The House On The Top Of The Hill

"Wanna come to my house?" Xavier asked Elena. The girl could only bite her lip, not answering immediately. She thought about his offer.

Elena realized that instead of sleeping on the streets or being taunted by a bunch of men, this was probably a better choice. At least this man had bought her flowers several times and didn't look like a thug who had to ra pe women to get sex.

Seeing his good looks and wealth, this man could certainly sleep with any beautiful woman he wanted. He didn't need to bother Elena.

The silence was still taking over. Only the soft sound of the car engine still filled the air. Finally, Elena asked in a hesitant voice.

"Is… your house safer than the street?" The question was more like a request. Elena hoped the man would guarantee that she would be safe with him.

Before answering, Xavier firmed his gaze. "I don't know if it's safer, but my house is indeed better than this street. What are you going to do? Do you want to come with me?"

He remembered leaving the girl on the side of the road earlier at her request and seeing what happened. She apparently did not return home and instead hid in an old payphone box avoiding the thugs. This made Xavier assume that this girl had no home, or at least was in a difficult situation and could not return.

Elena squeezed her hands together and pleaded inwardly. She really hoped that this time the goddess of fortune would be with her. Finally, she nodded slowly and walked over to get into the car.

Elena's tiny footsteps started moving halfway around the car body to reach Xavier's side door. The man continued to observe Elena step by step, as if ready to walk out at any moment in case of imminent danger.

After Elena got in and closed the door, the car started moving. During the ride, the two of them were silent. Neither of them wanted to act friendly by introducing their names or anything, as if this event was just a one-time anomaly and tomorrow when the sun rose again, this meeting would be treated as a dream.

Elena was not sure where they were heading. After a while, Xavier's car pulled into a narrow road going up the hill. When Elena turned her gaze back, she was astonished by the view at night from up there. They passed small rows of houses decorated with colorful lights.

The car continued to climb up until it finally stopped at the top of a hill, in front of a grey house with tall gates. Xavier didn't have to do anything, the gates opened automatically, followed by another door in the building.

The car went inside directly through the doors. They were now in the garage. After the car entered, the atmosphere inside was tense because it was dark. However, a second later a bright light came on.

Xavier got down from the car, followed by Elena from behind him. She just realized that it was only a garage, there were no stairs to go up to the house. Xavier had to get out of the garage again to enter the main doors. There was a flight of stairs before they reached the huge double doors.

As Xavier continued on his way up the stairs, Elena was fixated on the view from up here. This house perched on the top of a hill and she could see the beautiful city down below. The lights from the city at night looked so beautiful here.

Xavier stopped at one step. For a moment, he saw Elena's faint smile. He waited for her to follow him. When she did, Xavier continued his steps. He opened the door and let her in.

"The wind is too cold out here. Get in," he said as he walked in.

Elena turned and followed Xavier's steps into the house.

When there was movement, the lights in the house automatically turn on by themselves. Elena stared in awe at the sophistication of the house. She continued to look around her. From the floor she stepped on there was a staircase to go down and there seemed to be a living room down there.

There wasn't much stuff in this house. The living room had a grey sofa, which faced a big-screen television and a small table in front of it. The walls of the house were dark grey with parquette flooring. Everything felt masculine and simple.

Elena was amazed at how spacious this house was, even though from the outside it only looked like it was an ordinary house.

Step by step Elena descended the stairs until Xavier came out with one can of drink, he gave it to Elena.

"Thank you." Elena looked at her surroundings with a question tickling her heart. She wondered if this man was living with his family, if so Elena would feel a lot of relief. She just wanted to make sure it wasn't just the two of them in the house.

"Do you have a family?" Elena finally uttered her question.

Xavier sat on the sofa with his legs crossed. Hearing the girl's question, his eyebrows flinched and Elena gasped because she thought it was rude of her to ask. Whether he had a family or not, it was none of her business.

"You want to make sure there's someone else in the house so I don't take advantage of you?" Xavier got up from the sofa and took a step forward.

Elena took a step back, squeezing the can of soda in her palm.

Xavier smirked. "Maybe. Maybe not."

Elena felt her throat parched. She started to panic.

"By the way, are you sure those three thugs weren't my men?" Xavier took another step forward. Elena backed away again, her face tensed even more than before.

Xavier stepped forward again. "Maybe they're all actually my men. I just told them to bother you so I could show up looking like a hero."

Xavier saw the fear in Elena's eyes. He stepped forward and cornered Elena against a door. Then he brought his face closer to Elena's ear. "You still have two healthy kidneys?"

"I'm warning you! If you take one more step, I will scream!" threatened Elena.

Xavier smiled faintly but sweetly. Xavier's hand opened the door behind Elena. "This will be your room. Call me if you need anything."

Then Xavier just walked away, leaving Elena's face looking stupid.

Gosh! He was pulling her leg, even though his way of doing that looked scary... and not at all funny.

Maybe it's funny to him, but Elena was anxious and traumatized by the experience earlier. She pressed her chest to calm down her pounding heart.

"Why did he let my imagination run wild?" Elena muttered after Xavier left.

She turned around and see the room. It looked really nice. Elena walked in and checked the room closely. It was very spacious with a big wooden bed by the floor-to-ceiling windows. The bed looked very comfortable with a fluffy mattress and thick blanket over it.

Gosh… Elena really wanted to roll over there right now. However, she couldn't lower her guard. She kept reminding herself that in this house there was only her and an unknown man.

Yes, they had met several times, but she didn't even know his name. They were barely acquaintances at this point.

Elena approached the large floor-to-ceiling window which was covered by two large ivory-colored curtains. Her hands tugged on both sides of the curtain to open it wide. The clear glass window immediately showed the view at night from the city down below.

It was really beautiful. Elena sighed in relief. She admired the view and then sat on the edge of the bed to take off her shoes.

Her legs felt tired from running and walking all day. Elena massaged herself, slowly remembering how her day had gone. It was not much different from the usual. It was just that tonight maybe Elena could sleep on a soft and warm bed.