The Shadow Stalker Around Her

Chapter 11

Skyla

(Past)

I woke up with severe pain in my head. Did I hit my head somewhere? I thought. I tried to open my eyes but failed to do that. When I was able to open my eyes, the first thing I noticed was in my room. I didn't notice that my granny was there in my room. When my eyes landed on the cut of my finger and my dress, I started to remember everything that happened before. 

A paper ball. Red ink. A massage. Death threat. He was standing in the dark with a bloodied knife. 

He is a cold-blooded killer. He killed my foster family and buried them without letting anyone know. Why did he do that with them? And he threatened me to kill my granny. Granny. Where is she? I looked here and there to find her. No. Nothing could happen with my granny. She is my only family. He didn't hurt her, did he? Whose blood was on that knife? Carl! Where are they? Oh, God!  Please keep them safe. 

I was trembling in fear. At that moment, I heard a familiar voice said in concern, "Skyla, are you alright, my child?" Oh, granny. I looked over her and was watching if she was unharmed or not. She was alright. I was only looking at her face. She doesn't deserve someone like me who might cause harm to her. 

If I leave her alone, then her life wouldn't be in danger. But I don't want to leave her. What if in my absence, that horrible person kills my granny and- no. I better stay by her side. I need to tell her about the chits so that she would stay cautious all the time.

I was in my thought that I didn't realize my granny was calling my name constantly. She jarked me holding my shoulder, and called, "Skyla?"

I startled and said, "Y-yes, I-I am. I am fine, granny. What happened?" I asked suddenly.

She looked at me in concern and said, "You fainted outside. Carl brings you to your room. How are you feeling now?"

"I am fine, don't worry, granny," I assured her. I tried my best to smile at her.

Narrowing her eyes, she sternly said, "You aren't fine at all, Skyla. You don't sleep, and that's why you fainted there. From now on, you are going to sleep with me, understand?"

I nodded and asked, "Alright, granny. Where is Carl?"

"I am here." Hearing the voice, I turned my gaze toward him. He looked normal as usual. 

Giving a glass and a pill, he said, "Take this. You will feel better."

"Uh- thank you." Saying, I gulped down the pill with water. 

I apologetically said, "Sorry for troubling you, Carl."

Shrugging, he said, "No issues, Skyla. You need to take care of your health. If this thing happens again, you can't take part in the competition." How mean he is! He showed all the care only to keep me fit so I couldn't trouble him with his reputation. Thinking, my mood got soured. 

Nodding, granny said, "Yes, son. You are right. If I wasn't this careless, this might never happen today. I promise I won't let this happen again. For lack of sleep, this is happening with her." Oh, granny, you don't know what made me faint in the garden and what took my sleep away from my eyes. But sooner or later, I have to tell you everything. I visibly sighed. 

"Granny, is dinner ready?" I asked, intended to divert the topic, and sent Carl to his home.

She smiled and said, "Yes, my dear. Let's have dinner fast. Carl, please come with us." She politely asked him to join us.

He again gave his rare yet breathtaking smile to her and said, "Sure, granny. Thank you for the invitation."

Granny said, "Oh, don't thank me for that." "Skyla, can you walk?" She asked me. 

"Yes, I can." As I put my feet on the floor, I felt dizzy. I heard Carl saying,  "Careful." 

Before I could fell, Carl held me by my waist and helped me to steady my feet. He didn't leave me for once. He still kept his arm around my waist. I could do nothing except leaning my back against his shoulder. 

He has a warm yet scary vibe around him. Forgetting his nature, I welcomed his warmth with open arms.  

Carl offered her, "Granny, you can go downstairs first. I am helping her coming to the kitchen."

I didn't miss a knowing look and a playful smile on her lips. Oh, granny. You don't know him in the way I know him. She said, "Thank you for taking care of my Skyla. I am going now and set the dinner on the table." Saying, she left my room. 

After she left, I tried to pull away from his hold. Instead of letting me go, he tightened his arm around me, which making me yelp in sudden pain.  

Exhaling a breath, I said, "You don't need to-"

I heard him whispering near my ear in a calm yet threatening tone, "Did I hear something from you?"

See, the real Carl is back, who is an awful person I ever encountered in my life. 

Stuttering, I said, "N-no."

He said in satisfaction, "Good. Let's get going. And you better didn't say anything about me to your granny." He pushed me into the wall and caged me while giving me a stern face. 

I said helplessly, "I swear, I didn't. Granny is making things up. I didn't talk about you at all. I- " I stopped abruptly when my scared eyes met his pissed-off expression. 

Slamming his fist against the wall on my left side, He whispered-yelled at me, "What do you mean by you didn't say anything about me? Are you disrespecting me?" I flinched to see him like that. Why is he so difficult for me to get?

I tried to reason him, "What? N-no! Why would I do that? Trust me-"

Cutting me off, he said, "We will talk, but not here. Tomorrow, in my music room. I don't care whether you are feeling well or not. You have to come. Else, you are going to call your nightmare. Because I won't leave you." His behavior made me overwhelmed. I didn't know when I started crying. 

Gritting his teeth, he wiped my tears, and said in a hard tone, "Now, stop crying. You know what I hate the most. Tears. Don't be so pathetic. Start controlling your emotions. Did you hear me?" 

Taking a deep breath, I said, "Yes,"

"We need to go now. She is waiting in the kitchen." Saying, he dragged me downstairs. 

Carl is very hard for me to get. He can be gentle, and sometimes he can be as hard as a rock. He made me feel special and also a useless girl. But somehow I find him genuine who doesn't fake his emotions. I never saw him talking with anyone except me. Well, not talking exactly, ordering would be the correct one. He is harsh, but the thing he says is the valid ones. I respect him enough to follow in his footsteps. 

We stood near the dining hall together. Seeing, she said cheerfully, "Come and sit here, son. And Skyla, sit beside him."

We sat side by side. Looking at our bandaged wrapped finger and Carl's wrist, granny cried out in concern, "What happened with your hands, Skyla and Carl? Oh, my poor children. Don't touch your food. Let me feed you two." She came behind us and swatting our hands away from our plates. 

I protested, "No, granny. It's just a small cut."

Carl also said, "Yes, we can manage. You don't have to do this."

Scoffing at us, she said, "Oh, stop it. Let me help you two. And no one can stop me from it. And don't snatch the opportunity to feed my grandchildren."

Carl said with a smile, "You can feed us, granny." 

Yes! He decided things for me. So much of a leader of mine. I mentally snarled at him.

After dinner, we three sat on the couch and talking a little. Well, I was just listening to them silently. I couldn't find myself talking with anyone of them.  

Standing up, he said with a smile, "I should take my leave now, granny. It's late, and we have school tomorrow."

Granny also stood up. She said, "Yes, son. Please come home or my bakery any time you want. My bakery at the end of this alley."

Looking at her, he said with affection, "Sure, granny. I will defiantly stop by for sure."  Turning his gaze at me, he said sternly, "Well, Skyla, see you in our music room. Good night." As if I am going to miss school tomorrow. 

I said with a fake smile, "Okay, Carl. See you." He left. 

I looked at the garden and tried to search for that paper, but didn't find that. Maybe that stalker took that and flew away or Carl! No. If he did see that, he might ask or tell that to granny.

I heard granny called me to come inside our home. Closing the door, I heard granny said, "I like that boy a lot. He is such a sweetheart."

"Hmm," That all I could say to her. 

I don't want to say anything about him to her. She already threw me over the sea and I didn't know how to swim back and save myself from a shark-like Carl. 

She demanded to me, "Come and sleep with me. I am bringing hot chocolate for you."

Looking at her, I said, "Granny, you don't need to do this. You should take a rest now. You have been working for the whole day."

"It's nothing, dear. Go and change. Then go to my room. Alright?" She pushed to go to bed. 

Climbing on the stairs, I said, "Fine,"   

That night we both slept together. I didn't get a nightmare, but I did saw the same man in my dream. I wish I could see his face in my dream.  

The next day at school, I sat at the back of our classroom. I heard a girl asked, "Hey? Can I sit beside you?"

I didn't want her to sit beside me. But I said quite hesitantly, "Uh- yes, you can."

She smiled and said, "Thanks." She introduced herself, "By the way, I am Ana."

"Skyla," I said curtly. 

Suddenly, she said, "So, I heard you entered the lion's den."

I frowned and asked in confusion, "What?"

"Aren't you the one who entered that music room?" Saying, she gave me a strange look. 

Breaking eye contact, I said truthfully, "Y-yes. Uh- but I can't get you."

She asked, "What do you do there?" 

There had nothing to hide, so I said, "Carl is giving me violin lessons. Why?" I asked.

"It is very unexpected, you know. Carl is antisocial." She said matter of factly, which didn't make any sense. I also don't talk with anyone. 

I asked, "So?"

"He doesn't tolerate when someone evades his privacy. He never let anyone come near to his music room, let alone step anyone's foot there. Even the authorities of this school aren't allowed there. From what I heard, Carl is coming from a dangerous family, and they rule over our school. No one dares to go near to them, but you are quite daring, I see." Saying, she smirked. I mentally decided to stay away from her. I don't want to make any friends. Carl and my granny are enough for me to tolerate.

I said, "I-I didn't know that." I don't care, actually. I saw his bodyguards. I have been dealing with him for over two months. He didn't do anything with me instead of showing dominance. If he is harmful, my granny would have told me to stay away from him. She is experienced, and I believe in her. 

She said with a shrug, "You are new here. I can tell he didn't do anything with you. So, just bear with him as he is graduating in a few months." She tried to console me which didn't matter to me at all. But I gave her a nod. 

After the class, I ran out of that classroom and went to Carl's music room, ignoring all those curious stares. 

Entering inside the music room, I closed the door. I heard him said, "I thought you wouldn't come today."

I didn't startle, listening to him.  I became habituated with his tactics. Not wanting to make him angry, I said cautiously, "I need to prepare myself for the competition."

He showed a satisfying look to me but masked that effortlessly. He said firmly, "Good to see you are serious about the competition. Now let's start with new notes, shall we?" I nodded once and took the violin in my hand. 

He taught me for hours and tried not to make any mistakes.  

In the end, he said, "This is it for today's lesson. We are going to start this tomorrow. You may go now."

"Thank you, Carl." Thanking him, I left for granny's bakery, to my granny.