Page 12 of Unmasking My Dark Knight

“I know you’ll survive; it’s not a fucking shark attack, but I can still help you.”

“I don’t trust clowns,” she said, giving me the most peculiar side-eye. When did she get so expressive, and when did her eyelashes get so fluttery and long?

“I’m not going to kidnap you if that's what you're worried about. They don’t pay me enough to do that here,” I said, sarcastically.

“Would they actually do that?” she asked with concern.

“No. There are no kidnapping clowns here. And if there were, I think you’d be too much for them to handle.”

“I’m just the right amount of woman to be handled, thank you very much!” she snipped, looking offended.

“Whatever you say, Princess…” I added, making her face bright red again. A group of monsters looked in our direction, then awkwardly turned away. I didn’t want to make a scene.

“Listen. I’ll be okay. I need to find my group. I’m sure they’re worried sick about me.”

Her group. I finally put it together. Shit, it was probably Gustav and the wedding party.

“I’m sure they’d be more concerned about your health,” I said with a smile. “Please? It looks like your knee is bleeding a little, and blood freaks me out,” I teased.

She furrowed her brows. “Blood freaks you out?”

I tilted my head, waiting for her to get the irony. After a moment, she rolled her eyes, but I could tell she was, if not a little, amused.

“Okay, whatever.”

“Okay,” I said with a nod, then looked down at her broken heel again before we started. “I can carry you if you want. It’s not too far away.”

I offered my hand again, expecting a princess like her to take me up on my offer. I couldn’t imagine she’d ever had a moment of hardship in her life.

She gave me a look of disbelief, as if that was the most absurd thing she’d heard in her life. "I don't need your charity, clown. Just escort me! And keep me safe from these creeps. Okay?" she said, and I could tell a part of her was still totally freaked out. I wasn't going to make it worse, though there was something oddly cute about her looking scared.

I shrugged a shoulder with a smirk. “Whatever you say.”

The first aid station was maybe a two-minute walk away, but I walked slowly alongside her. And I was glad, because for some reason, I wanted to spend a little more time with her. Maybe it was just curiosity, speaking to someone I knew who had no idea it was me. Ivy Jade hated me her whole life, it seemed, and I wasn’t sure why. Her brother and I were waaaaay different from her growing up, and maybe she just rejected the idea of us being different, as did her parents. She was a certified spoiled, rich brat and constantly tattled on Gustav when we were in high school.

“So, you don’t seem like you belong in a place like this,” I said hesitantly, glancing over at her every few steps.

She huffed and shook her head. “I was forced to come to my brother’s wedding party activities. This is the last place I want to be, trust me,” she explained, cautiously eyeing our surroundings, clearly uneasy with all the scary shit around us.

“Well, it’s nice of you to come out for your brother,” I said, trying to gauge whether or not she was the same Ivy Jade as before.

She shrugged, fixing her purse over her shoulder. She glanced up at me, but quickly looked away. I was a tall guy, and even with the heels she had on earlier, she was at least six inches shorter than me.

“Yeah, for him and my best friend. She’s the bride,” she replied, giving the ground a reluctant smile.

Damn. Those braces she once wore really paid off. Her smile was cute… which was weird to say. Weird to think. And was she actually being nice to me? This is a good start.

I smiled back, but she didn’t look in my direction. “Yeah? That’s pretty cool—your brother and your best friend getting married.”

She rolled her eyes.

“They’re both perfect for each other, like two little goblins under the same bridge. I say that respectfully, of course,” she said, exhausted.

Ouch...

“I hope that’s not part of your reception speech…” I said, arching my brow.

She shook her head. “It’s just, they love this type of thing… like ghosts and stuff. But not me. I’m here to bring the much-needed sunshine to their dark and stormy night.”