Chapter 5 A Strange Dream
"His younger brother? I just found out Mr. Henry has a younger brother?" I thought. I still can't believe that the strange young man I met the other day was the younger brother of my favorite lecturer.
"What's wrong? Have you two talked before?" Mr. Henry asked. He seemed aware that I was thinking about something.
"Ahaha...no, we only ever greet each other, that's all!"
"About that, I hope you don't need to think too much about it. You don't live to impress them, right? So, there's no need to think too much about it!"
"Okay, I understand, sir! Excuse me, see you later?"
"Bye, Layla!"
I left the quiet classroom, walking through the campus corridor. At the end of the hall, I saw the strange young man standing calmly and looking at me with his cold and scary eyes.
I swallowed hard, for some reason I felt angry remembering that yesterday he insisted on forcing me to sell my valuable ring. I hope he has forgotten about that incident.
"Wait!"
It seems that my hopes will not come true, as I feared. He called out to me just as I passed in front of him.
"W-what do you want from me? I will never sell you this ring!" I immediately reacted head-on like a robbery victim.
Seeing the expression on my face, this strange man smiled grinningly. Honestly he looks very handsome but I hate handsome guys like him.
"Hey, what's so funny?"
"Ugly woman!"
"W-what? What did you say?"
"You're so unattractive! The only thing that's attractive about you is your ring!" He said as he stepped up and stood right in front of me.
He looked at me with his charming amber eyes. I felt scared, but on the one hand I was also fascinated. I forgot, since when did I start hating handsome men? Seeing their faces, it felt like my heart was very upset as if there was something I couldn't understand.
"Why are you suddenly quiet? What's wrong? Are you afraid I'll take your ring by force?" He said while touching my face. His hand crept up to touch my neck. I couldn't move, suddenly my body felt very stiff.
He started lowering his face and without warning, he kissed my lips.
"Hah?"
I felt his lips were soft and smelled sweet like cinnamon. His eyes opened and I could see a strange light coming from his eyes.
"No, this isn't true! Why can't I suddenly move? What's going on? Is this some kind of hypnosis? The target must be the ring I'm wearing. How is this? Why is he so brave to do this in this place?"
He broke the kiss and I could finally move my body again. My chest felt tight, it felt like I was holding my breath underwater for minutes. My body was shaking, I felt very weak.
When my eyes turned towards him, I could see him looking at me with a strange cold gaze. What does he really want? And why is he so obsessed with this ring?
"You have a bit of a fever, I think you should rest!"
Jacob looked at the thermometer that was measuring my body temperature. A little feverish, but I feel like I'm doomed. After arriving home this afternoon, I had absolutely no energy and hurriedly lay down on the bed.
Jacob touched my forehead just to make sure that the thermometer wasn't broken because my face was really red and feeling really hot right now.
"I'd better take you to the hospital!"
"No need, Jake! I just want to sleep!"
"Don't be like that, you have a fever and it would be best for a doctor to check your condition. I don't want anything worse to happen to you because I didn't take you to the hospital!"
He worries too much, I don't understand what kind of relationship we actually have, because it's clear he really cares about me. I grabbed Jacob's hand and held it tightly. His hand felt very warm and comfortable, making me feel safe and a little better.
"Jake, don't leave me!" I asked. I was too afraid if Jacob would go away and leave me alone at a time like this.
Jacob chuckled, he pulled the blanket and covered me until it almost covered my face. I don't want him to let go of my hand.
"You know I'll never leave you, right?"
"But you definitely want to have your own life without having to be burdened by me anymore!"
"I've never felt burdened by you. You're the only family I have now, that's why-"
"Family?" I asked. I felt a little disappointed because he only thought of me as a member of his family.
Jacob smiled softly before kissing my forehead. I could smell her perfume which made me feel very comfortable. I really love the smell of Jacob's perfume, as much as I love his existence.
"We are family, Layla! We are forever family. For me there is no bond more important than family ties."
"Family, huh? For Jake, I'm just family. That means it's impossible for him to have special feelings for me, right?"
I could barely sleep because I thought about what Jacob said today. Even though my body was shivering because of the fever, it couldn't make me sleep soundly.
All this time I also thought that Jacob was my best friend and sometimes I thought of him as my brother. But I realized that no matter how close our relationship is, you are still two strangers who are not related by blood
"I can't sleep," I muttered as I lifted my head from the pillow.
My eyes felt dizzy, I also felt very thirsty and the drinking water cup that Jacob had put on the table was also empty. With a very weak body, I tried to put my feet on the floor and stepped carefully towards the bedroom door.
I could hear the sound of the wall clock ticking because the atmosphere was too quiet. Even in an apartment this small, it would still feel quiet if Jacob wasn't here.
"Looks like Jake isn't home yet!" I muttered while looking at Jacob's closed bedroom door.
He closes his bedroom door very tightly when he is at home. He always left the door slightly ajar. I stepped into the kitchen to get drinking water. Suddenly I felt something strange inside my body. Ever since the new student kissed me, I felt like there was hot liquid flowing inside my body.
"Ugh-" I winced in pain. This was really unusual, I unconsciously touched the pendant hanging around my neck, a pendant with a ring that was passed down to me.
"Layla? What are you doing?"
"Jake?"
Hearing Jacob's voice, I gasped and immediately looked back. Jacob stood in the doorway and looked at me confused. My body felt stiff and I could feel something that felt very hot in my body again.
Jacob walked over to me and stood right in front of me. Slowly his face changed, yes, his face changed to look like the strange man who kissed me in the middle of the campus hallway, the strange man who forced me to give him my ring.
"Jake, I-"
"Gime me the ring!"
I woke up from my sleep when I realized I had just dreamed something strange. My body was sweating, but I was no longer shivering. My body feels much better than before.
Strange, I can still remember the dream clearly. Jacob's face slowly changed into the face of a strange man named Xavier, if I'm not mistaken, Mr. Nathan said that his name was Xavier.
"Layla? Are you awake?"
I heard Jacob's voice from behind my bedroom door. I don't know why I still feel afraid since the dream I just saw in my sleep. Was that really Jacob? Or am I still dreaming?
"J-Jake? Is that you?" I asked with a trembling voice. I really hope it's really Jacob and I don't have any more weird dreams.
My bedroom door opened, I turned towards the door to see a young man opening the door and looking at me with a faint smile. He chuckled as he stepped closer to me.
"Who do you think you are?" He asked while touching my forehead.
"No, I just had a strange dream, that's why-"
"What dream is it?"
