I Found Home

Chapter 12

Hannah

Paget didn't call or answer any of my calls the entire day . It is suspicious because that's Paget we're talking about . We've known each other only for a few months and during this short period there hasn't been a day when we didn't speak . However Iker did call this morning , when I asked him about her he avoided to answer me , trying to avert the conversation towards his childhood memories and how his elder brothers once forgot him in the backyard after playing together so he fell asleep there on the lawn and woke up freezing beneath layers of snow . The way he described the story made me nearly laugh to tears . He always knows what to say to draw my laughters out of me .

He called after I just started closing my eyes , while in fact I was supposed to be up already .

Probably because I couldn't sleep because of a certain pair of brown eyes , soft hair and tall muscular frame ...

I stare up at him again , his face half lit with the flashlight of his phone which he is aiming directly at me . I shield my eyes from the light with my arm . Mom puts her arms around me as she sits on the stairs beside me checking me up .

The electricity went out when I was hurriedly walking down the stairs to go speak with mom about the other night . I wanted to speak with her this morning but she hardly left her room . I went as far as gluing my ears to her door to make sure she's fine . I hate when she's upset and I am willing to do all it takes to make up for upsetting her . I heard her speaking to someone though , there were many voices actually so I believe she really was in an online meeting and therefore had been busy working .

After that I decided I will wait for her to leave the room to speak with her .

Thankfully I fell when I almost reached the floor and it wasn't that bad .

Mr Oliver kneels in front of me , his eyes looking me up and down as he keeps the light aimed at my eyes , making them sting .

« Sweetie , are you alright ? Oh my God , are you hurt ? »

I shake my head as I grab my mom's hand with my free one . « I'll be even better once the flashlight is off my eyes . »

He puts his phone down . « Are you hurt ? » He asks in a very weird voice , one filled with worry . When his eyes meet mine , I am lost and warm ... too warm actually . He never softened his gaze around me before , not until now ... until this very moment . His question makes me want to cry , and I never want to cry . Or let's say I want to cry often but don't allow myself to do so . He is asking about my injury but it feels as if every single wound on my heart and soul splits open , ready to bleed out in his hands . But I can never let that happen , those wounds may never heal but the scars will stay hidden forever from the world .

I open and close my mouth so many times but fail to speak so I forcefully break eye contact with him and look down , rubbing my ankle .

« I think ... my ankle might be swollen a bit . »

My mom gasps and tightens her hold on my shoulders . I look over at her with a reassuring smile .

Mr Oliver pulls my foot out of my flip flops and starts inspecting it while my eyes widen in his direction , yet he barely notices ..

« Is it bad ? » My mom asks him with tears already clogging her throat .

He keeps assessing my foot with deep focus , I stifle some gasps due to his touch . He reaches the area that's too hot and throbbing and swollen too , he squeezes it a bit and I wince and let out a hiss .

It's either I am imagining things or he actually winced as well , then looked up at both me and mom .

« Her ankle is strained , we need to put ice on it . »