Ida's POV

"I am so sorry! It's just that; I saw the way you look at each other. I was wrong to assume anything. I am so sorry." Sofia apologized.

"It's okay, Sofia, we're cool." She was so nervous the whole time.

"Thank you so much."

"By the way... how do we look at each other?" I bite my lip. 

Soifa smirks, "what? Can't a girl be curious these days?"

"Are you planning to ask him out?" 

Ask him out? I ask him out... to be honest I never thought about that...

"Times have changed Ida," Sofia interrupts my deep thoughts, "keep my advice. I am rooting for ya."

After giving a last look to the cruise, we went through security and then parted ways from Sofia and Ryan.

"Keep in touch." Ryan shook hands with a hungover Ethan.

A black car soon pulled over in front of Ethan and me. Without exchanging any words with the driver, Ethan opens the back-seat door for me. I fully trust Ethan, even when we were practically getting ourselves kidnapped. So, I get in.

I put on the seatbelt for being extra safe as a muscled man with tattoos on his arms and near his neck looked at my every move through the rear-view mirror.

I gulped the lump of saliva that had gathered in my mouth. And I have to admit I am nervous.

The man's intense gaze was so fixated on me; it made me feel uneasy.

Ethan walked around and sat in the front seat, next to the man.

"Hey, lad!" The man with a stern tone patted Ethan's back.

"Dude, go easy on me. I'm having a hungover." Ethan groaned while I winced, thinking of how hard that pat on the back must have been.

The man passed Ethan some pills for his hungover. I shot daggers at Ethan to not take them. THEY COULD BE DRUGGED!

But Ethan paid no attention to me and gulped down the med like cotton candy.

Oh lord, save us from harm.

The drive went by silently, and every few minutes, the man would stare curiously at me. Like he just found a new fish in the pond.

Trying my best to ignore him, I look outside the window. Holy moly! Ethan was so right about it- not being a town.
'Cuz shit. It's a city.

I looked in awe at the light illuminating from different shops and malls and lights and even people. Everyone was so energetic and bright, early in the morning.

But this view did not remain for long, as the number of people became lesser and lesser and lesser. The bright side was turning rough and patchy.

Tiny bars started to make way. At the same time, people that looked happy and charismatic had turned into gloom.

It's true-
As you think, you feel.
As you feel, you radiate.
As you radiate,
You create.

~Abraham-Hicks

And these people were not radiating anything like- hey let's be friends. Quite the opposite, actually.

I glanced over at Ethan, who was snoring peacefully.

"huh?" I am utterly shocked at how off-guard he was. So vulnerable.

I SHOULD HAVE PULLED HIS EAR HARDER THIS MORNING!

ATLEAST HE WOULD COME BACK TO HIS SENSES.

I internally slap myself for not doing so.

I bend towards Ethan's arm, to pinch him awake. But he just flinched and whacked at my hand like it was a FLY!

The man next to him chuckled at my attempt, "let him be. He won't be waking up any time soon."

I freeze at his words. Did he drug Ethan?

I knew it.

My head swirled with different possibilities.

My throat had gone dry at the thought—news like that used to come on the TV often.

The man chuckles again, looking at my stoic expression. I didn't want to show myself as weak; hence I controlled my expressions well. That was the best I could do in this situation.

It's better to do something rather than do nothing at all.

"Sorry to not introduce myself at first. I'm Jake. And you might be?" Jake raised his brows.

"I'm Engine." I lie, not wanting to disclose my identity to him.

"Engine?" Jake seemed confused, and I internally slap myself for the second time at the same hour.

"Angelin." I clarify.

×××

Soon enough, Jake parks the car and wakes Ethan up. I relax at the sight of Ethan.

We all get out of the car, and I rush to be beside Ethan. I hang my arm around him, and he doesn't whack it as he did so in the car. Instead, he rubs his other palm on my hand, soothing the tension built up.

"It's still the same." Ethan looks at the old building like structure in front of us. The walls that had once been white had turned into yellow, with a lot of graffiti on it.

"Everyone's very excited." Jake puts the phone in his back pocket.

I was surprised to find that Ethan had contacts with a man like Jake and with a place like this. How much of his past do I not know? A lot is what I can say—looking at this place.

Suppose- this place had once meant something to Ethan. Then there was a lot more to know about him. I'm sure of it. This place gave me the wrong vibes, but at the same time, it had an absolute thrill to it. It was making me curious.

Curiosity kills the cat- this holds true. But at this moment, I knew nothing of what was coming ahead for Ethan or me.

An unexpected gesture was when Jake held the door for us to enter.

I looked around. The dim white lights gave an edgy feeling to the place. The walls were gray and scrapped, covered with graffiti.

This place was-according to my intuition- an abandoned Inn.

There was a rough counter on one side and old sofas on the other.

On the opposite side of the counter, a girl with green-dyed hair and blue eyes stared.

"Been long, Lilith." Ethan greeted Lilith.

Lilith was no different from Jake, tattoos, and piercings. She gave off a bad girl vibe.

Lilith rolled her eyes at did not bother to respond to the greeting.

"Take the room." Her voice was deep, "hope you know where it is?"

Instead of waiting for a response, Lilith got back to whatever she was doing on the computer.

Ethan caught the keys with the freehand.

"Thanks."

I tightened my grip on Ethan's hand as we went upstairs. The stairs creaked at every step. There were no lights or windows nearby, making it creepy.

Ethan opened the door to our right. The room was much more pleasant than the rest of the place. It was well lit, and the furniture did not look broken or scrapped. There was a small attached washroom too.

Ethan switched on the heater, which started to warm up the tiles soon enough.

"What're we doing here?" I asked Ethan as he sat on the Queen-sized bed placed in the middle.

"They can help us."

"How do you know them?"

I waited for an answer until the silence got deafening.

"I'm going to meet the others." Ethan got off the bed and exited the room. He was clearly avoiding the question.

I placed my bag down on the floor and started taking out my towel, shampoo, body soap, and comb. The sea trip had made me sticky. And seeing that there was only one bed in the room, I did not want to stink when Ethan was sleeping beside me.

I remove my clothes after closing the curtains of the room. I had changed into a new pair of garments before going for a swim. So, the lingerie I had bought from Victoria's secret was okay to wear for today, after thinking about the pros and cons of wearing it, I decided to wear it.

Not wasting any more time, I switch on the shower before stepping in. I quickly scrub my body with the soap and place it in the empty container I had bought along with me. Then I scrub my favorite strawberry shampoo into my hair.

I twist my hair gently, letting the excess water drain away before stepping out.

I rub my body with the towel and change into my garments. Reaching for my clothes, I realize that I had forgotten them outside.

There was pin-drop silence around me, so I assumed that there was no one outside.

I open the washroom door but get distracted when my towel falls off on the wet ground. I quickly grab the towel, and forcefully shake it.

As soon as the towel moves away from my sight, from the corner of my eye, I find a grinning Ethan.

"Are you trying to turn me on?" He sits up from his sleeping position on the bed.

I bite my lip, but don't try to cover myself. When I don't answer, Ethan gets up from the bed and exits the room yet again.

What an arrogant jerk! One minute he asks if I am trying to turn him on, and the next, he is storming off.