Ten years ago( Regal high)
It was a bright sunny day and there she sat at her usual seat writing, she had long gorgeous black hair, fair skin almost translucent, her bright brown eyes that shine with the light of the sun, her lips a little thin with a cupid arc and rosy pink hue, all the boys from every class always came to have a glimpse of her through the window, no one ever spoke to her because she never gave them the chance , her ears were always blocked , she was just in her own world writing.
" Tsk.....who does she think she is ...", said Ashley as she constantly gazed at the window , looking at the ogling eyes of the boys her jaw clenched with anger when she saw her crush was part of those who were admiring her, she had to put so much effort in herself everyday just for Rhea to show up with her books and earpiece and she ends up stealing the spotlight . " I know right, ...she is so full of herself", said one of Ashley's friend, after a while they both stood up and left, the whole classroom was empty now, the lurking gazes peeping through the windows and the spiteful tongues that spilled nothing but gossip were gone, she removed her earpiece , there was no song playing , she only did that so that no one will approach her, she enjoyed the peace she had in school and she preferred not to socialize with anyone , she stood up and stretched her arms , she had been sitting for so long that her whole body felt stiff, as she stretched she impulsively turned around and saw someone was sitting at the back of the class,she was startled and almost lost her balance,she looked around nobody was in the classroom except her and this boy in headphones, her body froze all of a sudden , wasn't it lunch break , no one was suppose to be in class right now. As she was still processing her thoughts he suddenly raised his head and they locked eyes, Rhea froze , he was very good looking.
She couldn't move , the way he stared at her was weird, she had intended to sit quietly but now that he had seen her, her brain was short circuiting, he smirked, tilted his head and raised his hand, he was saying " hi" to her, should she say hi back, his face looked oddly familiar , she sighed, she will just say " hi", she raised her hand up and waved back to him, her hand almost shaking but she composed herself, Denver smiled more as he waved , he th n dropped his hand, stood up and was about to approach her, her heart dropped, why was he approaching her?, what was her next course of action?, he was tall and well built,is he an athlete?, then all of a sudden loud chatters rang through the hallway, Rhea didn't know what came over her as she quickly ran to her desk, she hit her leg hard on the stand if her table , it hurt but she didn't care, she felt his eyes watching her, he probably thought she looked ridiculous right now.
She fumbled with her earpiece as she tried to put it in her ear and then all of a sudden the door was roughly slid open, three other boys came in , they were tall, handsome and had a good build, " hey Denver, c'mon man we have been waiting for you, let's go play basketball", said one of his friends, his voice was loud instantly pissing Rhea off, " be quiet.....nit everyone has to hear you shouting", said Denver his tone hinting at a slight amusement and annoyance, " but you are the only...ooohh", he cuth his speech short after realizing that Rhea was in class, " gosh.....she is so pretty....should I go talk to her....", he said with a cocky smile wanting to approach Rhea but Denver stopped him, " she won't speak to you.....", said Denver as he turned to Rhea for a brief second, her attention fully on her book, then he turned to his friends with a huge smile in his face , then he put him on a headlock, " let's go play basketball", he said as his friends struggled under his grip while the others laughed and then they left, it was quiet just like it had been some minutes ago.
Rhea removed her earpiece , she looked at the door where they had just left from, then she looked around the classroom making sure it was empty, " Denver....", she mouthed , she had never heard a name like that before , it sounded somewhat....exotic, she looked back at the empty seat where had sat a while ago...., that slight interaction they had ....felt nice", she smiled a little before she laud her head back on the table this time no earpiece just the silent whisper of his name , she took a hold of her pen and wrote his name on her book and for the first time in a while she felt happy. By just knowing his name and seeing his face eventhough this was the first time she was seeing him , she felt....happy.
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Present.
" So ...don't run away from me....", it was not like I could run anywhere else, and eventhough I should eventually run away he shouldn't bother looking for me , I should tell him to leave before things would escalate but as if God was listening to my silent pleas for help the doorbell rang and finally Denver composed himself as he withdrew from me reluctantly but he still looked at me the same way he was looking at me a few seconds ago, I sighed as I walked away and checked who was at my door ....it was the landlady, she was going to ask me about the situation which I most certainly didn't want to talk about, but if I open this door I will have to face Denver again, the better choice was the landlady, with reluctance I opened the door.
The landlady was a short plump woman with long white hair which was sometimes packed in a bun, she barely had wrinkles and her eyes was kind, she was a pretty old lady, " oh my dear....I'm sorry for what happened, are you okay?, are you hurt?, did he hit you?", she panicked , she was worried but.....she was such a talkative, I smiled , I just wanted to get it over with, " I'm fine ...", I said trying my best to sound convincing and not try to make it obvious that this was probably our longest conversation since I became a tenant here, " but you got a bruise my dear....oh my what can we do...", she was frantic, worried , I looked over at the hall, it was still dirty , broken vase , soil and wilted flowers, " I will buy a new vase and I will clean up....", I assumed that is what she wanted from me so now she could drop the act but....," oh dear.....you don't have to compensate for anything.....for a matter of fact , the man who attacked you will pay for damages", she looked so sorry like it was her fault, I gave a warm smile and nodded my head and then Denver appeared behind me, he pushed his way out of my home , the landlady looked surprised at his sudden presence, " ooh....I thought you had gone home", she said then she looked at his bandaged hand, she wanted to ask what happened but he quickly spoke, " I got cut when I broke the vase....she was just helping me clean my wound", he was polite , he eyes darted to me, " your boyfriend is so lucky to have you...",I froze, " boyfriend?", I looked at Denver who for some reason had a mischievous grin on his face like he was teasing me .
I scoffed as I turned to the landlady, " he is not my boyfriend...", I simply said , it was quiet for a while, u wanted this conversation to end but....., " what a shame.....he is so handsome, a friend perhaps?", this was torture, I looked up at Denver, I didn't know why I looked up at him when she asked this question, was I expecting some kind of help, he looked down at me then at the landlady, he was about to say something but I quickly cut him short, " no.....,we are not friends....he is just someone ...", I looked up at Denver, he was not surprised at my words, " I knew a long time ago", he looked hurt, he bent his head low not meeting my eye....., I turned back to the old lady, she looked a little surprised at my words, " thank you again for your concern ", I said bowing my head a little, she smiled half heartedly, the situation must have made her feel uncomfortable because she quickly left.
Once again it was me and Denver in the same space, I turned to him, he still looked hurt but....I just wanted him to leave, " you should get going too..., thank you for saving my life, I will repay you when I see you and after that let's not meet each other again", my tone was flat and to him my words may sound harsh, I turned to enter my home but..., " someone you knew a long time ago huh.....tsk....", he scoffed and then he looked at me in the eye, his jaw clenched and his hands ,his eyes held that if a raw emotion, a moisture of pain and confusion, I tilted my head and folded my arms, " we can't call each other friends...we just met recently, ten long years passed without contact, I don't expect you to be that foolish to not know what that means right". I was harsh and I knew, he stared at me then he took a deliberate step, " your book....the wandering souls of western street.....", he took another step towards me, it was close , I instinctively backed away , why did he bring up my book all of a sudden?, " in chapter....", he took another step closing it completely, we were at wall point now and he caged me, both of his hand s against the wall, he looked frustrated and I felt trapped, it was not like I could not get out from the situation is was in ,it was just ...this mans presence refused to left me move, " Rose told Damon that...", he leaned in a little , our faces inches apart, his warm breath fanned my face softly,our cose proximity made me flustered, " she will forever be a thorn to his side eventhough he gets suck and tired of her...", he looked determined, he smirked , " from now on...will be that thorn by your side, no matter how many times you throw me away.....I will always stick out....", saying that he pulled away from me , it felt like I had been holding my breath in, I looked up wanting to say something, ask him what he meant even though I knew but.....he was gone, just like that the hallway was quiet again.
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Denver walked out of the apartment, why did he say that, she just pushed him to the edge and then her literally quoted a line from her book, that was so cliche, he hit his forehead and sighed deeply, the after effects of his actions was just guilt, that is why there is a saying " think before you speak". As he came downstairs he saw the landlady , she smiled warmly, " you are leaving already...", she asked, " I have to go to the station early in the morning" he said warmly, " ahh...it's a shame though, the second floor has been lonely for quite sometime and I feared for the young lady, everyone moved out from there but she insisted on staying,.....no one is there, like the incident that happened today, if not for you God knows what would have happened to that poor lady", she said as she sighed deeply, she felt so sorry for her, " ma'am....can I rent a room here..?", the landlady looked up at Denver confused and surprised, " and I will like to move in as soon as possible".
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Daniel was sitting on a chair in a baras he sipped his cocktail, at that moment a notification popped up on his phone, he glanced over, his eyes narrowed as he tapped on the message, " as you predicted her uncle came to her apartment, no one knows the details of what happened it he was later escorted out in a stretcher barely conscious", the message read, Daniel tilted his head and then scoffed, he rolled the cocktail in his cup and then some photos popped in on his phone, it was a faint picture of Denver and Rhea, " do you know him", the message read .
Daniel smirked , an evil glint in his eyes as he dropped his cup on the table, " Rhea...., Rhea", he mummured as he zoomed into the picture , then that smirk disappeared, " what are you up to", his tone dangerous, he removed the picture and went to his contacts, he called someone and within seconds the call was picked, " let's meet tomorrow, at your place".