In ths middle of the night, a loud noise caused my eyes to shot open and I looked around my darkened room in panic. When I couldn't find anything strange, I decided to go back to sleep but something on the floor caught my attention.

Turning on the bedside lamp, I left the bed and picked up the black stone. There was nothing written on it, it was plain black.

After inspecting the stone for a good two minutes, I kept it on the bed side and lay down again to sleep but another sound appeared out of nowhere, this time it was more like a wince.

Looking around in confusion, I hopped out of the bed and turned towards the window to check the street. My suspicion cleared when I found the person who was throwing these stones inside my room.

It was Adam, standing against the wall of his house, his eyes were zoomed in on my window. That's when I noticed the blood dripping from his hand and the large bruise under his right eye.

"Oh my God!" I gasped as I observed the blood splotches on his light brown shirt. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Ssshhh." he gestured with his finger and winced the next moment. "Come down." he requested in muffled voice.

Nodding, I slipped into my slippers and left the room. There was pitch black darkness downstairs so I had to use my mobile torch to make way for me. I couldn't risk letting Dad know that I was leaving house at this time of night.

Closing the gate softly behind me, I reached Adam who had now shifted to a sitting position.

"What happened to you?" I whispered gently, assessing his injuries and blood-stained clothes.

"I can't tell you that." he answered, rubbing the blood dripping from his hand with a tissue.

"Then why did you ask me to come down?" I said, trying to find the reason all by myself.

"Because I need a place to stay for tonight?" he said and my eyes widened. Did he actually mean what I understood?

"But why can't you crawl up this pipe like you always do?" I asked and his face lost all its color.

"You know?" he asked, still surprised.

"Yup." I shrugged, earning a sour expression from him. I looked back to the pipe which was also stained with blood. "Well, look like you have already tried."

"Would you let me stay or not?" he said rudely and I frowned. "Please!" he added, still looking at me with his dry expression and I sighed in defeat.

"Fine." I answered and stood up, pulling my hand out for him. He looked at it for a minute, probably contemplating whether to take it or not. When I was about to pull it back, he gripped it with his big, warm hand and a smile threatened to make its way on my face.

"You are heavy." I commented as I dragged him inside and he snorted ridiculously.

We passed through the hallway, keeping our steps as silent as possible, only releasing our breaths once we were inside my room.

I looked outside for any sign of Dad and then locked the door behind me. "Thank God he didn't wak--- W.. What are you doing?" I shrieked as I watched him taking his shirt off.

"Do you want me to sit on your bed with these bloody clothes?" he asked, cocking his head and I shook my head in no. Without warning me first, he went for his trouser and I let out a gasp before turning around.

My virgin eyes!

"Stop being so dramatic Alicia. I have my boxers on. Just give me any extra shirt." he demanded and I angled my head to take a peak. His boxers reached his knees so he didn't look as scandalous as I thought.

Exhaling loudly, I passed him a black plain T-shirt from my cupboard which once belonged to Dad decades ago. Dad joked that it was like a family heirloom because mom used to borrow it from Dad and now I had kept it with me.

"You couldn't find anything older than this?" he taunted, looking at the holes in the shirt.

"Tone down the sarcasm a bit, will you? Considering that I am the one helping you." I rolled my eyes and led him to the bathroom so he could wash off the dirt. In the meantime, I cleaned my room and hid every embarrassing item visible to human eye.

Plopping on the bed, I waited for him to come out and when he did, my throat felt constricting. With the wet hair and water dripping from his face, he looked like a whole snack and I had to tear my eyes off his toned body because I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of him.

He used my baby pink towel to dry his hair and it would have been funny, watching such a masculine guy using a fluffy pink towel, if only I wasn't drooling at the beautiful sight in front of me.

He sat down beside me and started to inspect the large cuts on his knuckles and palm. Pulling the first aid box from my side table, I scooted closer to him until we were sitting side by side.

"What?" he asked, turning his face to me.

"Here!" I passed him the kit. He looked at it for a moment and then handed it back to me.

"Adam!" I whined, glaring at him.

"Alicia!" he said seriously, glaring back.

"Just apply some bandages on your hand for God's sake." I said, passing the box back to him.

"No." he answered, putting it back.

"Fine. Then I am going to tell Tiffany about you." I stood up, using my warning tone and his mouth widened for a moment.

"Ugh. Give it to me." he finally relented. Under my scrutiny, he applied the bandage to his hand with much difficulty but Mr. Stubborn didn't ask for my help as it would be a huge blow to his fragile ego. Men!

After he was done, I gave him painkillers with a glass of water. He chose to sleep on the couch which proved to be really small for his large built. I even asked him to share the bed with me but he didn't agree. So at last, I turned the lamp off and let him struggle on his own.

Strangely though, I felt the bed dip beside me in the middle of the night but I was too sleepy to turn around and check.

...

Ughhh. Who the hell is taking my personal space?

I groaned in my sleep but the moment realization dawned upon me, my eyes shot open. I was pulled back into a muscular chest, a heavy arm was draped over my waist.

Adam?

But when did he move to my bed?

More importantly, what the hell is he doing?

His grip tightened around me, his front still glued to my back. I swallowed hard when he nuzzled his nose in my neck, tingles shot down my spine and butterflies erupted in my stomach.

To add more to my misery, something poked my buttocks and my whole body heated up in embarrassment when I realized what it was.

I shifted in his hold, tried to move away but his grasp didn't loosen.

I stirred more and this time, a muffled groan escaped his mouth. "Fuck." he cursed under his breath when he realized what was happening and the next moment, I was on the floor, wincing in pain.

Mr. Tall Dark and Stupid had pushed me from my own bed, in my own room, in my own house.

"I'm... I'm really sorry." he said, looking at me with guilt-stricken expression.

"Fuck you." I cursed, throwing daggers at him and at the same time, rubbing my back.

"Ouch... It hurts." I moaned in pain, trying to relieve the backache by gently pressing it.

Adam stared at me nervously for a moment and then picked me up in his arms. Before I could shriek in surprise, he lay me down on the bed and then settled behind me.

"What are you.... Ahhh.." I let out a weird sound when his hands slightly kneed my shoulders. It was pure pleasure, as if I was getting a massage from the hands of an expert masseuse.

"Where does it hurt?" he asked, shifting his hands a little lower.

"Right.. Right here.. Uhh.." I answered, feeling lighter than the air. His hands were doing wonders on my back and I couldn't help but moan slightly.

Ohhh... Why didn't I try this before?

"Alicia?" I heard Dad's voice outside my room while I was busy relishing the magic of his fingers. Both Adam and I stood up in hurry and looked at each other with worried eyes.

"Answer him." Adam said to me and I shook my head in no.

"Alicia?" Dad's voice emerged again and I bit the insides of my cheeks.

Bye bye world!

"Answer him." Adam advised again and this time, I decided to listen.

"Y.. Yeah Dad?" I responded, dragging Adam towards my bathroom. "Stay inside." Leaving him here, I reached the door and unlocked it.

"Are you alright?" Dad asked, looking around the room.

"N.. No." I said, speaking without giving it a second thought.

"What happened?" he asked, checking my forehead in worry.

Think. Think Alicia, think.

"Cramps. Girls issue." I grieved, clutching my stomach and making a pained face.

"Oh." Dad said nervously, his face clearly showing he had no idea what to say next. Whenever I had such issue, I would talk to Aunt Blaire about it and she would help me without bothering Dad or Uncle Caleb.

"Do you.. Do you need anything?" he asked, not looking directly in my eyes.

"I'll be fine Dad. You don't need to have the awkward talk with me." I chuckled, and then feigned a fake wince to convince him of my acting.

After making sure he had left, I unlocked the bathroom and let Adam out. By the amusement written on his face, it was clear that he had heard our conversation and now this idiot was enjoying it.

"Now would you leave my house or do you want me to throw you out myself?" I frowned, putting the hands on my hips.

"Leaving." he said, surrendering.

But before he could exit my room, something weird happened. Adam McArdle smiled at me, a smile that showed that he appreciated my help, a smile that showed that he was finally showing an emotion, a smile that showed that he was slowly opening up to me, a smile that showed that he was human after all.

Oh Adam!

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