· Cassandra ·

I quicken my pace and grab my bag from the flannel kid to help him; Otherwise, this will take ages.

"Come on, kid, I'm freezing," I urge him.

Hypothermia must feel really bad because numbness starts taking hold of my fingertips, and I know I'm not even close to dying of cold weather.

He presses the button of his car key, and I spot his car's blinking headlights to my right.

"My lady." He opens the door to a red sporty car,  gliding his hand in the air to guide me in.

I smile fakely at him and get inside. The door shuts loudly, startling me. Whatever, I'm just glad I'm warm now. Then, I hear two loud thuds.

"Hey! Be careful with my stuff!" I reprimand him, turning back.

He doesn't reply. He just flashes me an eye-roll, tossing my carry-on on top of my suitcase, so it ends up falling on the floor of the car. After what seems forever, he sits on the driver's seat—an annoying, long sigh leaves his lips as he runs his hands through his brown tousled hair. The car's engine springs to life, and we are gone.

Eventually, like a magnet, my nose and my forehead stick against the window glass. My eyes devour the landscape. The fancy, tall buildings, the old-fashioned architecture of a Mcdonald's we passed by. It's weird to see the world from the other side of the car.

Breathing starts to get hard after at least a twenty-minute drive. I grab the zipper of my coat and pull it down a bit to help me feel less hot. Man, I'm soaking.

I fan my hands in the air, trying to find some kind of relief.

Then, my window starts going down, but I'm not the one pressing the button.

The cold air hits me hard.

"What're you doing?" I ask.

My hair goes wild, twirling over my mouth, my face. I must look like a royal mess.

"Hey!" I call him over the sound of the wind coming into the car.

"You were hot, so I opened the window," he explains to me, his face turned to me, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I'll get bronchitis like this." I press the button for it to go up.

He shakes his head. "Why don't you take off that jacket? It's too warm in the car for that."

I blush but I look sideways to hide my reaction.

"I don't want to." I keep it simple.

His hand goes up, his finger working on buttons on the board ahead of him. Cold, dry air fans harshly against my face from the air conditioning he just turned on.

"Are you kidding me? It's winter!"

"And you are sweating like a pig, and you refuse to take off that trashy coat you're wearing."

I glare at him. Do not hate on my coat. "You want my coat off?"

"Yes, so you'd stop fogging my bloody windows and I can drive safely," he speaks in his polished English accent.

I look around me and only now do I see the steam on the windows.

"I'm not taking off my coat," I snort, tucking the edges downwards.

The silence stretches between us as the drive continues for about ten more minutes. And now I'm hyperventilating. I don't mind being naked in front of Nick or my dad, because I just can. But I can't undress in front of a guy I met forty minutes ago. But, hey, I'm Cassandra, I have no fixed frame of mind, so don't rely on my words.

He stretches his hand until the back of it crashes against the windshield and he slides it up and down, the fog disappearing under his touch.

"If you would just take off that-"

"You know what?" I unbuckle my seatbelt. "You're right. I shouldn't endure this situation any longer. I don't care about shit. So, watch me." My hands fumble with the zipper of my coat until I slide it all the way down. I shuffle myself out of it and throw it to the back of the car. I return to my seat, looking ahead of me, and buckling myself to safety once again. My right leg goes over my left one, my thumbnail trapped between my teeth. Oh my Gosh, that coat was sucking the life out of me.

I feel his eyes on me.

"Green eyes on the road, boy. Green eyes on the road."

He chuckles, and a smile threatens my lips, so I bite my nail harder to prevent that from happening.

Twenty long minutes later, the tall buildings have faded away. Now, there're big fields and cottage houses littering my view.

It's kind of cute that every time I checked he wasn't looking at me. He didn't even try to make a move on me. Believe it or not, it helped me feel more comfortable.

"We're close." He clears his throat, his wild eyes on the road. "Put something on."

I usually don't obey what other people tell me to do, but I have no choice now. I'm not eager to expose myself to anyone else. Considering that the chauffeur is already acquainted with my blue panties, my legs, and the garter I tattooed around my thigh, I would rather just keep myself to myself on my first day here. I'm such a failure at that already.

Dismissing that thought, I put it on, and just in time I see him pull over a small, but beautiful cottage house. It's a two-story building, with climbing plants clutched to the walls.

"We're here," he announces.

I climb down the car, and I walk to the door. Before I even try to open it, someone opens it from inside.

"Oh my Gosh! You're here!"

Two arms engulf me, though I welcome the warmth, I don't appreciate the choking. "I can't breathe."

"I'm so sorry. I'm Katie." She steps away from me. "Welcome to Dorset and the Wilkinson family!"

The chauffeur walks past me, into the house.

"Hey, where's my stuff?" I ask him.

"In the car," he deadpans, turning around briefly.

"Oh, Ulysses, don't be rude to our guest," Katie smiles, poking his shoulder.

"Ulysses?" I echo, tasting his name on my lips.

"Yes. He's my older brother. He can be annoying. Just ignore him." She shrugs her shoulders.

"Your brother?" I'm in shock.

"Yes, Cassandra. It was nice to meet you...all of you by the way." He winks an eye at me, and then he disappears through the door.

That's a great, great start in Neverland, Cassandra.