Unwritten Desires

Eleanor 

"Oww…" I winced, lifting my throbbing head before glancing around and as expected the lab was in chaos. There was glass shattered everywhere, sparks fleeing from one place to the other and the acrid scent of burning chemicals filled the air. 

Flames licked at the countertops, but what made my stomach drop was the gas spilling from a ruptured pipe. 

Crap. No one needed to tell me. I already knew it was toxic. 

The faint greenish tinge to the air, the sharp sting in my nose. It was more than toxic….it was deadly. And spreading fast and I couldn't help but wonder what would have caused such an explosion. 

I tried to push myself up, but pain shot through my ankle, forcing me back down. I bit back a scream.

"Dammit!" I cursed. 

That's when I saw him. 

Liam. 

He was standing near the exit, scanning the chaos with an unnerving calmness and it was obvious he hadn't seen me yet.

Why the hell did he always have to be everywhere? 

He was already annoying enough. 

Ugh. 

I held back an eye roll. 

I tried my best to get up again but it was completely useless. I had sprained my ankle and there was no one around to help me…except him of course. 

Even if I wanted to yell for help, I'm sure the students left would be running towards the exit by now. So I didn't have a choice but to ask him for help…apparently my only other option was dying and I couldn't afford that. 

"Liam!" I choked out, coughing against the gas as it seeped closer. His head snapped in my direction.

His eyes locked on mine, and for a moment, I thought he'd help. Instead, his expression hardened. He turned toward the door, ready to leave.

God. He really was an asshole. 

"Wait!" I shouted, my voice cracking. "Help me! Please!"

He paused, barely glancing over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" His voice was cold, detached and heavy with sarcasm.

I gritted my teeth. My head throbbed, and the gas was making my vision blur, but I forced the words out. "We have classes together. Or have you forgotten the girl who was paired up with you in chemistry today…and do you even need to know someone to help them out?" I snapped.

His gaze lingered on me for another second before he turned to leave and then I knew I had no choice. "If you don't help me, I'll tell everyone your secret."

My words made him turn. His dark eyes narrowed as he strode closer, towering over me. I had been holding it in for too long. It was high time I let it out. 

"My secret?" His tone was mocking. "Your fall must've really messed with your head, four eyes. Now you think a bluff is going to make me help you?"

"It's not a bluff," I snapped, coughing violently. "I know who you really are, Alex." His entire body stiffened.

"Care to repeat that?" His voice was low, dangerous.

I sucked in a shaky breath, the gas burning my lungs. "I know this identity of yours is just a cover, Alex Bronson." I drawled. "So if you know what's good for you, stop questioning me like a fool and help me dammit." 

His expression darkened as he crouched down slightly, leveling me with a glare. "How do you know that?"

"Worry about it later," I rasped, my strength fading. "Just help me out of here."

For a long moment, he didn't move, just stared at me like he was weighing his options. My chest tightened as the gas crept closer, curling around my legs and I wondered why it was only affecting me and not him.

Was he immune to stuff like this? 

Or did he know anything about the explosion? 

And I couldn't even use my knowledge of the novel because nothing like this happened in the book. 

Argh. 

I stared at him, realizing he was still contemplating.

What the crap? 

"Don't even think about leaving me here because if you think this is going to kill me and your secret is going to follow me to the grave then you got a lot coming your way. Get me out of here and get yourself an ally if not, trust me, I'll be your worst enemy and all your plans to gather evidence and find out the truth is gonna go down the fucking drain." 

It's not like I was in the wrong or anything. He was the one who was always getting on my nerves and I tried to ignore him but somehow this twisted story always ended up bringing us together. 

If he had just helped me in the first place then maybe I wouldn't have meddled with his problems and blackmailed him. 

Finally, he sighed, muttering something under his breath and without another word, he bent down and scooped me up, his arms sliding under my knees and around my back.

"I should've trusted my instincts from that second you bumped into me." he muttered, his tone full of irritation as he carried me toward the door.

"Well unfortunately you didn't. And now you have to do everything I say." I smiled at him and his eyes didn't even twitch. 

The hallways were in chaos. Some students were screaming and running towards the exits while most of them were yelling for the fire department. 

Some of the staff were even trying to stop the students outside from coming in while safely guiding the ones in out. 

Poor Sofia. She must be worried knowing I had gone to the Chemistry lab. 

I turned back watching as the smoke poured out from the lab and I couldn't believe I was in there a few seconds ago. 

Authorities were already arriving, their radios crackling as they tried to control the scene. As Alex carried me out, people around started asking questions.

"What happened in there?"

"Is she okay?"

"What caused the explosion?" 

Alex ignored them all, his grip firm but not gentle even in the slightest. I was even considering getting off him and walking myself. 

I understood where he was coming from but honestly that didn't give him the right to be so mean to everyone. I opened my mouth to say something to him but he immediately cut me off. 

"Don't talk," he ordered under his breath, his voice low enough that only I could hear. "And stop moving." 

I coughed violently, barely able to hold my head up. "Like I'm in the mood for a conversation with you," I croaked, not giving him the satisfaction of knowing I wanted to talk to him.

He didn't respond, he just walked through the hallways until we were clear of the chaos. 

"Dori…what happened?!" I heard Sofia's panicked voice. 

"Thea…Thea. Are you okay?" My vision was a bit blurry but I didn't need to see clearly to know that voice belonged to Jake. 

"Thea…what were you thinking?" Another voice came as Alex lowered me to the ground. 

It was Elvis. He was probably here with Sofia when the explosion happened. 

"What happened, Thea?" A light girly voice rang in my ears. 

Oh great, all of my siblings were here too. 

"It's okay. There's no need for you guys to be worried." I blinked as I held onto Alex because of my sprained ankle but it seemed the gas got to me because I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. "I'm fine." 

And those were my last words before everything went blank.