Chapter Nine: A Detour

[Continued from chapter eight]

He chuckled which was endearing to listen to. "Well Kira, I heard her calling you, so that's how I knew your name" he answered.

She nodded and it was fair enough. "Okay. But it would be nice if I knew your name, instead of calling you 'sir' all the time don't you think?" she asked trying to make him tell her his name.

He just smiled and said "I actually don't mind being called sir, besides if you want to know my name, you'd have to find it out yourself because I never asked for yours, now did I?"

She was speechless so she didn't ask for his name again, but there is this question that has been at the back of her mind since he rescued her.

"Hope you don't mind me asking but what were you doing around that neighborhood today?" Kira asked curious.

Shawn thought about lying and telling her that he was just passing by and happened to stumble across her, but he decided to come clean and scare her a little bit.

He stopped turned faced her and looked into her eyes and said

"What if I told you that I was watching you and your friend? Would you think I'm a creep? Hmmm?"

A shiver ran down Kira's spine and she could see a dark danger hidden deep in those honey brown eyes, she couldn't say anything but just swallowed.

He smirked when he saw that she was scared and couldn't say anything.

"Don't worry. I respect women and I know my morals.

But you must know that I am very…." He thought if he should tell her but decided that she has been scared enough for night, that if a cat jumped at her right now, she might faint on him and he didn't want that happening, he ended shaking his head and said "Never mind".

They soon reached very close about 10 feet away from the house. He stopped.

"This is where I would be stopping Kira. Go in your family are probably worried about you" she nodded and was about to leave before he stopped her by saying.

"Please next time don't stay out to late to avoid what happened back there. I might not always be there watching you" he gave a devilish smile and with that he was gone and she turned and ran home.

Her family were worried sick. She apologized for coming back late. She could never tell them what happened that night because she didn't want her family to worry more.

She just ate dinner and went to bed and kept replaying the events that occurred and the dangerously beautiful honey brown eyed man that saved her that she didn't know when she slept off.

[Chapter Nine Begins]

The walk back home to his apartment was really slow. After he saw off Kira to her house safely, he became afraid for Angela.

He didn't want anything to happen to her, the sudden urge to protect her was very intense. It was more than the urge to protect himself from being hurt again by a woman.

His jaw ticked on the memory of how the woman he once loved hurt him in the worst way imaginable.

He pushed back those painful memories to the back of his mind and tried to focus his thoughts on Angela, his firecracker.

He smiled remembering her reaction the day he first saw her. It still surprised him on how he took a liking towards her, he always preferred the calm and cool women who would put him in check whenever his anger got out of control.

The fire he saw in those green eyes of hers ignited something deep within him. He doesn't like this feeling because it led to him being hurt before. But is he willing to go through it again?

He took a detour and went to a nearby park with a bridge and a little river showing the reflection of the crescent moon and a shadow of himself was cast upon the waters.

He stood there looking back at himself through the water's reflection.

He always enjoyed nature and the cool breeze.

The quietness of the environment, the chirping crickets and croaks of frogs, with fireflies showing off their natural light. A place void of humans and their noise and pollution.

He dragged in a long breath of fresh air. Looked at the place one last time before heading back home.

When he got home, he pulled of his clothes and walked in the hot shower.

He enjoyed his hot showers, he doesn't care if the world in melting in a big inferno, he'd still take a hot shower.

After cleaning up, he did his night stretches and drank enough water. As he was about to retire to bed, his phone rang.

He was about to send it to voice mail until he saw it was Ricardo's number, which he saved as 'MotherFucker'. He swiped the screen and answered the call.

"Hey Ric man, what's up?" he asked happy to being finally able to talk to his best friend after a long time.

The last time they spoke was when he wanted to tell him about Angela but couldn't finish because he got a call about his mother.

"I'm okay Shawn. Man, my mamas got a stroke. I don't know I'd do without her. I feel bad for accusing my dad of hurting her" Ric said with sadness from the other end of the line.

"Damn, sorry man. Is she okay?" he asked with concern and worry lines appeared on his forehead.

"Yeah, she doing okay. She is no longer unconscious. She would be going for surgery tomorrow and my father has been with her the whole time."

"Maybe you should cut him some slack Ric, he is really trying to redeem himself. It is not everyday you'd see some one who is trying to make amends for his past mistakes.

Just give him a chance, your mother already did you know" Shawn tried to reason with him.

"I don't know man, that man put us through hell and…"

"..And look where that got you man, you are a better version of yourself. If your dad hadn't been bad before, we both wouldn't be having this conversation.

Hell, we wouldn't even have known each other." Shawn explained further. He heard him laugh from the other end of the laugh

"Well, I guess I owe it to the old man for being able to meet your punk ass" he chuckled. "Alright, I would give him a chance"

"That's more like it, man." Said Shawn in a happy voice.

"So how is the business going so far?" Ric asked changing the subject.

"Going well, but a little difficult without you around. But not to worry. I got everything under control.

Just take care of your mother first. Life first, business second."

Ricardo hummed and said "Okay, thanks for covering for me man, I really appreciate it"

"Anything for you man" replied Shawn.

The yawned from exhaustion and tiredness from fighting a couple of guys earlier that night.

"What's got you so tired Shawn? You are literally yawning and it's just past 11pm" Ric asked because he knew Shawn as a night crawler and he never goes to bed on time unless he takes sleep medicine or he has just finished fighting or taking a woman to bed.

"Nothing man, I just had a really long day today. I will fill you in with the details later when you are back, okay?"

Ric smirked and asked "this has something to do with that girl doesn't it?" he tried to fish out answers from him.

"Fuck you Ric, good night you mother fucker" his reaction only made Ric head to go back in laughter, he could imagine Shawn's face red in embarrassment.

"So, it's the girl? I thought so" he continued to laugh until he heard the beep sound which meant that the call has been ended.

Shawn hates how Ric's laugh got to him every time, it was so annoying and infuriating even for him, although you wouldn't think he should have been used to it by now.

"That son of bitch" he cursed under his breath as he got in the sheets, turned off the night stand lamps and went to bed with a smile.

He sure had a lot planned out for tomorrow.