The Bully's Hated Mate
The Bully’s Hated Mate – Chapter 35

CASSIA’S POV:

I stared at Lucius writhing on the bed beside me in visible distress and my heart went out to him. What was it that made him look so grieved and tortured and why did he have these nightmares every single night?

I reached out a finger to poke him but hesitated just before my skin made contact with his. He always looked angry when I woke him and today wouldn’t be an exception, I was sure.

It was probably better to leave the room and let him wake up on his own.

I sat up on the bed and looked around.

It was barely dawn and the light from outside was just sufficient for me to make out his features. I let my feet touch the floor and pulled my luggage towards me. The tent was nowhere large enough for two people to share and I wondered if this was orchestrated on purpose; some bullshit about creating bond between partners.

My jacket sat just at the top of my bag so it was easy to take out and wear over the shirt I had slept in.

I started to tiptoe my way out of the tent when Lucius gave a terrified cry. I stopped and peered at his face.

It was contorted in pain and I knew I couldn’t just leave him there to go through whatever horrors he was experiencing in his sleep. Without thinking, I jumped on the bed and shook him vigorously awake.

His eyes fluttered open and for a moment, it seemed like he was lost. He looked round the room in confusion and then at my face, his eyes betraying no recognition.

“Lucius” I called softly but firmly. He focused his eyes back on me and seemed to regain conciousness. He pushed my hand away from his arm roughly and sat up.

When he spoke, his voice was low and husky. I could not see the color of his eyes in the near darkness but I knew that they were bloodshot and wild.

“What happened?” He asked and then deciding it was a silly question, turned away without waiting for an answer.

I stared at his hunched back for a few awkward seconds, wanting to break the silence and at the same time, wanting to bask in it.

It was hard to predict him these days and it was possible he would leave the room if I tried to start conversation. So I waited.

He did not say or do anything for a very long time but I could hear his heavy breathing and I knew he was trying to recover from whatever he had seen.

Even though we were not on good terms at the moment, it was hard to stay angry at him when he looked so fragile, so out of it and tired.

We might have remained that way for close to thirty minutes before he seemed to gain conciousness.

“You should go back to sleep” he said finally. His voice was less huskier than it had been earlier, although he still sounded just as grumpy. I doubted that I would be able to go back to sleep but I said nothing and crawled back inot bed and even faked snoring for added effect.

“You can stop faking it. You don’t even snore usually” he said and lay beside me.

I felt his hand slide in the space beside me as he pulled the blanket towards himself and I felt my cheeks heat up.

Did my little movements also affect him so much?

I stopped snoring and lay quietly beside him, painfully aware of the warmth his body provided to my skin. I knew that he was wide awake and I knew that he knew that I was wide awake too.

We stayed like that, staring at the red roof of the tent until the day steadily became brighter and sun rays seeped in through the entrance and a tiny hole in the roof.

When we started to hear movement from the other tents and the loud voice of the history teacher, we got out of bed too and set about getting ready for the day.

Breakfast was a harried affair as we needed to get into the woods, finish hunting our targets and return back in time for what the history teacher termed “an ingenious event”. We were all certain that at best it would be a mediocre event but still, nobody wanted to be stuck in the woods, hunting while the others had returned back to base.

This hunting event was particularly appealing because it afforded us the opportunity to mingle amongst ourselves without scrutiny from any of the teachers and it was physically exerting. The best part of it though was that we were leaving camp grounds.

I was beginning to feel sick just staring at the congregation of red, orange and yellow tents and the barren fields that surrounded us.

This was the action and I was determined not to let some airhead ruin it for me. Even if said airhead happened to be my partner.

After breakfast, the English teacher assembled us in the field and took roll call.

It was more of a formality to ensure nobody had gone rogue and that everyone was appropriately paired up. Lucius stood beside me for roll call but he stared straight ahead and I could not read his expression.

When the teacher called out his name, he answered in a loud but non-committal voice and if the teacher noticed his nonchalance, she chose to ignore it.

“You all know what’s expected of you today and I won’t tolerate any contrary behavior” she said. Her voice was clear and loud and a certain silence fell upon us as she spoke.

“You are expected to work in group of twos and that is what you must do”. As she said that last part, she seemed to stare directly at me and Lucius but I couldn’t be so sure.

“You will each find your hunting gear in front of your tent. There is a tag attached to each one of them where your target is printed” she said. She clapped her hands impatiently and dismissed us.

Everyone dispersed in different directions, colliding with one another and cursing as they went in search of their gear.

I stuck close to Lucius until we got to our tent and found our gear.

“bears” he murmured looking at the brown tag in his hands. I peered over his shoulders and saw that indeed, we were to hunt down a bears.

“We’d better hurry” I said. He said nothing in response but started to gear up.

When we were both fully geared up, we set out into the woods with a group of some other classmates who started to branch off the farther we went.

“Be watchful and be careful too. We don’t want any surprise attack”

I had been lost in my thoughts and the sound of Lucius whispering brought me back to reality. So he was speaking to me now?

A part of me wanted to be petty and ignore him but to what end really? Moreover, there was something I was curious about.

“Are you okay?” I asked tentatively.

He looked at me in surprise and arched his brows.

“Your nightmares. You have them every night and it seems like pure torture” I said, hoping I wasn’t pushing this too far.

Surprisingly, he did not look annoyed. Instead, I recognized a soft side of him that I thought had died over the past few days.

“I see my mom every night” he said, his voice barely audible even though I stood an inch away. “I watched her die” he eked out.

I stared at him, the words of sympathy immediately dying in my throat.

“Lucius” I breathed instead.

Maybe it was the way he said it or because I had lost my father too but I understood him and connected to him at that moment.

“I f*****g watched her die” he said again.

His voice caught as he said those words, as if he was holding back tears. I slowed to a stop and reached for his arm without thinking.

He stopped too and stared me deep in the eyes. More than attraction, I felt a deep connection like never before and time seemed to stand still for us. It felt like I could tell him any and every thing.

“I lost my father too so I understand. I might not understand exactly how you feel every night but I have tasted loss and I know it’s a bitter pill to swallow”.

I don’t know why I said so much but I wanted him to understand that his pain was valid and that there was someone who understood him.

We stood just staring at each other for a while and just when it looked like he was going to say something, my eyes caught movement in the near distance.

The magic of the moment was broken and we were now on high alert. Apparently, we had stepped directly into the path of two bears.

I saw Lucius’ eyes dart between me and the two bears before us as if making serious calculations.

But before I could ask what he was doing, he had taken off leaving me to fence off the animals by myself.

I did not even have the time to dwell on my surprise because one of the bears made eye contact with me and lunged forward.