Chapter 21: Chapter 21

I finish and wrap the towel hanging on the stall around my body and walk out. I come back into the living room and Francis is through with cleaning Rory up and has him covered by a clean thick blanket.

"Sorry to interrupt, Mr Lupe-"

"Call me Francis." He states in a friendly voice and I nod in caution.

"I have no other clothes, and where am I going to keep these?" I gesture to my clothes in my hand.

"We don't have female wears or clothing in the wardrobe, but you can wear something for now." He gets up and walk toward the other room door, then notice that I haven't moved. "Come with me, girl." He calls to me and I run after him into a room and open the wardrobe.

He hands me something clean, but manly, his eyes hold the look of indifference and I shrug, taking it from his hand.

"There are all Rory's size and you can have this." He hands me a belt, "Use it to hold it together." He instructs like I don't know what a belt is then he take my old clothes from me.

I thank him and take the clothes from his, going to an empty room and putting them on.

.

Rory's POV

My eyes open slowly to a quite familiar room and I feel relief because I'm at the safe house. I try to pull myself up when I feel a jolt of pain from my rib side and I rest back on the chair, my hands around the thick blanket covering me. It wasn't a dream then, I really got shot, damn! I can't believe I was so careless to not be vigilant, but then I couldn't, I was with Taylor.

Taylor. Where's she? Did she get shot as well? Where's Taylor? I can't believe I put her in danger.

My heart skips and I begin to panic and my frustration and anger grow as I try to get up and cannot because of the pain rushing through my side.

"Damn it!" I growl and close my eyes, trying to stop the pain mentally if not physical.

"Rory?" The voice that always sets fire within my soul and whole being, and leaves me without consolation whispers.

My eyes peel open and I see Taylor standing close to me in one of my favourite shirt and my plain jean, holding The lord of the ring novel in her hand. She's beside me, just the way I always want her beside me. She wraps her small soft right hand around mine and I see the relief in her eyes as she smiles brightly at me.

"Hello." I return her smile wholeheartedly, grateful that she is the first face I see and that she's also in one piece. "Miss me?"

I do have over a million dirty thought running through my head as I see her and as much as I'm relieved to see her in one piece, I do also want to devour her into pieces.

She rolls her eyes, but like always her cheek deeply grows red. "You're full of yourself aren't you?!"

"Yea. But now I feel like shit for your information."

"You're shit." She corrects with a loud snort.

It causes me great pain to laugh, but I can't help but. "I know you like my shitty side." I stuck my tongue out at her and she playfully frowns.

"You were shot, Rory." She tells me and this time, I see her panic and memory burns into my brain.

"I know." I sigh loudly, shaking my head. "I remember everything -most of them though... In parts."

"Who could have done this?" She asks blankly.

I casually shrug, I can name about a hundred people who would. "I'm the son of the richest man alive and probably going to be the richest man someday," I tell her proudly. "Who doesn't want me dead?"

"Well, I don't." She mumbles in a low voice and my heart grows founder of this woman who may not have a clue as to what she does and is doing to me.

"I know you don't." I bring her hand to my lips and place soft kisses there.

I feel her body tense up by this simple but intimate gesture of mine, but she doesn't say anything nor does she pull away.

I wish you would always be like this.

After a while of silence, I glance around the room looking for Francis, "Where's Francis?" I ask, with a curious interest.

She points to nowhere in particular. "Out, he had a call from work and he said he'll be back shortly."

"How long has it been?"

"Four hours." She replies, nervously biting down on her pink lips. "And six-minute."

My eyes widen in wild amusement, "You've been counting?"

She bites her lips harder and stares down. "It's not like there's much work to do around here." She sighs.

"I see you're busy," I remark, eyeing the book in her hand.

She grasps the book tighter around her fingers. "Yea, I had to keep myself busy while watching over you."

I don't know if it's just mare feelings, but hearing her say these words sends a glittering spark within me. "So you were watching over me," I smirk, hoping to tease her brains out.

She opens her mouth to object, but stop and give it a brief thought. "Maybe."

"If I have to get shot to have you watch over me every time, I say bring it on." I grin sheepishly at her.

She twitches her nose up clearly in objection. "Don't push your luck, Mr Gate, watching you isn't such a pleasure if you must know."

"Your boss would be jealous if she ever finds out don't you think?" I raise a taunting eyebrow at her.

Her breath cuts, "Oh God!" She gasps and runs up to the other side of the room where her bag is and begin to search restlessly for something inside, and I help myself up with my elbow to a proper look at her.

After a minute of her endless search of something in her supposed bag I ask. "What's it?"

"My phone." She replied unhappily. "Must have dropped it on the way."

"That nothing, we'll get you a new." I try to assure and ease her mind, but she becomes more restless and in dismay.

"I'm going to get in big trouble with Jason for not giving a reason for leaving in such a way and he's gonna report me to Paris and she's gonna fire me and the Snowfall future will be ruined." She mumbles out, but I think she's talking to herself.

I don't know what to say to that so I silently watch her and after a moment she takes a deep breath and looks at me.

"I have to go." She says looking over at me.

Something painful stab in my heart at her word, I feel like I'm losing something and the pain I feel emotionally can't be compared to the physical pain shooting at me from my rib side as I force myself to sit down. The blanket covering me up to fall and I look down at my naked self and grin inwardly.

"I have to leave, my family would go crazy, thinking something bad has happened to me!" She swallows fast and anxiously, picking her bag and hanging it.

"You're jumping to a conclusion Ms Snowfall, you're not going to get fired, nor are your family looking for you," I answer, wanting her to return to holding my hand like she was a few moments ago.

"I'm not jumping into conclusion Mr Gate," she snaps. "I see you're fine and out of danger now and so I want to get back to my life and fixing it to the way it used to be. Normal."

I frown, carefully looking down at my banded wound, and wishing she knew half how I feel.

I'm so far from okay Taylor.

"I still need you here, Ms Snowfall, I don't feel well and I can't let you go either. You were at the shooting scene and I'm certain that whoever shot me is still out there and lurking."

Her face folds together in a deep frown as the words I just told her dawn on her. She keeps silent for a while and then shrugs.

"I don't care, I need to leave. I'm not staying one more minute here, Mr Gate. I need to go." She stubbornly concludes like always, and begin to walk out of the room.

"Well, I can't let you leave, Ms Snowfall. I'll never put your life in danger and neither will I let you do that." I frankly tell her, going back to my strict and straightforward self.

She crosses' her hand over her chest. "You can't stop me." She challenged, eyes meeting mine in a dare and I almost hissed.

"On the contrary, I can. The house like you know works with code command just like I've designed it."

"I already know the code." She says like I don't know that.

"Yes you do, Ms Snowfall, but that's just the entry code. There is another code for exit and you do not know that."

With my gaze as equally challenging as hers, I say. "You're going nowhere, Ms Snowfall."