The crowd in the hallway parted as I rushed through. I knew I was running away from the consequences of my actions, yet again, but I was way past giving a damn.

I might have declared my bravery earlier, but I knew I was indeed a lowly coward. Running away from situations I should be facing head-on came so naturally to me. It didn't matter that several voices were yelling my name, I just wanted to flee and never return till some divine being remedied the damage I'd caused.

Despite the fact that I was enraged, I had really just wanted to talk to my twin. I wanted to tell her the story our father told me, I wanted Dera to accept him as well and I wanted the conversation to happen in private, but the way she kept shunning me off like I wasn't worth her time, it pissed me off even more.

...everyone here know how desperate you are for attention and the only reason you're yelling your lungs off is because that peice of shit is the only person that'll ever want the scum drug addict that you are...

Although I hated her to hell for it, she saw right through me, she saw me for who I really was and revealed it to the public. That was why I instinctively revealed her dirty secret to get back at her.

I'm a terrible person!

I stopped running when I got to the empty garden, far away from the classrooms, and sat on a concrete bench to catch my breath, whilst preventing the sob that clogged my throat from breaking out.

Dera didn't deserve what I did to her. Her abortions ...it was the secret shame she tried too hard to keep, the secret injury she'd been nursing for so long. She didn't want anyone to know, yet I'd poked at that wound with a dagger and twisted it in. In public.

I am a monster!

The sob clawed at my throat to be let out, but I stubbornly held it in and settled for a whimper. There was no need crying over spilt milk, it did not matter if I was alone or not, crying would change nothing.

The faint sound of shuffling footsteps coming my way, made me groan. I could already guess who it was, but I wasn't ready to be judged as of yet. I just wanted time alone to think things through.

So without turning, I raised my voice to curse the stalker to hell and back, but I could only manage a wobbly whisper, "Dave. Please I want to be alone." It was all I could do to not allow that sob escape.

The footsteps stopped for a moment, then continued proceeding towards me. I sucked in my lower lips between my teeth and closed my eyes to brace myself for the profanities I was going to yell.

"What in the devil's den don't you understand about leave me-" I stood up and whirled around mid sentence to find the solid presence of the hot cop standing a few feet away.

"oh." It came out as a whisper.

He had changed from the joggers and tank top he had on earlier, he now sported his customary button down, dress shirt and chinos. The sleeves of the patterned dress shirt was rolled to the elbow, as usual, and the tail of his shirt shoved, haphazardly, into the navyblue pants that sat elegantly on his lean waist.

The sight of him, just standing there, distorted my thoughts for a moment, but I was quick to recover.

"If you're here to scold me about how irresponsible I am for spilling all my family secrets to the hearing of all, I know that already. Leave."

Despite my rude command, he didn't leave. He walked forward instead, until he was a few inches away. Up close, his cologne assaulted my nostrils, I could see his stub was gone, but his dark circles were still prominent.

His presence was distracting me, I didn't like it one bit.

"If you won't leave then I'll do," I announced before backing away, preparing to flee once again, but his left arm shot out and swung around my waist before I could make it too far. I gasped in surprise.

"Please let me go," I pleaded to his chest. I knew if I as much as try to look into those penetrating eyes, I wouldn't be able to hold my sob anymore.

Hot cop, however, had other plans.

"Look at me," he ordered, his voice a timbre lower with a tinge of stern seriousness.

"I can't," I mumbled pathetically, "I'll cry if I do."

"Bella," hot cop called in a whisper as he brought his hands to my chin and tilted it upwards. His brown eyes was bright with sincerity and concern, "it's okay to cry."

That was all it took for the effing dams to burst open.

♣

I wasn't sure how long it took for me to release all my tears and snot into Hot cop's shirt, but I was grateful when I was finally done. I felt lighter by the release, comforted by his arms around me.

...and embarrassed by the entire situation.

"Could you let me go now?" I whimpered helplessly, into his shirt. Regardless of my request, my hands still wrapped tightly around his torso like my sustenance depended on it.

"Do you feel better?" He questioned carefully. I was moved by his concern.

"Maybe?" I replied in a small voice. It was that voice I remembered talking with when I enquired about my dad ever coming back.

I felt so exposed, so helpless. Vulnerable.

"Do you want to go out somewhere? Maybe a drive or a long walk? Anything to take your mind off all everything?" I found myself managing a nod, still pressed against him.

In spite of the fact that I wouldn't be totally alone, it was a rare opportunity I would never pass up.

"Alright then. Hold still, let me get my car." Hot cop instructed as he plucked my arms from his body and held on my shoulders to be sure I was steady, before rushing off.

I found it strange that I felt lonely by his absence.

I invested the lone time into searching for running water to clean up the mess that was now my face. Fortunately, my search wasn't for long. It took only a few minutes before I was able to locate the tap connected to the translucent garden hose that seemed to go on for miles. I yanked the hose off and opened the tap to rinse my face of salty fluids, before proceeding to swallow deep gulps from my cupped palms.

"Your chariot awaits." The abrupt voice of Hot cop sounding close behind made me choke on the water I was gobbling.

After turning off the tap and dealing out bouts of coughs, I finally straightened to meet the intense stare of Hot cop trained on me.

He'd changed again, only his shirt this time. A white coloured muscles shirt now wrapped around his upper body. I could clearly see the flowery ink on his bicep and the brown skin of his apt sinew.

The sight of him like that was really distracting. Disturbing.

When my eyes wandered back to his face, I could tell how much he enjoyed my checking him out like a piece of meat. "Let's just leave," I pleaded in embarrassment and picked my way towards the school gate without waiting for further humiliation.

It was a quick walk to his car, which was on the other side of the school gate. Hot cop controlled the red r8 from behind me and I opened the door and slipped into it silently.

Nothing was said as he rounded the car, no words were spoken as he slid in, next to me and I still wasn't up to talking when he fired up the engine and the car purred into life. Even after an hour and half of nerve racking silence, I felt no need to part my lips for words to come out. I didn't know the destination we were headed, but I didn't feel like asking.

The only thing I felt like, at this point in time, was like a rotten egg. An unwanted, rotten egg.

Who would anyone even want rotten eggs in the first place?

...everyone her know how desperate you are for attention and the only reason you're yelling your lungs off is because that peice of shit is the only person that'll ever want the scum drug addict that you are...

Maybe those words did a number on me. They hurt me than I would like to admit. They hurt me because it wasn't far from the truth.

My Twin was right.

"This drive is to forget," Hot cop piped up when he halted the car at a red light, "don't over think. Just try to forget and live the moment."

"Forgetting is damn hard when shit went down moments ago," I sneered bitterly. Then I sighed when I realised my unfairness.

Hot cop only meant well and he didn't deserve my sudden spite, but the circumstances didn't give me any other pass to vent my frustrations on.

If he was offended by my tone, He didn't show it, "it is easier when you don't think about it, when you focus on some the else. Like the fact that we really haven't met, officially."

I rolled my eyes and let out a groan.

"I didn't sign up for meet cutes when I agreed to this drive mister. Just let me be," I pleaded sincerely and focused to the mundane scenery outside the window. I could feel his intense stare sear through my skin, but I didn't make an effort to match it with mine.

He finally peeled his eyes off me, when several angry honks announced the green light glaring overhead, and focused on the road.

His hand darted to his dashboard and deafening bazz of a familiar afro hop music instantly assaulted my ear drums.

Call on me if you need somebody, oohooho somebody,
Call my phone if you feeling freaking, oohooho breathe
Lovu me if you feeling me baby, oohooho oh baby
I go dance for you if you feeling funky

If Hot cop was seeking my attention, he definitely succeeded with the stunt. I turned to glare at him. He had the decency to looked embarrassed, he shot me an apologetic smile and reduced the volume to a sound slightly above a whisper.

It was when he switched the stereo's settings to radio, that I realised that the soppy music was came from him and not a radio channel.

I raised my eyebrow in puzzlement, finding it hard to relate hot cop to some hopeless romantic that would dance for a girl because she wanted him to.

Maybe he just listens to the rhythm and not the lyrics.

The lyrics of the song was trashy by the way. It was like the musician didn't know what to sing, so he decided to promote changing for the sake of love. I personally found the idea repulsive and I had no idea why the musician kept whispering 'breathe' after every two lines or how the said word was connected to the message he was trying to pass.

I'd wasted a few minutes of my life seeing the video, and I was sure the girl in it wasn't hyperventilating or shit.

The slight bump in the road jolted me out of my frivolous musings, as the car continued to eat the dirt road in front of us, the argy-bargy filtering from the speakers piqued my interest next.

"I am telling you Fay. Love is overrated, the emotion died long ago!" A male voice prevailed over the noise.

"And I put it to you that love is a beautiful emotion!" The female, who I assumed to be Fay exclaimed in a louder voice.

"I didn't say it isn't. I say it stopped existing. People are just too obsessed about the idea of love that the help the myth thrive in situations in which it shouldn't."

"You're married Fred, how did you come about such union if not for love?"

"Mutual interests? Respect for one another? Friendship and companionship? Trust and loyalty? That's what a successful marriage thrives on. Not love. Unfortunately, all these things are often mistaken for love as well, so the problem continues." I could hear the smugness in his tone.

Fred knew he was winning the argument and he loved it. Even though the feminist in me wanted to curse him out for feeling better than a woman, I knew Fay's argument was baseless and he was right.

Love really is dead.

"The good book says 'God is love', now whip up an argument for that as well." Fay chimed triumphantly while I face palmed myself.

The woman can't even argue properly.

"The good book was written thousands of years ago and I reiterate that my argument is 'love is extinct'. However, why don't we switch on the phone lines to see what people think about love after this break?" An automated voice immediately took over to inform us that 'melanin diaries with Fayo and Fred' will be right back.

I was hoping they would never get back. My ears were bleeding already.

"What do you think about love?" The sudden voice of Hot cop startled me so much that I flinched. I hadn't noticed that the car had stopped by a river bank until then.

What were we doing there?

"I'll rather keep my opinions to myself," I muttered coldly, earning me a patronising nod from his end.

"I think the emotion still exists. But unlike Fay, I don't think it's beautiful. In fact, it is an emotion that can break the strongest of the strongest and leave them a shell of themselves." His eyes laser through me as he made his tall talk. I had a feeling he was saying it all for my benefit.

...but I didn't understand why.

"I don't care about love. Stop talking about it."

"Have you ever been in love?" I should have known that the stubborn man never listened.

"No." I decided to answer and put a period to it, "never have and never will."

I leveled my gaze with his and my lips moved to ask the next question before my brain could process the action "how about you?"

To my surprise, his serious face morphed into a beautiful smile that softened his handsome features, making him look ten years younger than his age, provided that his age was what I guessed it was.

"Yes I have," he surprised me even further, "and today is your lucky day. I'll tell you all about it if only you help me set up a picnic I packed a while ago." His bright smile didn't waver. If anything, it grew bigger instead. He pushed at the door by his side and got out before I could think of a reply.

I found it hard to pick my jaw off the ground.

This wasn't a fucking drive, it was a plan. The son of a bachelor freaking planned a picnic with...

Me?

We have a new chapter people! Rejoice💃

Contrary to Ella's dislike towards the song in this chapter (call on me by our simi's duduke😄) I really like the song. In fact, I put the song on repeat while writing this chapter, maybe that what brought about Ella's dislike😑

This chapter is a filler, more or less, and I know y'all are wondering when our psycho killer will strike again. I think the creep is taking his time to analyse the situation so he would *coughs coughs* let me not spoil the story.

I surpassed 40k words with this chapter and were nearly halfway done. I promise the next chapter will have some juicy back story about our hot cop and maybe we can even finally learn his name😌

This chapter is for QueenofQeciverse. Thank you for reading up my book even though you don't normally do ongoing.

Before I leave, let me drop this random question: what do you think about love?

Till we meet again folks, vote, comment and share.

Love,
✌illusionistic.