Tyrant King

Chapter Nine

I woke up screaming. I had dreamed about the car rolling down the hill again. My whole body was trembling and I was sweating profusely.

“Nora?” I screamed again hearing my name behind me. “It’s just me, are you okay? What happened?”

Gabriel was standing in front of me looking around, gun in hand by his side. I tried to catch my breath while he was assessing the surroundings for any danger. He tucked the gun into the back of his pants and crouched down in front of me.

“I…”

“Shh, come inside, you’re freezing.” He grabbed my hands, pulling me up and through the door into the bedroom. “Did you sleep out there all night?” I nodded. “Why?”

“I didn’t want to sleep with you.” I pulled my hand away and pushed past him. He grabbed my arm again, pulling me around in front of him. A flash of anger crossed his face. “You’re hurting me.” I said quietly.

He looked down, relaxing his grip. “I didn’t mean to grab so hard.”

“Just don’t touch me at all.” I said before turning my back and running into the bathroom. I slammed the door shut and locked it.

“Open the door, Nora.” I leaned my back against it, sinking to the floor. He kept knocking, harder and harder, demanding I open it. I heard his phone ring, making him stop. “What? Yes… Yes… No… I’ll be right there.” I heard him punch the wall beside the door. I flinched from the impact, but I didn’t hear anything else after that.

I sighed, getting up and starting the shower. It was Friday which meant he was going to drag me to this gala tonight, whether I wanted to or not. I climbed in, letting the water run over my head and body. I’d keep up this act until I got my father back, and then we’d leave again. There was no way I could spend the rest of my life living in this place with Gabriel. I got out, walking into the bedroom only wearing a towel. I’m glad he wasn’t in here, I forgot to bring anything in with me to change.

I was surprised that the door was unlocked when I was ready to leave. I made my way downstairs, surprised once again to see Gabriel sitting at the table eating his breakfast. I quickly walked over to my chair and sat down.

“Good morning, Nora.” Susan greeted me. “What would you like to eat?”

“I’m actually not hungry right now. I’ll just have a tea, thank you.”

“Of course. I’ll get the kettle started for you right away.”

I smiled and nodded, turning my attention to Gabriel. He didn’t look up from him plate once, so I continued to study him. I heard Susan laugh beside me when she brought over my tea, and still he didn’t look up.

“I made some arrangements for you to pick your dress today,” Susan said. “They should be here shortly, actually.”

“As long as they’re not from the town’s toy.” I said darkly.

Gabriel looked up at that, glancing between me and Susan questioningly. I saw Susan shake her head slightly, telling him not to ask right now. He dropped his fork onto his plate, causing us to make eye contact. His jaw twitched like he was ready to say something, before he stood up abruptly and walked out.

Susan rolled her eyes. “He’s such a baby sometimes.” she said.

Mark walked in, looking around before meeting my eyes. “Christian is here for you.”

I looked at Susan. She just nodded with a smile, continuing on with the dishes. I followed Mark out. He took me into one of the guest rooms on the second floor. I would have been leery to go into the room with just him, until I saw the racks of beautiful gowns ready for me.

“Oh, good, you’re here. Let’s get started? Do you have a color in mind? I’m Christian, by the way.”

“Hi Christian,” I said. “Nothing in mind at all, I thought I’d see what I had to choose from first.”

He nodded, looking me up and down. He twirled his finger, signaling me to spin for him. I turned slowly. By the time I was facing him again, he was already looking through one of the racks full of black dresses. I walked over to the second rack, not loving the purples and reds I was seeing.

“I got it!” Christian said behind me. I turned around to see a beautiful, floor length black mermaid gown. It looked like silk falling to the ground, with loose shoulder cuffs hanging off. I smiled wide, I loved it.

I took it from him, walking into the bathroom to put it on. It was perfect. Sexy and elegant, giving me a bit of cleavage without showing too much. The way the straps fell had my shoulders, chest and upper back exposed. I stepped out of the bathroom, receiving approving gasps from Christian and Susan.

“That’s the one!” Susan said excitedly. “What a great choice, Chris! Gabriel is going to love it, Nora.”

The smile fell from my face. I wasn’t wearing the dress tonight to please Gabriel, I was wearing it because it made me feel beautiful. And I needed all the confidence I could get to go stand up in front of a city that didn’t feel like home anymore.

“Thank you, Christian. I’ll definitely take it.”

I slid my hands down the front, over my curves, loving how it fit me. It wasn’t too tight, but left very little to the imagination. I went back into the bathroom to change. Now I just needed to figure out how I was going to do my hair. I’ve never been one to wear makeup, so I knew that wasn’t something I had to worry about.

Christian left and I spent the rest of the day touring through the house on my own. When I got to Gabriel’s office, I knocked hoping he wasn’t here.

I was in luck. I slowly opened the door, flicking the light on and stepping in. He had a beautiful bookshelf wall on one side of the room, filled with tons of books. I recognized some, but not all. I plucked one off of the shelf, appreciating the condition he kept the outside.

“I haven’t read that one yet.”

I jumped. Turning around, Gabriel was leaning against the door frame, watching me. I walked towards the couch he kept in there and plopped down on it. “You scared me.” I said.

He chuckled, walking in the room and closing the door. He made his way behind his desk, sitting down and taking out a few folders. I raised my eyebrow, wondering what he was doing. “Go ahead and read, I have some things to fill out before we have dinner.”

I was surprised by his words but I didn’t let it show. I opened the book and started reading. A few chapters in, I could feel his eyes on me. My face heated up but I kept trying to read. I had re-read the same page three full times not actually comprehending what was written there. I looked up at him, but he was already watching me. “Stop looking at me.” I raised my chin.

“It’s hard to keep my eyes off of you when you’re making little noises over there reading your book. It’s very hard to concentrate.”

I stood up, clutching the book to my chest. “I’ll just leave then.” I reached the door handle, ready to open it, when I felt his body against mine, putting his hands on the door on both sides of my head. I didn’t move and he didn’t say anything.

We stood like that for several minutes. One arm dropped to his side and the other went around in front of me to open the door. “Let’s go eat.”