"When love is bloody like that, it's hard to remember what love really is."
― Megan D. Martin,

Chapter 2

I could feel bright sun rays trying to wake me up from the best thing known to humankind –sleep. I slowly opened my eyes, cursing myself for not closing the curtains the night before, so I wouldn't be rudely kept from getting my beauty sleep. This wasn't even the first time, I would always forget to do it. I could swear I was being sabotaged.

A throbbing headache made me get up from my comfy and warm bed. I raised my hand to put pressure on my forehead hoping it would ease the pain, but it was all in vain. I felt like someone stabbed me with a stick.

Suddenly, it was like thousands of pictures were put in my brain, I remembered everything that happened last night, and I shuddered at a mere thought of one particular man.

His dark eyes were so enchanting that I wondered if he was even human. Never in my life had a guy made such an impression on me. His unique beauty wasn't even the sole reason for that, his whole demeanor was surreal. His stance and posture screamed dominance and you didn't have to think twice before you come to the conclusion that the best thing you could do is submit to him. I was lured by that and I didn't even mind, no matter how wrong it was.

I wondered how would it feel to be claimed by this man. I had never met anyone similar to him. My past relationships were mostly short-lived, the only serious one was with my last boyfriend, Stephan. But something told me that everything would be different from that dark and mysterious man.

Faint sound I could hardly even hear brought me back to reality. I tried to grab my phone from my nightstand, but that was quite impossible, considering that it wasn't even there in the first place.

Confused, I looked around me in a desperate attempt to find it. My room was surprisingly pretty clean. Clothes from last night were neatly folded on a chair next to the desk, it was almost like nothing was out of place. The walls in my room were painted in warm cream color. On one wall I had put led lights with clips and hung some of my favorite pictures of me with my friends. That was the happy place that had never let me feel lonely.

I looked down and quickly spotted device that increased the pain In my head with its constant ringing.

How did it even get there?  I wondered.

Annoyed, I got off my bed and hurriedly went to the middle of the room where the damn evil thing was still vibrating getting cozy lying on my fluffy white carpet. I could not understand how, whoever the person that had called me was, still hadn't given up.

Irritated, I took the phone in my hands and realized that my friends were waiting for me to turn it in in the video call. I didn't want to make them wait even longer, so I quickly pushed the button and answered.

"I know that you can't live without me, but could you let me sleep a bit more next time?" I asked them, the moment I entered the chat. I couldn't help but smile when they rolled their eyes in perfect sync.

"You give yourself too much credit." Sarah bit back. I blew her a kiss, which earned me another one of her eye-rolls

"You don't have to be ashamed, you know, it's totally fine, I get it, really." I winked at her

"Would you like to see me roll my eyes again, I can barely bear my current headache." I guess that a lot of people would think that we are fighting right now, but this is just the way we were around each other. Bickering brought us so much fun, no matter how absurd it seemed.

"Next time I will remind you to stop after the first round, don't worry," I smirked knowing I was winning this one.

"I hate the fact that you are not grumpy as the rest of us while hungover," she murmured

"I don't have time for that, I enjoy seeing you all like this."

"Okay, enough! I want attention to, pay it to me right now." Emma popped in conversation.

"You mean like you paid me attention last night?" She frowned hearing me say this, maybe I should start thinking before opening my mouth.

"Speaking of it, what the hell even happened?" Sarah asked her

"Nothing, Tara just has a vivid imagination." she didn't want to elaborate.

"True, but that's not the case this time." I defended myself

"Fine, stop it! I don't want to talk about it." she looked like she was about to explode so I raise my hands in surrender. Normally, I would assume that something happened, but she was always like this after seeing Victor, so we weren't really surprised at the tone of her voice

We continued talking about events that took place last night. I wanted to tell them about that man , I really did, but I couldn't. I felt like that was supposed to be our little secret, even though nothing even happened. I just knew I should keep it to myself, at least for now.

I noticed that Lena wasn't really participating in our conversation, which I found rather odd, considering that she was never the one to shy away from gossiping. I wanted to know what was going on with her so bad, however didn't dare ask. The four of us loved each other deeply, but there is always someone you feel most yourself with, with whom you share everything, and Lena and I had that kind of connection. I knew her better than anyone in the entire world, so knowing that she didn't really like to speak about some things in front of others, I let it slide this time, hoping that she would, eventually, come clean to me and tell me what was bothering her.

"I'm so sorry girls, but I really have to go. I need to go buy some books for classes tomorrow, see you later." Sarah finally said, 2 hours later.

"Yeah, I gotta go to, my roommate is going to succeed in her attempt to kill me if she carries on with her staring," Emma told us and then stuck her tongue at someone, probably at the poor girl itself. They hated each other's guts, I've never understood how they sleep at night, I would be scared for my dear life.

"Yeah, sure..." Lena murmured. I frowned, but still stayed quiet, I was certain that she would explain everything to me, I just needed to give her space.

"Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow, I can't wait to start attending my classes," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

We waved at each other and soon after disconnected the call. I was ready to go take a shower, but I guess someone had a better plan for me as I heard the sound of my phone ringing, again.

Annoyed I answered without even looking at the caller's ID.

"What?" I said rudely

"Tara, where are your manners?" great, exactly what I needed. My dearest mother apparently realized she has a daughter, how strange.

"Forgive me, I didn't know it was you." I quickly said, not wanting to give her the reason to lecture me.

"You are forgiven, but don't let it happen again, are we clear?" she said sternly

"Yes, mom."

"Good, now, back to the reason I called you. Your father and I talked a bit and we agreed that it is time for you to come back home and spend some time with us, it's been too long, and that wasn't part of the deal, was it?" I could sense a hint of disapproval in her voice.

"Sure, I'll try to..." she interrupted me

"Tara, don't make me bring your father so he could have a little chat with you." I could clearly hear the warning in her voice.

"I said, mother, that I will try to come home as soon as possible, there is no reason for him to call me." with everything in me I tried to not raise my voice "Now, I have to go, I'll see you soon, bye." – I didn't even wait for her to respond, I just hung up and furiously threw my phone on my bed.

Before I let myself drown in the thoughts of my family, I quickly went to the bathroom so I could get ready for a very successful day ahead of me – Netflix and my favorite snacks? Is that what being in heaven feels like?

-

After I finished watching the second season of my new favorite tv show, "The rain", I realized I have run out of snacks. I wasn't emotionally ready to do anything else, and I was starving too, so I decided, not very thrilled though, to go to the store to buy some more.

Everything would be fine if I didn't take so long to get ready. I could've gone to the store three times by the time I was finished. I even contemplated if I should put my make up on too, but decide against it, which probably was the only smart decision I made at the time.

1 hour later I was dressed to impress. My life would be a thousand times easier if I didn't have the masochistic need to make everything a hundred percent more complicated than it should be.

It took me 10 minutes to reach my destination. I bought more groceries than I actually needed, but It is better to be prepared, one never knows. I paid and quickly left, wanting nothing more than to go back to my apartment and feed myself.

The minute I stepped out of the store, I regretted the moment I made my decision to come here. It was pitch black outside and there wasn't a single soul roaming the streets.

How much time did I spend in the damn store? – I couldn't help but wonder.

I somehow mustered courage, put my headphones on, and started walking back to my apartment.

I'm almost there

My home wasn't even that far away, I had no idea why did it take so long to reach it.

Second later, I saw a silhouette of a man walking in front of me. He wasn't that close, and I was almost convinced that my brain is playing mind games with me, but he looked so much like someone I badly wanted to meet again.

Is this possible? I think I'm going crazy because of him.

I don't know what had gotten into me at the time, I felt this invisible pull that drew me to him, so I started following him, in the direction opposite of where I was supposed to go. I was curious to know if that was him at all, even though, deep inside, I already knew he indeed was, it was impossible to not recognize that man. I suddenly remembered the saying "curiosity killed the cat." But there must be the reason why cats have 9 lives, right?

I tried to be as subtle as possible, which wasn't that easy considering the fact that I also carried to big bags full of groceries I bought earlier. In one moment I even tripped over something, which resulted in me frantically looking at the guy praying for my dear life. However, he was in his own world, not caring about his surrounding.

Looking at him like that made me feel things I didn't want to acknowledge, scared of their meaning. He was gorgeous, everybody could see that, but that wasn't good enough justification for my inexplicable need to see him again.

After some time of me being a psychopath, I noticed that he crossed the street and walked down the alley I've never been in before. It was very dark in there, probably so rats could give their sacrifices to the gods in peace, or whatever they did.

Nervously, I played with the hem of my blouse debating if I should step there too, or just go back to my apartment and forget that this all happened. Something in my head warned me how dangerous the first option could be, and that the best thing I could do is turn around and run as far as possible. I should have listened, but I was stupid enough to ignore it and do the exact opposite.

A cold shiver ran down my spine as I was walking down the said alley. It was so dark and quiet, I could even hear my heart pounding in my chest. I wrapped my hands around myself in desperate need to feel a bit of warmth, seeing as it was freezing out there. But that wasn't even the worst thing.

At one point, I realized that I had lost the person I came here for. I freeze not knowing what to do. I started to panic, frantically looking around trying to catch a glimpse of him, but it didn't work, he was nowhere in sight. I was on a verge of crying as I was so frustrated and scared. I felt so anxious, the scenes of all those movies when a girl was raped after she refused to mind her own damn business started pooping in my head, making me feel even more terrified than I already was.

I was too occupied with thoughts about my death, that I didn't hear the faint sound of footsteps coming my way, nor did I feel the presence behind me.

"Boo." a quiet, deep voice could be heard right next to my ear followed by warm breath tickling the skin on my neck.

I screamed and jumped out of fear. The feeling was so strong that I would've fallen on the concrete floor if he didn't wrap his hands around me and pinned me to his body.

I closed my eyes shut, still shaking. I could feel the heart of my savior beating fast in his chest. I wondered if I should even call him like that since he was the reason I found myself in that situation in the first place. I knew who he was, the way my body responded to his proximity was a clear indicator. It was the man from last night, the man whose name terrified me so much that I couldn't even think of it, let alone say it out loud.

After some time, that felt like an eternity, I mustered some courage and pushed him away from me. Hesitantly, I opened my eyes and raise my head to look at him. I was taken aback when I realized that he was already staring at me. I opened and closed my mouth numerous times, in desperate need to say something, but nothing left, I was speechless.

Seeing this, he decided to spare me the trouble and start the conversation.

"Your parents have never taught you it's rude to stalk people?" he leaned against a wall of some building that was nearby, his eyes flickering with amusement. I frowned.

What makes him think that he can talk to me like that? – I was getting angry now. I was about to totally ignore the fact that he was absolutely right.

"I wasn't!" I had to defend myself. He raised his eyebrow when he heard how loud my voice was. He was challenging me, I was very aware of that. I looked away, not wanting to burst under pressure and admit what both of us already knew. I saw him chuckle, and that made me even more furious, the fear I felt earlier was long gone.

"You want to know what is rude too? Laughing in someone's face, but you don't see me complaining, do you?" the sarcasm in my voice was so evident that there was no person in the whole world who wouldn't be able to detect it.

It took a millisecond for him to change his expression. He scowled at me and, before I could even blink, pinned me to the wall he was leaning against earlier. He raised his hands and put both of them at either side of my head. He was so close, our lips were almost touching.

"If I were you I would watch my mouth," he warned me

I had many different things to say to him at that moment, one of them being that there was no way he could ever be me, but just one look at his face stopped me from opening my mouth.

Seeing my expression, he smiled and took his hands off the wall, giving me space. Having him this close, I noticed things I wasn't able to last night. He was, yet again, dressed in all-black and his outfit resembled the one from last night, but this time his neck was exposed and covered with tattoos. I couldn't really see their shape, since it was pitch black outside, but what I saw made him a hundred times more handsome than he already was, if that was even possible.

"So, Tara, except for stalking me, what are you doing here?" he stopped me from further ogling his features. I could feel my cheeks turning red. I was so embarrassed because I realized that he must have noticed what I was doing, judging by his arrogant smile. Also, what was that? Bipolar much?

"I live nearby, I've been to the store to buy some groceries..." I showed him the bags and somehow, mustered the courage to ask him what I wanted to since the moment I saw him earlier tonight. "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in the neighborhood before."

"I've never been here," he said simply.

I was aware that he probably wouldn't give me an answer, but regardless, seeing as I still had 8 lives left, I tried one more time. I somehow failed to understand that I wasn't a fucking cat.

"Why not?"

"That's for me to know." I wanted to tell him that he was the one to ask me the same thing. However, the fact that he didn't finish the phrase was a clear indicator that the best thing I could do was to not push his bottoms.

"So...I have to go...you know..." I stuttered.

"Your number first," he said

"I'm sorry?" he chuckled in amusement

"You say that a lot. I want your number, Tara." the way he emphasized my name made me shudder, It felt so good to hear him say it that I didn't want him to ever stop.

He passed me his phone and I took it, without sparing him a glance. I wondered if I should just put some fake number, but I thought better. I had the feeling that this wasn't the last time when we see each other, and if I did that, he wouldn't be very pleased when we meet again, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to find out what kind of man he was when he doesn't get what he wants.

With shaking hands, I saved my number in his phone and then extended my hand to give it back to him. When he reached out his skin touched mine. That small touch was enough to set my whole body on fire. It was so intense that made me feel like I was about to explode.

Not able to bear his presence anymore, I tried to move past him, but alas, I wasn't fast enough. I didn't get far before he wrapped his hands around my wrist and jerked me back to him.

"I'll walk you home." that wasn't even the question, he was just informing me.

"No, it's fine, I can go on my own, my apartment is not far away from here. You can go your own way, don't worry." I smiled, trying to convince him that it indeed was okay.

"I already decided."

"So did I!" I was starting to get angry.

Finally, my brain understood how stupid I was for doing the things I did. I was so blind. I have never seen this man in my life, before last night, and still, he made me do and feel stupid things. I knew nothing about him, what if he was some kind of criminal, some kind of alcoholic or drug addict? I saw him once, for two seconds, at some random party, and I was completely fascinated with him, how stupid was that? I needed to stop, this whole thing needed to stop. I tried to compose myself the best I could.

"Tara," he warned me.

"Mateo." I countered

We stared at each other's eyes waiting for someone to back down, but I wasn't one to do so. To my surprise, after hours of us trying to get the other person to quit, he gave up.

"Fine. Goodnight, baby girl." I was stunned. I didn't know where the endearment came from, but I didn't mind, I wanted him to say it again

What he did next, stunned me even more. . Slowly, like he was in slow-motion, he brought his head closer to mine and put his cold, plump lips on my cheek, leaving a wet, lingering kiss. I looked at him, shock evident on my face. Unlike mine, his was completely emotionless. It took all my willpower to stop myself from touching the place where he kissed me even though it burned. I could not understand why that simple thing made me all hot and bothered.

I somehow pulled myself together and quickly turned around and left before I did something I would regret. I started walking to my apartment, head filled with different thoughts, but all of them led to one person only. He was so frustrating and confusing that made me want to scream. I was also annoyed by our little fight in the end it seemed so out of character for him to just give up. Soon enough, I understood everything.

The whole way back I could feel someone's eyes on me. I was sure I wasn't being paranoid because the intensity of being watched, that could be sensed now, matched the intensity I felt last night.

-

I was staring at the big clock on the wall, hoping that this boring class would soon come to an end.

I didn't really hate going to university, actually, my studies were one of the most important things in my life, but right now, I had better stuff to do, for example – having a nap.

Last night, I couldn't get any sleep. I had numerous nightmares I couldn't even remember now.

Finally, 15 minutes later, the professor decided to stop torturing us and finish the lecture. I packed my things and was about to leave when some guy approached me.

"Tara, Hi!" he said, nervously.

"Hi..." I trailed off. I knew that we shared classes, but I just couldn't remember his name.

"Paul," he said. Heat rushed to my cheeks, I was absolutely embarrassed.

"Yeah, right, Paul, hi, what's up?" I greeted him.

"I wanted to ask you something..." he blushed. I wanted to tell him that I was all ears, but I couldn't get the chance of seeing as at that exact moment I felt arms around my neck.

"Tara! I missed you!" I could hear the excited voice of my best friend and quickly returned the hug.

"Hey Emms, I missed you too, even though I saw you two days ago."

"I know, I know. It's fine, I'm aware that you can't live without me," she said arrogantly "But, what is taking you so long? We are supposed to meet each other right after our classes." she tried to sound serious, but it was pretty obvious that she was joking.

"I was about to come to find you, but Paul wanted to tell me something so I kinda got distracted." remembering that he was still here, I turned around and raised my eyebrow, urging him to ask me whatever he wanted to.

He looked at me, then he shifted his gaze to Emma and finally, he set his eyes on me again.

"Nevermind, it's fine. We will talk some other time." he quickly said and, right after, rushed out of the classroom. I stared utterly confused at his retreating form.

"What was that?" I asked Emma. She just shrugged her shoulders and dragged me out of that place.

-

"Girls, fancy seeing you here." I rolled my eyes as I heard that voice.

Sarah, Emma, Lena and I were seated in the cafeteria, waiting for our next lecture as Luke and Victor came to our table and sat down, Victor next to Emma and Luke next to me.

"Don't you have some better things to do or ruining our rumor-patrol is your ceiling?" Sarah commented

"We don't want to ruin it, we just want to be a part of it. You can't deny the fact that we do bring a lot to the table" Victor smirked at her which earned him an eye-roll from Sarah

Soon after, all of us shut up. Tension could be cut with a knife. The situation was rather comical. Luke and I weren't on best terms, Emma and Victor apparently stopped communicating , again, and Sarah and Lena acted as though they would get killed if they start talking to each other.

I thought that this situation would lead to an ID documentary in a few years, but, the mass murder was prevented by the voice of my ex-boyfriend Stephan.

"Who died?" he jokingly asked and took some chips from Sarah's plate.

Stephan and I stayed on good terms after our breakup. Obviously, we couldn't be as good friends as we once were, but we could bear each other's presence and that was enough for both of us. In the beginning, our friends were skeptical and afraid that our break up would lead all of us to drift apart, but we refused to let that happen. We were all friends before our relationship and it wouldn't make any sense for them to stop hanging out with each other now. There was no drama between Stephan and me, the love and passion were gone so we decided to call it quits before anything bad could happen.

"My feelings for you." I joked and he put his hand over his heart faking that I hurt him. I laughed at that.

"I heard there was some brawl at Dionis two nights ago." he casually said.

"Yeah, man, it was horrendous. Police arrested so many people." Victor then started explaining everything that happened, but at some point, I zoned off.

My thoughts were yet again occupied by the same man. It was like I couldn't run away from him no matter what and it seemed like he knew. My phone vibrated in my pocket indicating that I received a message. I took it out and read the words. Although the phone number was not saved in my contacts, it wasn't hard to guess whom it belonged to.

I'll pick you up tonight at 8. Be ready.