Take Me Away

At Four Seasons Scenery

As soon as she got off the bus, Fiona tried to make a phone call to Spencer but he didn't pick up. 'He must be angry,' she thought.

She quickened her pace towards her apartment, trying her best to dismiss the thoughts in her head.

After opening the door, she hung her bag on the rack and turned to check the vacant room. She called out, "Spencer? Are you here?"

Spencer was in the kitchen getting a drink of water when he heard Fiona's voice. After hastily swallowing his drink, he came out to the living room. "Aahhh!"

Fiona was shocked to see Spencer standing before her, casually holding a cup of water. She couldn't say anything for two seconds, after which she could only scream, "Spencer! Why are you..."

There was no other word to describe Spencer aside from naked. He stood in front of her stripped down to his underwear. 'How dare he show himself in the living room only wearing his underwear!' Fiona thought.

Her face turned a bright red. Without saying anything more, she ran straight to her bedroom.

The corners of Spencer's lips curved into a mischievous smile. "What? I'm not naked!"

"Shame on you!"

Bang!

Fiona slammed the door loudly behind her.

But Spencer wasn't going to let her get off that easily. He ran after her and knocked on the door of her bedroom. "Hey! Can you hear me?"

Fiona was sitting on the edge of her bed. She tried her best to calm herself down but her heart wouldn't let her—it was racing! She took a few deep breaths, choosing to ignore Spencer.

"I just stepped out of the bathroom! You didn't answer when I tried to call you and you arrived just when I finished showering," He explained further. "You came in too quickly. I didn't even get the chance to say that I was only wearing underwear."

Fiona put her hands to her ears and shouted, "Well, don't just stand there! Go and put on some clothes! I don't want to listen to your excuses!"

On the other side of the door, a mischievous grin played on Spencer's lips. "Be honest, did you see my body? Am I in good shape?"

Fiona couldn't believe what she just heard. She gritted her teeth and shouted, "Spencer..."

"Ha-ha..." Spencer whistled away as he walked to his own room. He was in such a good mood even as he put on his clothes.

At dinner, Fiona kept her head down and didn't speak.

"Hey, Fiona!" Spencer said as he tapped his plate with his chopsticks to get her attention. "You never talked much before, but now, you're even quieter. It wouldn't hurt you to make some noise. Could it be that you're still thinking about our little incident this afternoon?"

Fiona merely snorted. After a few moments, she said, "It must be my terrible luck I saw your body earlier." "Oh, come on! Plenty of women would kill to see this body. You just won the lottery!" 'How shameless!' Fiona thought.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" she reproached. She kept her gaze on the food, trying not to mind Spencer. She had only caught a quick glimpse of his body earlier, but she was able to take in a good look. The memory of it all was still fresh in her mind. Every line and muscle on his body vere in its right place. He looked like he was in much better shape than most models. This was probably because he had beer training from an early age.

Hearing no response from Fiona, Spencer pursed his lips. Trying his best to start a conversation, he asked, "Where's your sketchpad? Have you finally decided to quit painting?"

"It's because the new semester is about to start. I put it away to take it to the university."

"The semester's about to begin?" Spencer raised his eyebrows. "When?"

"I'll be leaving next weekend." Fiona bit on her chopsticks as she tried to organize her thoughts. "I'll be boarding at school from then on. Since you'll be living here alone, you have to learn how to take care of yourself."

Spencer slammed his hand on the table and said, "I can take care of myself. I'm not a kid."

"That's great to hear."

"You..." Spencer glared at Fiona. "If you want to go to school, go to school. But since you don't have classes on weekends, you have to come back every time I'm here. You have to take care of me." "I won't be coming back on weekends," Fiona declared.

"I will go to your college personally to drag you back if you won't come on your own."

"I won't see you."

"Then I will announce to the entire school that you're my wife."

No retort came from Fiona and it seemed as if Spencer had spoken the final word. Dispirited, she kept to her plate and only opened her mouth to say, "Don't spread that kind of nonsense at my college." "I will if you don't behave properly." After finishing his meal, he stood up and ordered arrogantly, "Wash the dishes!"

Fiona furrowed her brows as she thought that Spencer was the most despicable person on earth.

When the end of August came, D University opened its doors to a fresh batch of students. The entrance was adorned with colorful banners and balloons. The entire school was buzzing as seniors prepared to welcome the incoming freshmen.

The private cars and the buses the school sent to pick the students up were entering the gates one by one. Some of the freshmen came with their families to share the important occasion. Every face was brimming with joy. After all, D University was one of the country's most prestigious universities, and it was a great matter of honor and pride to be admitted in.

Ryan was part of the welcoming committee of the economics and management school. He stood there, joined by three of his roommates who were mostly there to keep an eye on him.

Ryan's eyes were focused on the entrance as he waited for a certain girl to make an entrance. But after minutes of not seeing Fiona, he told his friends, "Wait here. I'll just check out how the other schools are doing."

Sam, one of Ryan's friends, leaned over and gave him a meaningful look. "Which school are you going to? Could it be the art school? Am I right?" "Ryan is the president of the student council.

Of course, he should check out the other schools!" said a thin man wearing glasses. It was Warren, also one of Ryan's roommates. He turned to Ryan and said, "It's fine, Ryan. You go ahead and check on the art school. We're going to wait here, just in case Fiona drops by."

"What kind of a girl is Fiona? Why hasn't she come yet?" asked the third guy named Luke.

Ryan only looked at them and chuckled. "Enough! If Fiona does come here, don't scare her away, okay?"

"Of course. You can trust us, Ryan!" Sam said in high spirits. He placed his hand over his chest as he patted Warren on the shoulder. "I think our boy has finally turned into a man. We weren't even planning anything and Ryan's already overprotective of her." Warren smiled.

"For years, many women have cried over Ryan and yet he stayed indifferent. I even thought he was gay. But it looks like I was wrong."

Ryan gave Warren a mocking smile. "You're such a dog, Warren!"

"That's right!" echoed Sam. "Look at Warren! He pretends to be a refined gentleman, wearing those glasses when he's actually a scum!" "Ha-ha..." The men laughed together.

The road to the university entrance was packed with cars. Somewhere amid the traffic, Victor was in the driver's seat of a SUV, Fiona in the passenger seat. Being stuck outside in the hot weather made him a little bit impatient. "How long do we have to wait? I'll ask someone to clear a path for us to drive through. This traffic is hopeless."

But Fiona thought that attracting too much attention was not the best way to start school.

"Don't, Victor!" Fiona tried to stop him from taking out his phone. "I can go to the university by myself. I only have one suitcase so it's no trouble at all."

"No way!" Victor shook his head. "I can't let you do that. Mr. Cheng is not in good health so he has entrusted you to me. I take this responsibility very seriously. I have to personally see you in."

"Victor, I can do it myself. I've been to the university before and I already know my way." Fiona then opened the door and jumped out of the car before Victor could protest. She took out her suitcase from the trunk.

Albeit reluctantly, Victor stepped out of the car too. Shaking his head, he remarked, "Mr. Cheng will definitely blame me for this."

Both of them were standing in the middle of the road, but no one dared honk after seeing the license plate on the car. "Victor, don't worry," Fiona said with a smile, "Spencer will be meeting me here so you can head back now. It's okay." "Is Spencer coming?"

"Yes." Fiona nodded. "He said that he would come here from the base. He knows this is an important day for me."

Victor smiled and scratched his head. "I see. You should've told me that earlier. Well, since Spencer is coming, I guess I'll be taking my leave now. I'll share this news with Mr. Cheng once I get back. He will be very happy to hear that."

"Yes, I'm sure he will." Fiona nodded. "So there's nothing to worry about. You can leave now."

"I will. Please call if you need me for anything."

"Thank you, Victor." Fiona waved and bid him goodbye as he got back in the car. After seeing him turn the vehicle around, she took a great sigh of relief. When she was sure that he was gone, she playfully stuck her tongue out.

The truth was Spencer wasn't coming. She was lying to Victor. Had she not, she wouldn't have gotten rid of Victor, would she? Fiona thought it best to not attract attention on her first day at school.

She walked toward the entrance, dragging her suitcase behind, oblivious to a girl standing nearby underneath a huge tree. The girl had a round face and a pair of big, wide eyes, and she looked quite frail yet gentle. It was the girl Ryan rescued on the road the other day.

She had been watching Fiona since she stepped out of the car. The shadow of the tree's foliage mostly kept her unnoticeable. As she watched Fiona deal with Victor who treated her with utmost politeness, a curious expression fell on her face.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐