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C H A P T E R   E I G H T E E N
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»Do one thing every day that scares you.«
– Eleanor Roosevelt

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The shady figures almost synchronously faded out of the corner of my eye, as if Taeyong had telepathically given them the command to disappear. But that didn't ease the painful nervousness within me one bit; it had sucked on me within seconds and made no attempt to go away – quite the opposite.

The fact that I – without any warning – was in some ways completely defenseless against him made my nervousness soar and it diminished my grandiose plan to avoid him for a while at least.

"Carmen," he said almost soundlessly and looked alternately between my eyes. Despite the anger in his cold eyes, Taeyong looked so terribly tired – purple shadows danced under his eyes, a small gift from long nights. Strangely enough, it looked good on him, in fact, he looked excellent being marked like that. The night loved him.

"Carmen," he repeated visibly restless, breaking my dreary train of thought. I didn't have the slightest idea what to say to him now, and his warm hand on my hurting cheek certainly contributed to my insecurity. I'd never really seen Taeyong like that before; there was so much hate in his eyes, but there was more, so much more. Concern.

"I..." I mumbled helplessly and swallowed again. The lump in my throat was still in place and Taeyong's closeness scared me. That's why I raised my right hand and let it rest on his tense chest, applying only minimal pressure to signal him that he should give me some space. And, indeed, he followed my silent request; his hand disappeared from my cheek and he stepped back two steps. Nevertheless, he still looked restless, waiting and demanding an answer.

I licked nervously over my lips and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. He just made it hard for me to avoid him; or rather: he made it hard for me to freak out and throw a "That's none of your fucking business!" at his head, because he wasn't acting the way I expected him to do so. He seemed to be seriously worried and that seriously scared me.

"A stupid accident," it plopped out of me finally. I had to stick to my original lie because the likelihood of being caught would be much higher if I told everyone something different. And the truth was different. Besides... no matter how worried he seemed at that moment, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't use the truth against me at some point, or even blackmail me. Maybe that was set a bit too high and I was just an asshole to assume something like that... but who knew how Taeyong would see this tomorrow, next week, or in a month? No, really. I had to keep my mouth shut.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me, are you fucking serious, Carmen? You think I'm gonna believe that shit?" So much for his great self-control. But damn it! How many fucks had he just used? Oh, oh. That certainly didn't mean anything good.

I shouldn't make a wrong move now, no back down. I straightened my shoulders and crossed my arms over my chest; I had no intention of coming across aggressively; that would surely only blow my cover and give him just one more confirmation that I indeed hid something.

"Taeyong," I said, completely disciplined and in a strangely calm tone, in which I had rarely spoken to him before. "It was really a stupid accident. Ask my father," I would certainly score credibility with that. By pretending that my father already knew about it, when in reality he didn't. But knowing him, Taeyong wouldn't ever ask my father about my well-being.

"Your father already knows?" He cocked his head, significantly raised a perfectly curved eyebrow and studied me extensively; as if he was looking for a treacherous gesture which would expose my lie. But I stuck to it and insisted.

"Of course. I talked to him earlier." His muscles tightened again and he leaned his head back for a moment, his hands disappearing into the pockets of his torn, dark jeans.

After a moment's thought, he just turned around and left without a word. He left me very perplexed because I had absolutely no idea what he was up to now. Frowning, I followed him until we turned right at the intersection and I spotted his perfectly polished Mustang.

He looked at me just before he got in. "You should tell me exactly what happened." I gulped. "Get in," he nodded towards the passenger door and I hesitated for a moment, wondering if maybe I should rather run away.

For what reason should I get into his car at all, since he could have questioned me out here. Did he want to kidnap me to an abandoned place and tickle the truth out of me with torture? I grinned, that was ridiculous.

"Carmen," I heard him say, rolling down the window completely. This time, there was nothing left of the tentative caution in his voice. He sounded determined and a little harsh.

I knew that I would regret it even before I got into his car, yet I did it. I opened the car door with a queasy feeling, looking straight at his distinctive side profile. The dark sunglasses were already on his nose, hiding the beautiful purple shadows under his dark eyes. He just waited until I put on my seatbelt and rushed off...

"I don't understand," Ten interrupted me with a thinking face, his head on his hands, watching me intensively from his seat, "tell me again, why you think Nalin is dangerous? I mean, I don't like that bitch either, like, how can she think I sabotaged her alleged date with TY? I had better things to do than lecturing him to not invite a teenager to our drug parties. Besides... he'd never had serious intentions in the first place; he only texted her to piss you off."

"To piss me off?"

"Yeah, he never told you? Oops, okay, please forget it then."

"No, no," I said, now more curious than ever, "tell me more."

He exchanged a gaze with Jungwoo before he sighed defeated, "He knew Nalin had a crush on him – everyone knew for fuck's sake – yeah, and TY also knew she was always seeking your company in school. That's why he texted her. He knew she'd tell you eventually, and he knew it'd piss you off."

"How does boss even know about that girl? Wasn't he much older?" Lucas wanted to know.

"Her father worked for his father and also, our high school and his university were next to each other," Jungwoo said, "and the whole school knew that Nalin had a crush on Taeyong. She even tried to befriend me to come close to him."

"But thanks to your sister, she didn't succeed becoming your friend," I added, slightly amused thinking back to the time I stopped Nalin from getting close to my twin. I mean, someone had to intervene. And knowing Jungwoo, he was just too nice.

"I don't know what's worse," said Lucas annoyedly.

"Huh?"

"Being her friend or being your sister?" I was about to tell him my opinion regarding his unfunny jokes that got on my damn nerves, but Ten was faster than me.

"Hate to interrupt, but back to my question: Honey, why d'you think that bitch's evil? Like o-kay, I understand that she literally caused your injuries and took no responsibility at all, and made fun of you... yeah, we all know that now. But I bet there's something else? Why do you hate her that much?"

"I wonder about that, too," agreed Jungwoo looking at me, "Your differences must come to an end eventually. You are no longer teenagers."

The anger within me grew again. "How can you say that! If you knew how the story ended, you'd know her true self... She complains about everything and everyone, behaves totally wrong, takes what isn't hers and..." I stopped in shock, because I forgot about Lucas' presence for a second and almost accidentally said something that should be kept a secret.

"And what, Cami?" Ten checked and looked at me quite interested.

The glass of water at mouth level sank down, I refrained from taking another sip. "Ten, I just can't handle her. There are people you don't like, but when it comes down to it, you could somehow get along with them or even live together. And then there are people," I paused for a moment, trying to find the right words, "that smother you and take your pleasure in life. Yes, they can even turn you into a psychopath or murderer."

"Carmen!" Jungwoo exclaimed outraged, while Ten still tried to read my expression.

"What, Jungwoo? If you knew..." I was interrupted by Ten's mobile phone.

Buzzzzzzz Buzzzzzzz

"Oh shit!" was his reaction, the moment he looked at his phone's display.

"What is it?"

Ten looked up from his phone. "Bad news."

His gaze lied upon me, an uncomfortable expression on his face.

"And? What's the bad news?"

"TY's coming here."

A cold shiver ran down my spine. Ignoring Lucas' "He knows you're here?" and Ten's "I texted him before", I quickly looked at Jungwoo with wide eyes. He knew I was scared. He knew I was disappointed. Was this planned? Did he know Taeyong would come here today or was it just a coincidence? Almost as if in slow motion and without the other two noticing, he shook his head and signaled me with his eyes to leave.

That was my cue. Abruptly, I stretched out my hand in Lucas' direction, "Gimme my car keys."

Ten reached forward and pulled back my arm making me look at him, "No, Cami, don't go."

"What do you mean don't go?!" I gasped and turned to Lucas again, "Quick!" I demanded, but he didn't even make an attempt to look like he cared.

"I didn't finish my drink yet." When he said that, I just wanted to throw every insult at him that came to my mind. Ten was still holding onto my arm and he didn't seem like he wanted to let go anytime soon.

"Listen, you'll see him eventually. Better now than later."

"How about never?"

"You can't run away forever!"

"Oh, watch me," I said, turning back to Lucas again, "The fucking keys!" He exchanged a gaze with Ten, before he nodded and grabbed the car keys from his jacket and handed them to me.

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to be continued.

Sorry for the long wait. I'm still recovering and it will take a little longer until I'm 100% back. If there are any changes and/or news regarding the upcoming chapters or any other important aspects, I'll try to announce them on my profile.

Thank you for your votes, comments, and messages <3