The Tragic Tale of Teddy Woven

Chapter 12

The silver railing was cold in the palm of my hand, and yet I clenched it tightly. The bus swayed from side to side violently as it inched up the steep incline of a hill. We were almost in the designated spot, a particular stretch of levelled ground with a dusty patch of earth that I often marked as the spot for the bus to pull over. There was a new driver today, an old man with a flat cap and thick grey whiskers that were most unkempt. Frequently he would look over his shoulder, waiting for further instructions from me. It was nice of him to go out of his way just to appease me, especially since he was unfamiliar with this bus route.

“Just a little more?” he asked in a rather high-pitched voice. His fingers pinched the brim of his hat to pull it downwards.

“Just about.”

He looked over his shoulders yet again, but this time his stare was hard and inquisitive-like. “So, what are you doing up here?”

“I work at the house there,” I tiredly explained. “At the top of the hill.”

“Not in that old house?” he questioned me with an obvious strain to his voice. “The one next to the cliffs?”

“Yes, that is the very one.”

“No,” he drawled out slowly, with a hint of worry tethering in his deep voice. “You have got to be kidding me!” I boldly stepped forward, enough to bring myself beside the bus driver. His gaze was hard upon the road as he drove the bus over the last part of the steep hill, and yet, his black eyes were filled with pain that was beyond my comprehension. “You don’t say,” he muttered from the corner of his mouth. Dark lines began to form over his forehead, while his greying brows lowered themselves worriedly over the hoods of his eyes. “Good heavens.”

“We’re here,” I muttered with some regret. The bus gradually came to a stop; the front wheels slid across the muddy patch of dirt that still had large pools of water floating over it. The bus driver moved forward to pull at a mechanism, which immediately made the set of doors swing open widely. I took a good long look outside, observing the dewiness of the green grass with clear water droplets crystallizing its tips. The air was fresh, an unmistakable scent after a long night of a steady downpour. I inhaled the air deeply, while pondering over the bus driver’s reaction. A quick glance over my shoulder made me realize that he had been watching me, and that cruel dip of his dry lips proved his thoughts had steered in that direction as well.

“You be careful there,” he warned. Lips pursed tightly until a straight line was formed over the lower half of his face. I nodded my head at him in understanding, and then took a step downwards to depart from the bus completely.

“Thank you!” I shouted over my shoulder.

“May God help you,” was promptly answered back.

I turned around to face the driver, seeing the way he was clutching the curved black handle that controlled the doors of his old bus. He nodded his head sternly at me, though its meaning was lost to me, and then he shut the doors abruptly so he could speed away.

***

“Sela?” broke through my thoughts. The front door had been open moments ago, but I was still standing outside of Teddy’s household. “You look unwell.”

Teddy was wearing a sky-blue dress shirt today, crisp and freshly ironed. A rather dark charcoal blue sweater vest fit snugly over his broad chest, and accented well against the lightness of his creamy white trousers. His apparel informed me that he had no intention to work out in the garden with me

today. The front door was pushed open wider, and then Teddy took the liberty of stepping over his threshold to bring himself closer to me.

“Sela,” he hushed with concern, before he unknowingly laid his hand on the side of my arm. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I lied. “I just had trouble sleeping, that’s all.”

“It rained all night for you as well,” he observed. “I had the same issue. The house comes alive at night when it rains that hard.”

“Alive?”

He leaned forward and with a teasing look about him, Teddy whispered, “Alive with sounds.” He squinted at me playfully before he let out a low chuckle. “But not enough to irritate my nerves. Come! It is a beautiful day, but you should come inside all the same.” His hand fell off the side of my arm, and without looking back he stepped into his household.

I took my time removing my light spring coat, a much darker hue than the one I wore yesterday. Teddy was right in his assumption that we would have lovely weather today, so why did the morning make me feel so fearful and uneasy? My eyes were focused on the floor and then the walls, but it could not fall under the enchanting spell of Teddy Woven.

“You need tea,” he coldly remarked, after the silence was too much for him. “Or coffee?”

“I need a strong cup of coffee,” I said, before I stepped past the master of the house to get to the kitchen myself. My white socks slid across the smooth surface of his hardwood floor, barely making a sound because I was so light and small in stature. I could hear the hush slippers of Teddy’s close behind me, and it wasn’t long before he overtook me and entered the kitchen area first. The table was

fully set for me, prepared in every manner. He instinctively pulled out a chair, and gestured with his hand that I may take a seat.

“Thank you,” I said with some level of discomfort before I sat down on the wooden chair. Luna was nowhere to be found, and with that uneasy thought I quickly looked around for her. Teddy had his back to me, preparing the last of the coffee that was hot and ready to pour.

The windows were wide open; curtains pushed back to show the expansiveness of the garden. It would be a wet work day, considering the dampness of the grass and flowerbeds, but I would have to make do.

“I thought,” Teddy began in a stilted voice. “You might want to go to my art room.” His hand gripped the coffee pot tightly after he made this statement. “To see my work.”

“Oh?”

“It would be nice to hear your opinion on it,” Teddy added with his back to me. “There is nothing worse than overthinking things. A natural characteristic for every artist. Well, that and being your own worst critic.” He looked over his shoulder to make eye contact with me. “But I think I grew out of that stage by now.”

“I would love to see your work.”

He brought over the two piping cups of coffee, laying my mug down in front of me in a graceful manner. “But you couldn’t stay there for long, of course,” he added in a strange sort of way. “You have work to do.”

I nodded my head at him while maintaining the intended eye contact. “Yes.”

Teddy deliberately broke our lengthy gaze and let his fingers timidly rub the side of his mug. His behaviour was peculiar today, most puzzling. Yesterday evening there was a sudden boldness to him, but now Teddy was like an animal that had been tamed and neutered. There was something on his mind - a worry that could not be expressed in words.

“Do you have anything to eat?” I softly inquired, hoping it would not break him away from his thoughts too severely. “Muffins?”

“No,” Teddy curtly replied. “Something different today.”

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“No muffins,” he exclaimed with more merriness this time. “Quiche.”

“You cooked?”

“I did.” He pushed his chair back with energy, determined to reveal this surprise that he brought a shadow of a smile to his face. The oven was thrust open, and soon enough he was carrying out a small pan that brought an alluring aroma throughout the room.

I leaned back in my chair with astonishment as I uttered: “This is really sweet of you, Teddy.”

“Uh huh.”

The egg quiche was placed upon my plate, a large piece that would fill me up for the rest of the morning. A long meow struck the air, a good sign that Luna had just entered the room. She was rubbing the side of her body against the door ledge, while her eyes squinted happily at me. Things were beginning to feel normal again, so I took up my cutlery and gladly took my first bite. Teddy was eating his breakfast quietly beside me, occasionally taking long sips of his coffee with an air of satisfaction.

“Do you want anymore?” he inquired, before I had even finished my first slice.

“Not yet.”

“Coffee?”

“I guess I can have a top up. Oh, not too much! I would have to come here a lot to use the bathroom.” He chuckled softly while pouring a new cup nearly to the rim. “This is really lovely,” I added. “You didn’t need to do-”

“Sela,” he warned in an unusual strict tone of voice.

“But I appreciate it,” I added with some hesitation. “Teddy?”

“Yes.”

“Well…”

He lowered his fork with some concern. “What?” he asked with some alarm.

“You have been so good to me,” I softly replied. “I just… I feel like…”

He reached his hand forward, almost wanting to touch me. At the last second he dropped it down beside my left hand, leaving enough room to show he meant me no harm. Luna pounced upwards to be on top of the kitchen table, her head moving in all directions as she quietly took in her surroundings.

“Sela,” broke the long silence. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“You knew…” I closed my eyes sorrowfully. “That I was going to say that to you.”

“You don’t like asking for help, do you?” He dragged his hand down the table until it could return to his lap. “Sometimes we have to learn to ask people for help. There is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I guess.”

Teddy reached for his mug and took a few sips of his coffee. The silence was done on purpose on his end, forcing me to rethink my answer.

“I’ll do whatever you want,” I found myself saying. “You are good to me and…” My voice was lost at that moment because of the pure strength of his gaze. “I…” My teeth clenched together, knowing that my body was responding to the look in his eyes. My left hand balled up tightly together, but not before my fingernails lightly carved against the wood. “I forgot what I was trying to tell you,” I breathed out quickly. “Ummm.”

“Eat your food, Sela,” he lightly chuckled. The mug was used to cover his smug smile, and I hated him for it.

“Okay,” I softly replied. “I… sure.”

His chuckle was unmistakable then, for he knew he had me truly. There were a lot of things I could resist, but that heated stare was not one of them.

I crossed my legs tightly, but it didn’t make quite a difference. A hush curse escaped my breath, but it was so faint that Teddy could scarcely make it out. His attention was more focused on Luna, so at least I had time to regain some composure.

The house was silent all around us, a faint whistling of a breeze could seldom be heard on a rare occasion. It would be a warm spring day on all accounts, a good sign that it would dry up the plant life and grass by mid-afternoon.

“By the way,” Teddy prompted up. “I received an email from Daphne. She will return to work by Monday.”

“Oh, she contacted you?” I asked with disbelief, for she had been most silent on my end.

“A mere sentence with her name written at the bottom,” the man beside me slowly drawled.

“She is stressed.”

“Understandably.” He looked down at his mug. “It would be hard.”

“I guess that means less hours for me,” I surmised. “My back will thank me, but…”

Teddy leaned forward in his chair and brought an arm upwards to support his head. The right side of his cheekbone shined brightly in the morning sunlight at that particular angle; his rosy pink lips looked more enticing than I remembered.

I tapped my fingers against the edge of the table anxiously. My thoughts had once again left me, and he hardly did anything to instigate this uncanny behaviour.

“You were saying something about your back.”

I leaned forward in my chair and let out a short sigh. “Forgive me.”

“You need to take it easy today,” he suggested. “That’s the second time now.”

“I think I need fresh air.”

“My windows are wide open,” he noted, without ever having to look in that direction. “You need something else.”

I licked my top lip quickly, an act of betrayal. My eyes darted towards the open doorway of the kitchen; a fear had suddenly seized me and now I wanted to flee from that very spot. To have any feelings for this man would spell my doom. “Excuse me,” I huffed out, before I bolted from the chair and strode quickly over to the doorway. I could hear Teddy’s chair scrape backwards in alarm, probably getting to

his feet. I quickly jogged to the bathroom and shut the door behind me. Nerves overwhelmed me to the point that I could feel the erratic beating of my heart. “What is wrong with me?” I whispered aloud. “What on earth is going on?”

I turned towards the mirror, catching sight of my reflection. My hair was tied up neatly today, and my face was clean and youthful from a good night’s rest. It was my eyes that betrayed my true emotions: worry, nervousness and a sense of alarm rested in my dark orbs. There was a strange foreboding all around me, a hush whisper that could barely be detected by my ears to leave the master of this house alone.

A soft knocking on the door took me by surprise. “Sela? I just wanted to know if you are okay.”

I turned around and placed my hand over the doorknob. The door creaked open, and with a thick swallowing I was finally able to meet his gaze. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize.”

“I should go outside,” I mumbled. “And start to garden.”

“Yes,” he agreed with me quickly enough. “But you have to finish the rest of your meal.” The corner of his lip quirked upwards. “Or else Luna will get to it first.”

“She wouldn’t!” I exclaimed with disbelief.

“She was once a stray,” he reminded me. “She’ll eat anything.” Teddy’s hand pushed hard upon the door to force it open, leaving every inch of the bathroom exposed to his view. He looked at me up and down slowly, and then quickly turned away in a hurried manner. My feet gravitated out of the bathroom, but I unconsciously looked to the left at the closed doorway that was the only means of escape. A curious feeling came over me, so I turned my head sharply to the right to see the unfinished staircase that led upstairs. You could tell the upper levels of the staircase were old and worn out. There was

something off about that part of the house, where looming shadows as dark as night seemed to quiver my very soul.