What is she doing? Why has she decided to come? She has left her future husband and his family, has lied to them all, and for what? To join the one with whom she has broken the law.

It may not be a wise idea to meet a man she barely knows. Anastasia has questioned her decision all the way, and when she gets out of her car, the deserted surroundings make her doubt even more.

She has stared enough times at the text to be sure it is the right address, yet she still checks it one more time, maybe to not look too long at the scenery. 

6 Uphill Road, it is here, by the side of an empty road, with the edge of a wood showing up at the beginning of a narrow pathway. It is the right address, and apparently, the right place for being alone, or for murder? 

She shivers, the cold coming from the trees cooling down her burning turmoil inside. The sun is playing hide and seek behind grey clouds, accentuating the creepy atmosphere of the area. 

Yet, despite the uncertainty and the doubtful place, she can't walk away; something inside, almost like a belief, makes her want to stay.

"Hi."

When she turns around and meets Nathaniel's warm chocolate eyes, she knows there is no way she can turn back. 

He is standing there, a few feet away, as handsome as always in a simple white tee-shirt and dark jeans, and the hint of a smile he offers her is enough to justify against all the questions and doubts that have crossed her mind on her way here.

"Hi," she replies in the same awkward tone,  the words not flowing as easily as through the texts she has sent him, but something still passes through the eerie silence of the nature around and their rapid stares.

"Um... follow me." He points to the pathway, while his other hand is rubbing the back of his neck.

There is no 'how are you?' or exchange of civilities, and she is thankful for that. She has enough questions she has no answer to, and it is clear since their first encounter that they don't need lots of words to share intimacy.

He is already heading towards the path, though before, she still notices his gaze lingering down her body for a brief second, sending another trail of shivers along her skin, not from coldness this time. 

She instinctively throws a glance around from where he is walking to her car parked in the shade, maybe in a last hesitation, and when she meets his gaze over his shoulder inviting her to come, there is no need for another word. Just like that, she follows him.

All of this looks so wrong, Nate reflects with each step he takes. He is leading a woman – who is not his wife – through a narrow pathway in the woods. 

They are walking a narrow pathway in so many ways, and all of this is so wrong. He's left his home the second his phone screen has lighted up with her reply – luckily Pamela hasn't been there – and he's driven a long way to meet up with the woman with whom he's cheated on his wife.

He shouldn't have invited her here first; he shouldn't have replied. He should regret it, yet the second he's seen her eyes and the distress flooding their hazel, an instinctive rush to soothe her has annihilated his reason, and it's something that can't be called heroism. He's known he's been right, despite all the wrongs.

He doesn't know what to say in this weird situation; he doesn't even dare to look behind for all the reasons that it could feel wrong. But he senses her presence close behind, her quiet steps and her soft breathing, and it feels so right.

Her surprised gasp pulls him out of the sinuous trail of his thoughts, and he realizes they are already at the end of the track in the woods, the sight of an abrupt uphill slope meeting them between sharp rocks.

Nate is used to this sight. He's taken this path so many times that he almost doesn't pay attention to the void below and the many wobbly rocks, which can slip at any moment. Besides, he hasn't even noticed a tree or the bird chirps on their way up here, as he's been too lost in an impossible internal dilemma and in every detail of her presence close behind him.

But he becomes hyper-aware of the height as it's reflecting in the deep creases between her eyebrows, and the instability settling in with the movement of her throat as she swallows dryly. Now, he really regrets his decision to take her here as fear is clouding the light golden-green shades of her eyes, though they aren't fixed on him, but on the void below. 

The last thing he wants to do is to scare her; he just wants to make her feel better.

"I promise this is worth it," he says softly as if talking to a scared little animal, though he's the one afraid that she'll run away when he holds out his hand for her. "You can trust me."

And she does it; she takes his hand. She doesn't even know why, yet the softness shining in his eyes tells her he only wants her good. Maybe she has given him her trust long ago anyways.

As her slender fingers intertwine with his, he finds back all the tickling sensations of her small hand fitting perfectly in his, yet he tries to focus, wanting to ease her worries.

"You go first and I follow close behind to catch you, just in case."

"Like you always do!" She smiles, and he's astonished by the easiness and simplicity of this gesture illuminating her features.

How can she trust him when nothing in the situation and in every encounter they've had before seems to be inspiring trust?

It's another mystery about her. But this fills up his chest with some pride. She always makes him feel like a hero, and he wants to strive to be one as he keeps her hand tightly in his.

They start to follow the winding track, and oddly, there isn't a hint of dread remaining in her body, not even a shiver, just warmth engulfing her from his large hand to the sound of his soothing voice. These are the only two things she is focusing on as he indicates her where to step, and she doesn't look down.

She is getting lost in so many questions, yet along the way, what has started as doubts about the morality of this getaway is now only revolving around Nathaniel, like why is he doing this? And how many times has he followed this path to know it this well?

However, when it is the way under her feet that becomes even narrower, running directly along the void this time, she stops dead in her tracks of thoughts and steps.

Nathaniel immediately wraps a protective arm in front of her waist, keeping her in a tight, safe hold, and she can feel the fright melting like ice in a steam room in every part of her body touching his, while his smooth voice comes out in a whisper above her left ear to warm the other parts.

"You see the rock here?" He points with his other hand and waits for her reply, his penetrating gaze searching over her features.

She can only nod, her head dizzy with the height yet also with the high rising inside feeling him so close.

"You just have to take one step and catch hold of this rock to climb, and then we're there."

"Are you sure about this?" she asks, her hoarse voice so quiet that she doesn't know if he can hear her.

"Yes, trust me. I will be right behind, holding you."

"Okay..."

With anyone else, she probably would have argued, but it is like he is hypnotizing her, charming her with his soothing voice in her ears. He could be a snake charmer with how good he is because she complies and in a few seconds they are at the top.

"Wow!" It is the first and only word that comes out of her parted lips as she takes in the view before them.

Even for her who doesn't really like mountain sceneries, she must admit this one is breath-taking. 

From their cliff, they have an extraordinary viewpoint. They are overlooking the rest of the world down below, away from the rest of the world as a light mist is blurring the sight underneath, yet the many other higher mountains around make her feel so small at the same time. 

And above all of that, the sun is coming out in some rays from behind the clouds, creating a play of shadows and lights on the sharp and rolling shapes. She would have never thought the mountains could take so many colors: green, grey, blue, purple, and orange are mixing in the horizon, and this time, her head is spinning but it is with this unique gradation, and nothing else.

"You were right. It's worth it!"

Nate nods, though he isn't staring at the landscape; he's seen it many times before. His eyes are focused on the as breath-taking and rare sight of her dazzling smile. He knows this is a view that he will probably never glimpse again, that he shouldn't even be seeing right now. 

So he cherishes every detail: the faint breeze in her golden hair, the play of shadows and lights on every curve and edge of her body, her dizzying smile, and the colors as mystic as the landscape in her eyes when she looks back at him.

"Go on, you can scream." He offers her a smile, which stretches little by little as her eyebrows pull together, the confusion and disbelief shining like the rays of sunlight in her eyes.

"What?" 

"You wanted to scream, this is the perfect place for it!" He spreads his arms, his eyes sparkling with a softness that engulfs and tickles every part of her, almost like the feeling of home, and a giggle naturally leaves her lips.

Under his expectant yet accepting gaze, she finds herself glancing back at the mountains, more dubiously than anything else at first. But as she stares at those majestic natural barriers that stay unmoving above her, she sees all the barriers in her future rising the same way, along with the screams she has kept all day inside.

Screaming wouldn't bring them down, not even shake them. Her cries would only get lost in the infinity, and she isn't usually for useless techniques that don't make things change. She would certainly look crazy anyway, and she isn't alone. 

Yet despite all those arguments against it, the screams are climbing up her lips, which are only held together by her teeth nibbling on them. That's what she has asked Nathaniel after all, and as she feels his piercing gaze still patiently fixed on her, she does it; she screams. 

The sound starts shy and hesitant, like the faint trail of goosebumps along her spine, but it quickly takes amplitude, the thrill running on her skin, and her restraint being shattered by the anger, despair, and all the emotions boiling inside springing freely. 

There is nothing holding her back in this instant, only the nature and Nathaniel listening to her, and finally, she screams at the top of her lungs, Nathaniel joining her.

Their voices are mixing and echoing perfectly in the silence as everything they have been holding inside gets lost in the infinite of the horizon, and she can't describe the sensation invading her like millions of little fireflies. It doesn't change anything in their situation, no barrier has been shaken, yet she has never felt so light – well, maybe once... and it has also been with Nathaniel.

"You were right for this too!" she eventually says, her voice hoarse and her scream ending in a laugh.

Nate smiles in reply, her laugh tickling his own stomach as he takes in her features now totally relaxed. Yet he can't erase the distress he's seen burning in her eyes moments ago, neither the questions about what, who caused her that?

"May I ask you, what made you want to scream?" His tone is croaky too, but not only because of their screams.

"It's complicated... kinda always the same problems... I'm losing control of my life, my future..."

He can sense – even if she is avoiding his attentive gaze – that she isn't telling him all, and it makes him instinctively take a step closer.

"If you need my help..."

He's sure from the sour feeling spreading in his guts that it has to do with her future husband, and plenty of ideas to help her– most of them, torturous and illegal – come to his mind.

"Oh, no, it's okay. I don't think you can do anything."

The thought of her secret and forbidden 'friend' trying to defend her doesn't seem like a bright idea, although his heroic help warms her chest.

"And you've already helped me enough." She looks at the scenery then back to his tenebrous eyes, adding in a soft whisper, "I owe you a lot."

"It's nothing..." He shrugs it off, even if they both know it isn't.

Billions of other words would certainly fit better to the situation, yet, just like their screams, they let them get lost in the silence, enjoying this simplicity for an instant.

"It's nice to come back here... It's been a while..." Nate speaks up his thoughts after some moments of a comfortable and soothing silence – he isn't sure how long though.

"Do you come here often?" She turns back to him, his lost-in-the-horizon gaze diverting her own eyes from the beautiful scenery.

"Not as much as I used to..."

She watches his jaw clench ever so lightly, but she doesn't dare to talk or ask anything. She doesn't feel really well placed, and she doesn't know him enough. 

So despite the questions swirling with curiosity from her mind to her stomach, she just waits and lets him choose to open to her or not, searching for a clue in his appearance.

From the side, his face resembles a sculpture carved in heaven, the sharp angles of his jaw, the straight line of his nose, and his trimmed shortly side hair making him look almost too perfect. Yet he also has something so human and vulnerable she has never seen in him before; maybe it is his slight one-day stubble, the few brown curls that have got free with the breeze, or maybe the faraway look in his eyes.

"I found this place when I was a teen. I came here a lot to scream at the death of my parents when I was 16."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Her heart is cracking as much as her voice for him, while, with the sorrow and nostalgia that can be heard as an echo in his, she can only imagine what is going inside his chest.

"It's okay... It was a long time ago." He offers her a small smile, his tender chocolate eyes meeting hers again, like subconsciously seeking some comfort.

"Still, it must be really tough."

Images of him younger, as a teen, lost and in pain, come to her mind. Seeing him so strong and valiant, it seems like a foreign sight, yet she can see that boy reflecting in his brown eyes.

"It's not that we were really close, they weren't really present, but I guess it's when you lose people that you realize how much they meant to you... I still miss them."

It's the first time he's letting this out loud, at least, through words and not screams. He's used to keeping everything locked inside behind a shield of steel, but right now, the words get out from his heart without any resistance. It's probably this special place, though something tells him the key is more the special someone right beside him. She has a way of making people talk, well at least him for sure, just with her eyes piercing through his soul, just by her sweet and attentive presence.

"I had my uncle and my aunt, but I was in a boarding school and it was not the same. I was alone."

His last word brings a strong urge through her veins, and she has to fight the pull on all her muscles to not wrap her arms around him. Though this battle is different from all those times before because it isn't against desire, and it is even more overwhelming. So she chooses to do the best thing she knows: asking questions instead.

"You don't have any siblings?"

"No, I don't. But Darrell, my best friend is like my brother. We met at the service academy."

He is avoiding her gaze, still staring at the horizon, yet she can see and feel the sadness and nostalgia emanating from him. It is strange, as it is almost like the hurt and alone teen he has been is appearing in front of her. He is still standing with his powerful, heroic stance, of course, but as he is getting lost in the memories of this painful time, she is glimpsing through the cracks of his armor, and it pulls her to reach out even more.

She takes his hand, its warmth instantly engulfing her as she tries to pass him all the compassion and comfort she can through this small gesture because that is the only thing she can do.

The soft contact is enough to pull him out of his daze on the horizon, and he glances down at their hands entangling perfectly before coming back to her gaze and getting lost in something else.

Time is slowing down, maybe even stopping, and it is replaced by a cozy intimacy wrapping around them, though this time there is nothing sexual. 

It is another closeness, something pure and warm, something that makes her heart beats a little too fast for her control. It is almost like the pull attracting her to him is coming directly from her heart this time, like it is trying to fly out of her ribcage to reach his hypnotizing dark eyes that are now appearing so close, and her brain rings the warnings at this new, overwhelming pace.

She looks away just when she has been catching clearly every shade of brown in his gaze, and just when his breath has started tickling her lips, and if these sensations are lingering in all her body, the cozy bubble around them doesn't. It tumbles down, crushed by a heavy awkwardness that makes the silence almost suffocating.

Nate is raking his still dazed brain to break this awkward atmosphere, and there is only one thing that comes to his mind.

 "Actually, you're the first person I take here." He scratches the back of his neck, realizing his rasped and almost mindless confession may not be the best way to fill the silence.

Though it still brings Anastasia's gaze up to his again."Really?"

"Yes." Their eyes meet again, although with more distance between them, and just like that, the awkwardness vanishes.

"Well, thank you. Now I'm feeling better," she says honestly, almost surprised herself because when she has sent him that text, she would have never expected it would lead them here, in this secret place, and mostly, that something could soothe all the tumult inside.

"I knew this was the perfect place to scream and get your mind off." He offers her a smile that doesn't reach his eyes, and the nuance may be as faint as the color of the farthest mountains through the mist, but she catches it clearly.

"You keep helping me! I gotta find a way to thank you." She squints her eyes playfully, wanting to erase the sad reflections lingering in his soft eyes. "What do you like? What can I do?"

He shakes his head. "Nothing! It's a pleasure to help you." This time, the smile he gives her is reaching up his eyes, and even somewhere deep inside her chest. "My reward is that you're fine. And you always make me look like a hero!"

She ignores the flutter in her stomach and focuses on lightening his mood. "It doesn't counterbalance saving my life! I don't like to owe people, so I gotta find something..."

She pretends to think, though she knows she seriously owes him so much and nothing will ever make it up for it; he is her hero.

"Chocolates or a mug wouldn't be enough..." She puckers her lips to the side, peeking up to see his features relaxing. "And I don't know if they sell mugs with the inscription 'thanks for saving my life' anyway!"

The hearty laugh he lets out is better than the reactions she has hoped for, and the shades of pain are all gone from his eyes, even replaced with sparks of light shining at her and tickling her own laughter. 

Everything is just so pure and light, the same warm bubble coming back naturally around them, and they don't fight, enjoying this special and precious atmosphere as they both feel better, even if it is just for a moment.

Were you expecting this after Nate's text? 😁

I hope you liked this secret place! Nate is slowly letting us – well, Anastasia 😉– discover his secret place, and he is more than just a perfect and handsome hero! 😊

Also, I don't know if it's only me and my dirty mind, but while writing the part where Ana wants to find a way to thank him, I couldn't help but think of the double-meanings, am I the only one? 😉😈

Let me know what you think of this chapter and vote if you liked it, and remember to put this story in your reading lists/library and follow me to be the first ones to know when I update the next chapters 😉😁