Her Flaws, His Bliss

Hello Again

April

Huge men? The way I ran home, I was scared something had happened to my sister and mom. The only person that came to mind was dad’s sidepiece. Did she come back with thugs for her revenge?

I hurried toward the front steps, my heart racing. Sophia was right. The men…about five of them were standing like mounted soldiers around my house.

“Huuurgh?” Is that Patrick? What’s he doing here? How did he even know where I live?

His hands were casually stuffed into his suit pockets and his eyes locked on mine immediately I approached him.

“You can’t show up here like this. They are going to call the police on you.” I snapped.

“Why?” His voice was calm and nonchalant.

“Because you scare them.”

He saw right through me. “So I scare you.” He scoffed, standing upright so he could loom over me.

I took an unconscious step backward. When did I say that? Anyway, it’s the truth. He scares me more than the nosy neighbors looking at us from their windows. How can a man like him be the manager of a prestigious company like that? How do I even explain my relationship with him?

He closed up the distance between us. “I should make this clear. If you want to live, you must stay within my reach.”

Is that another threat? Whatever that means, I need him to leave before the piercing eyes on me tears me apart.

“I’m not your pet. And just so you know, you can’t show up here like this ever again. This is my home. It’s where I live and…”

“Not anymore.” He interrupted me.

Wait, what? Did I hear him right?

“Sorry?”

“Get in the car.”

He had to repeat himself in a more commanding tone before I realized I had no say of mine anymore. My soul crept out of my body with his yell. Yet, I couldn’t leave without Sophie and mom.

“What…errm..My sister…and mom. I can’t leave…” I stammered, trying to make a meaningful sentence.

Patrick's expression remained cold. He was unmoved by my stumbling words. He didn’t even glance toward the house. His focus was entirely on me.

“We had a deal. Your sister and mother will be taken care of,” he said, with a tone that implied the discussion was over.

I felt my pulse quicken. Taken care of? What did that even mean? Was he planning on moving them too, or was this another one of his veiled threats?

“I’m not leaving them behind,” I insisted. “If you want me to go, they come with me.”

“Well, it’s a shame they already left you behind. I’ve moved them to a better place and if you intend on seeing them again, you should hop in that car.” He pointed to one of the three cars. I assumed it was the car he came down from.

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We'd been in the car for about twenty minutes and no one had thought of breaking the silence. Neither Patrick nor the two men at the front had said anything since the car moved.

The sound of the phone buzzing finally did it. I didn’t know whom it belonged to until the man at the front answered the call.

“005 on the line. Speak.”

Urgh! What the hell was that? A security protocol or what?

He turned to the back almost immediately. “Sir?”

“What is it?” Patrick responded. He must have been used to it.

“Channel 2, sir,” the man continued.

Without hesitation, Patrick grabbed his phone, pressed a few buttons and held it to his ears. “Go on.”

I found that strangely amusing. I’ve only seen things like that in movies.

“What? f**k!”

Patrick’s yell robbed me of my amusement. “What’s going on?” I muttered. My voice wasn’t loud enough even if he paid attention.

“Go to the penthouse,” he commanded.

The driver made an immediate turn that sent me off balance. I grabbed his suit to stabilize myself.

“Seatbelt!” he snapped.

I didn’t know which was more scary, his voice or the speed in which the car moves. I held onto the seatbelt like my life depended on it.

We finally arrived at a towering building. Jeez! It screamed luxury. The car pulled into a private garage. I was about to jump from the car, hoping to tour the whole place, when he spoke again.

“Stay in the car,” his tone, leaving no room for argument.

What? Before I could say another word, the door slammed, and he was soon out of sight.

You must be kidding me. I wasn’t going to sit around like a caged bird anyway. I contemplated my decision for a while. Screw this. I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the door quietly, slipping out before anyone noticed.

I hadn’t even breathed in the atmosphere when a flash of gray darted past me. It was a kitten, limping across the marble floor. There was blood everywhere it went.

I crouched down instinctively. The poor thing looked hurt. I tried to pick it up, but it jumped over my arm. Without thinking, I started following it.

"Hey, little one. What happened to you? I can’t help you if you keep running." I whispered, as if the kitten could understand me. It looked back at me with wide, frightened eyes and limped deeper into the penthouse.

Great. Now I’m chasing a cat in…I don’t even know…a big house?

“We meet again…”

Fuck! Jeez! You scared the hell out of me.

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