Mountain River Girl

Chapter 4: Keeping Secrets

KEEPING SECRETS

“There is someone –“

Kieran shushed me and reached for the doorknob. As he did that, I strained my neck to peak over his shoulder.

To my horror, I spotted a dark figure in the doorway and all I could do was panic and scream in terror. I screamed my lungs out. A burglar had picked Joanne’s Essentials as his new target, but evidently, he hadn’t expected Kieran and I to be in the back. He had but one option left; he would finish us off to keep us from ratting him out.This crazy idea popped through my mind as the world around me spun. This nightmare could not be happening for real. Somehow, Kieran moved me to his back and I wasn’t even aware of the movement. I had no idea how I got there, or how he even managed to hold me up, but one thing I noticed; Kieran had made sure to place himself between the treat and me. Without words, I knew Kieran would shield me from harm. Whoever wanted to get to me would first have to pass him. Unexpectedly, the lights sprung on and illuminated the room. The dark, mysterious figure traded places with a pale-stricken Joanne. She was stood in the middle of the room and had an umbrella pointed at us, like one would hold a sword. We remained frozen for several long moments. It seemed to take forever for the truth to finally sink in: there was no real danger.

“Seda!” Joanne exclaimed. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“Likewise,” I exhaled against Kieran’s firm shoulder, releasing the breath I had been holding. I was so extremely relieved that the intruder turned out to be Joanne, and not the murderer I had mistaken her for.While trying to calm my racing heart, my eyes took in the old lady as she lowered her umbrella and put it on the table. “Did you intend on stabbing us? With an umbrella?”

“What did you expect me to think when I came into the shop and didn’t hear a sound. Nor did I see any lights on. And well, I didn’t think when I pulled my umbrella…” She shrugged her wet coat off. “I’m going to buy you one. An umbrella, I mean.”

I frowned. “Why?”

“I don’t know. It seemed like a good object to use to defend myself. You’re a young girl; you should be able to defend yourself.”

“Joanne, sometimes I wonder about your sanity.” I chuckled. Never had I been so glad to see her than when I did mere minutes ago. The tension left my body and just thinking about what happened made me laugh out loud - the tense moment long forgotten.

“You wonder about my sanity?” She huffed. “How about this, are you going to come down from that young man’s back or are you going to stay up there all night?”

My cheeks flushed a bright red. I tapped Kieran’s shoulder, letting him know to put me down. Close proximity came naturally with Kieran, unlike what one would expect when they knew of my lame life.

“I’m sorry,” I rambled once my good foot touched the floor. My hair hid my tainted cheeks and for once, I didn’t bother to wipe aside the curtain of blonde hair. I was able to hide my face and I thought of that as something positive. Absently, I glanced in Joanne’s direction and waved my hand between her and Kieran. “Joanne, meet Kieran. Kieran, this is Joanne.”

Personally, I had never been a big fan of being the one introduced to strangers and I wondered how Kieran felt about it. When I looked over my shoulder, he was smiling at me. He wasn’t even going to shake Joanne’s hand, or so it seemed. Instead, he absently rubbed the small of my back. Despite the warmth of his hand seeping through the thin fabric of my shirt, a shiver still dared to run down my spine. This was what confused me, the weird reaction of my body. Kieran’s physical proximity brought me at ease, felt beyond comfortable, and the cells of my body seemed to crave him. On the other hand, a single touch by Kieran had my senses going into overdrive. Whenever his body came into contact with mine, I didn’t simply notice his hand, but every square millimeter of that hand would set alight a fire that spread throughout my entire body, exactly like gossip spread through small towns or in the hallways of school.