Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Elizabeth’s POV

I packed the usual Wednesday sandwich into my messenger bag. Today it was turkey and American cheese. Tom hadn’t gone shopping yet, so our options were limited. I hoped she wouldn’t mind. I always got obnoxiously nervous on Wednesdays, seeing as I really hated giving my guard, Tom, the slip. He trusted me so heavily over the past four years, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was betraying that trust. I knew that it had to be done, though. Ms. Eleanor relied on me to give her lunch on these days. Ms. Eleanor was a homeless woman who lived on a park bench in Brinnley Park. I had been bringing her food twice a week for the last six months without anyone knowing.

Most people at the park referred to her as the “Brinnley Hag”, but she was honestly one of the sweetest women I knew. She talked to me like I was a normal person, not fragile like everyone else in my life. She was also the wisest woman I had ever met, and gave me advice on life and love, even though I insisted that the latter wasn’t necessary. I had no love in my life to speak of. As it stood, she was my only friend that wasn’t hired to be there. I paused briefly as I wondered if me giving her food could be considered a form of payment. Dang it.

I honestly craved a normal, human connection. Being 20 years old and only interacting with two people and various animals was maddening. So much so that I had been offered countless prescriptions for depression and social anxiety, all of which I had turned down. Having a rich father in the medical research field had its benefits, sure. I just didn’t care about them. I hated the feeling of being caged in and forced to act, speak, and dress a certain way. I heard from my father maybe twice a month, usually in the form of a message delivered by Tom. Sometimes I wondered if Tom made the messages up just to make me feel better about my shallow existence where no one cared.

I knew that my dad just did these things to protect me, but that didn’t change my desire to go out and see what normal people saw. I was only let out to shop and go to the shelter. I hated shopping, only venturing out when I absolutely needed something and always making the trip short because I didn’t like Tom standing over me while I looked at my garments. At least on my shelter days he sat in the car.

I changed out of my sundress and into my baby pink t-shirt and light skinny jeans. After strapping some sandals on my feet and pinning my wavy hair out of my face, I was ready. Heights were the bane of my clumsy and paranoid existence, so I persuaded my dad to let me choose the bottom floor of the fifteen story apartment complex. The closer I was to the ground, the better. He fought me tooth and nail on it, claiming that it wasn’t safe, but I wasn’t having it. He was the one who forced me to move out of our villa and into the residential area of our city center. I was supposed to be in college by now, living my life. The least he could do was grant me my choice in prison.

It took months for me to convince Tom that I always took a nap at one in the afternoon. It was the only way to sway him not to bother me during the time I would be at the park. I would be back by two, then he would be by to “wake me” at three. I had suspicions that he knew what I was doing, but he never said anything about it. I knew he hated my short leash as much as I did, so maybe he allowed my brief moments of freedom across the street. The guy was a tech genius with big muscles, so I was sure he somehow watched me from home while I was there, maybe with a microscopic drone or a high res telescope. Then again, I had a tendency to imagine outlandish things for the sake of dramatic effect. Maybe I watched too many action films?

I could already feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins as I slowly slid open my balcony door. Even though I was on the first floor, my bedroom still had a small porch attached to it. Only a low stone wall separated it from the sidewalk, so it wasn’t exactly private, but I didn’t care. I knew exactly where to walk to avoid the security camera in the corner.

I thought the security my father implemented was ridiculous. Most people didn’t even know I existed. I hadn’t lived with my dad since I was sixteen, and I never went to company social events with him. I figured that he was just paranoid that I would go missing like my mother did when I was nine, but I wasn’t convinced that she didn’t just leave us. Who would want to hurt me? He was a microbiologist, not in the mafia for crying out loud.

A couple minutes later, I arrived at the park. I jogged to the bench Ms. Eleanor usually met me at, eager to tell her about my latest animal shelter shenanigans, but she wasn’t there. Instead, a young man sat with his leg crossed over his knee. He didn’t bother looking up at me, even when I sat hesitantly beside him. How strange. It wasn’t like he was on his phone or reading a book. He was just staring straight ahead, blinking occasionally with his abnormally long lashes.

I took his moment of solitude to admire his features, ignoring how creepy I felt for doing so. He was incredibly handsome, likely the most handsome man I had ever seen, with a freshly shaved face and blue-green eyes that popped out against his ruffled black locks. His hair appeared effortlessly messy and neat all at the same time, like he had just run his hand through it. He had thin light pink lips that parted as he brought a cigarette up to his mouth. I caught a glimpse of his straight white teeth beneath them. Was he a model? Was I drooling?

I had to keep myself from trailing my gaze down his body, but I could tell he was fit just based on the definition of his neck and shoulders. I didn’t want to completely molest this strange man with my eyes, no matter how yummy he looked. My god, did I just think that? His demeanor was relaxed and approachable, unlike most of the people at the park who were dressed in suits and rushing to end their lunch breaks.

Even though I was several feet from him, I could smell his cologne. It was rich and masculine, clearly of designer origin with how it pleasantly tickled my nose. This man screamed money from head to toe, but he didn’t flaunt it too loudly, which just added to his sex appeal. He was dressed casually, but I couldn’t help but feel underdressed next to him.

Maybe I should talk to him. Maybe he knows where Ms. Eleanor is.

“You know, smoking is bad for you.” Of all the things to say. I mentally kicked myself. This guy is going to think I’m a freak.

“You don’t say, Princess.” He smirked, still staring straight ahead. I huffed at his response, trying to suppress the blush that wanted to take me over after seeing his partial smile.

Princess? Who does this guy think he is?

He took another puff of his cigarette, before putting it out on the bench beside him. I decided to just get it over with. This guy seemed rude and like he didn’t want to be bothered. Not to mention his attitude was atrocious. Why was he being so rude to me? And why wasn’t he looking at me? Maybe I wasn’t worth his time to look at. Insecurity fought to take control of my brain, but I kept it at bay. So much for being “approachable.”

“Um, do you know where Ms. Eleanor is? The woman who normally sits on this bench?” My hands clutched the strap of my bag nervously. I was confused by how anxious this beautiful man made me feel. My stomach was twisting and turning with anticipation of his next words. Not because of what he would say, but how he would say it, with that snarky and husky voice he used just a moment ago. Dang it, Elizabeth. He said four words to you! Control yourself!

“Nope.” He responded, popping the p at the end. I furrowed my brows. Well that was anticlimactic. Also, why isn’t he looking at me??And why do I care so much?!

“You know, it’s rude not to look at someone when you’re talking to them.” I grumbled. He raised a brow.

“It’s also rude to introduce yourself with a health lesson.” He retorted. I opened my mouth to reply, but closed it again. He got me there.

I pouted, wondering if I had offended him. Is that why he was ignoring me? Why was I so obsessed with this stranger’s behavior? He dropped his leg from his knee and rocked himself forward, standing from the bench. No! He was going to leave! For reasons I couldn’t explain, I didn’t want him to go yet. I wanted to talk to him just a minute longer, and I surely didn’t want him to leave thinking I was rude and annoying.

“Wait!” I shouted before thinking. He stopped abruptly with his back to me. I could feel the blush creeping up my face. Great job, Elizabeth. What now? “Um, maybe we should start over.”

His shoulders relaxed a fraction, his hands diving into the pockets of his jeans that I had just noticed were hanging in the most desirable of ways from his lean hips. Turn around, dang it!

“My name is Elizabeth. I’m sorry for being rude earlier. I’m not really the best with people.” I slumped back into the bench, looking down at a loose thread on my jeans. I was utterly humiliated. I heard the man sigh then sit down beside me again. I couldn’t bring myself to look up, even though my heart was beating through my chest at his proximity.

“My name’s Zen.” I could see his leg flinch from the corner of my eye after saying his name. Was he nervous? Did I have a similar effect on him that he had on me? Certainly not.

“It’s nice to meet you, Zen.” I said quietly. He chuckled, the sound of which gave me butterflies. It was smooth and deep, much like his voice, making my hair stand up on my arms.

“You know, it’s rude not to look at someone when you’re talking to them.” He said sarcastically. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud hearing my own words used against me. He was clever, and I was pretty sure he was flirting with me at this point.

When I finally looked up, my heart stopped. His eyes were piercing through me with such intensity, I felt like I was melting. He had a sexy smirk on his lips, showing off a dimple on one side of his face. I wondered what a full smile would look like on him, but quickly determined I wouldn’t survive it.

I stuttered, trying to find something, anything, to say to him.

“S-so… Zen, what are you doing in Brinnley? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.” He shifted, casually tucking one leg underneath him so he could face me completely. His hand ran through his hair, pausing to rest it on the back of the park bench so he could lean on it. As if he timed it himself, a cool breeze swept a tuft of his perfect hair across his flawless forehead, landing just between his eyes.

My God, this guy was perfect.

He thought about my question before replying simply,

“I’m here for work.”