadn't forgot my growing rage for Lucien Bradford, and whoever he had help him, if he had anyone. I had remembered that my father said that Sebastian was with me when I had been kidnapped. I had thought about asking him, exactly what had happened. My parents seemed to have no idea what happened, other than that I was taken and in an accident, but no actual details or specifics. But I had also imagined that he had been heavily questioned by police when I was reported missing. I came from a wealthy family, my name had to carry some weight.

Especially if my father had could get us into an almost packed college with the snap of his fingers, and the whisper of his name.

The ride to college was quiet, and I was glad to see that the distance between was small. Sebastian and I had looked over our schedules on the way there, and I was a little disappointed that we didn't have classes on the same day sometimes. What was I going to do then? Make him go to school, for no reason? I was sure my father wasn't going to be upset, if it was just Alex and Daniel out front, and I was absent of Sebastian for a day or two. It was actually one day during the week, that we didn't have classes at the same time. Other than that, there were only a few hours during the week, where one of us was going to have nothing to do.

He walked me to my first class and made sure I found a seat before he finally left. I had noticed a couple girls had eyes him as he walked out the door. I expected myself to feel some sort of anger or sadness towards that. That's what jealousy was, right? But I didn't really feel anything.

I cleared my head and took out a pad and pen to get ready for class. I tapped my pen against the desk and looked out amongst the large, theatre shaped lecture room. I had expected something a little smaller for a community college classroom, but they went above and beyond. I started to regret my decision to socialize and get out. This was too much.

I was so focused on my anxiety, that I hadn't noticed someone walked in, right up the aisle past me. I hadn't noticed them, until I felt their presence brush past me.

They hadn't touched me, but when they passed, it had felt like an electric current rushed through my body. I had a sudden sense of adrenaline I wasn't sure I had ever felt before.

I heard the person take a seat behind me, and the urge to look at them itched at the back of my neck, but my fear and anxiety had overcome it. My head stayed glued to the front of the class, and I waited on the edge of my seat until the professor had arrived. He began the class immediately to my satisfaction. I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding, but my hands were still shaking. I tried to write down everything the professor was saying, but the trembling of my hands was too much.

Who the hell is this person? Why do I feel like this?

It was almost impossible to focus on the class for the next 2 hours, and I was so relieved when the professor put down his dry-erase marker, and ended the lesson. I had barely remembered anything he said, I could feel the stranger's eyes on the back of my head the entire time. Maybe it had just been my own paranoia, but it felt like they had been staring at me intently throughout the whole lesson.

I slowly packed my bag. I wanted to wait for the stranger behind me to pack up and leave as well, before I even moved from my seat. But I didn't hear any movement from behind me, and it put me even more on edge.

Are they waiting for me?

My hands started to tremble again, and by now I tried to rush my stuff into my bag. I was so distraught, I completely missed my bag when trying to shove my pen carelessly back in. It had hit the tip of my shoe and bounced into the aisle next to me. I let out a frustrated breath, but stopped dead when a hand flew into my vision.

It picked up the pen, then feet appeared in front of me. I followed them up a pair of dark-washed jeans, a black fitted t-shirt. Then I stopped at the hand that held the pen.

"I believed you dropped this," the stranger spoke. I felt his voice deep in my bones, his deep tone sent a shiver down my spine – but in a good way. I grabbed the pen and straightened up to face the strange boy. I cleared my throat and lifted my eyes.

The moment my eyes met his, my blood ran cold, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.

I gazed straight into a pair of bright, electric blue eyes.