"You know I never did such a thing so why are you trying to blatantly call white paper black?" Joanna chastised, her fierce glares focused on the sideline of his face.
"You know deep down that I am saying the truth so there is no need to pretend…,"
"I won't argue with you about that. Forget about the fact that I was worried about you- You can believe whatever you want, I don't care," Joanna said sternly while turning her back to him.
There was silence in the room after she finished talking. Amos diverted his gaze to
her face after he had managed to calm his heart down.
He looked at the lady who wouldn't spare him a glance.
"I learned that Audrey has a class tomorrow. And this lecture happens to be a very important one. Even though she had plans of skipping it she can't because it's critical for her course…," Amos let his words linger in her ears. His gaze didn't move from her body for a second.
He wasn't amazed to see Joanna turn and glanced at him. There was so much hope in her eyes as anticipated what he would say next.
"This is your opportunity to talk to her and you can't miss it…," Her sudden embrace caused the words to get stuck in his throat.
Amos, who was caught off guard by her embrace, stared blankly, unable to react to her sudden action.
"Of course, I will do that," Joanna said. Her hands which were wrapped around his neck tightened.
"Thank you for sharing such important information with me. You are the best," the excited Joanna pulled and planted a kiss on his right cheek.
Amos' eyes widened. He didn't get over the shock of her sudden hug and here came another.
Her actions made his heart smile.
When she noticed what she had done, she pushed Amos away from her and jumped to her feet.
"I-I have told you that ladies and men must keep a distance so-so why won't you listen to me," Joanna stuttered.
For fear that he might get a glimpse of her burning cheeks which she was sure had turned beet red, she stood with her back facing him.
"And you are the one who closed that distance so why are you scolding me now?" Amos quizzed, his gaze glued on the back of Joanna.
"That's… that's…," Joanna was lost at what to say to defend herself so she deemed running away the best option to escape from his teasing.
"Why are you…," Joanna took to her heels, not letting him finish what he wanted to say.
Amos' eyes refused to move away from the bedroom door that just jammed close.
"Why did she run away… that's so unlike her," He muttered. His eyes moved to the spot she sat down earlier.
"Apart from the fact she is heartbroken, I can't help but notice that she is acting strange lately, especially towards me," He voiced out his thoughts.
He waited for her to come out but she didn't come out of the bedroom for a long time.
He became worried when night reached and she still wasn't out of the bedroom.
"This is no longer funny anymore… she is scaring me now," Amos whispered. He stood up from the couch and proceeded to the bedroom.
At the door, he knocked and waited for a response and when there was no movement inside, he pushed the door open and slid into the room.
[Whoa… she is asleep! And here I thought she locked herself in here to avoid me]
Amos was stunned to see the figure lying on his bed with his pillows in her embrace.
He tiptoed to the bed and gently sat down beside the sleeping figure.
Seeing her sleeping face from a closer distance he was tempted to raise his hand and touch her face.
"She looks so worried free in her sleep. I wished her reality would be the same," he muttered while stroking her right cheek.
He used his index finger to tuck the strand of hair that was attempting to cover her right eye.
Amos was about to stand up and leave the room when she groaned and changed her sleeping posture.
He sat back on the bed and waited to see whether she would wake up.
Soon Joanna's eyelashes fluttered open to reveal her purple orbs.
"You are here," She said in almost a whisper. She propelled her body up and made it lean against the headboard.
"Do you feel light-headed after taking a nap?" He quizzed as he reached out his hand and brushed aside the fallen strands of hair that were about to cover her face.
"Hmm…," she nodded while rubbing her eyes.
"That's great to hear," He responded, smiling. He watched as she tried to arrange her slightly messy hair and clothes.
"Do you want to take a shower first before I send you to the hotel or would you like us to leave now?" He asked with his gaze concentrated on her face.
"I have no plans of spending the night at the hotel today," Joanna replied as she climbed out of bed.
"Really?" He grinned, not able to hide his excitement.
"My father and I get into a fight every single time I arrive at the hotel. I am afraid he will ruin my mood tonight and this might affect my mood tomorrow also…," She walked to the window at the left corner of another room as she let her words trail.
"And that's what I don't want. I want to avoid anything that will affect my mood before I meet Drey tomorrow," She said absentmindedly.
Although her body was there, her mind had wandered into tomorrow. She began imagining all that would happen when she and Audrey met.
"We are going to spend the night together just like old times," Amos proclaimed, a beautiful smile plastered on his face.
Hearing the hidden excitement in his voice made Joanna glance behind. Just as she had guessed she met him grinning.
[Why is he so excited that we are gonna spend the night together when this is not a new thing?]
Joanna wondered, her gaze not moving away from the face of the guy who seemed to be in a daze.
"Why do you sound very excited about that?" She demanded. "And speaking about old times, I really missed the days we spent in the forest. I have been thinking about those worried-free days lately. I wish we could go back to those days…,"
"And why not?" He cut in meekly. He stood up from the bed and strolled to where she stood in front of the window.