Chapter 3 The Bad Boy

• I D R I S
• The tall man with tattoos covered on his entire right arm chuckled as his toned six pack tightened from laughing softly. “Who am I?” He repeated what I said in a more mocking tone as he chuckled while looking at me with his tantalizing eyes.
• “Where am I?” I feel my heart thumping inside me.
• “We are in a hotel.” He answered nonchalantly. “I used your debit card to pay for the room by the way.”
• I gaped, “WHAT?!”
• “Well, you were the one who needed this place. And where did you want me to go? I do not know where you live and I absolutely do not want you in my place. And Cinderella, you passed out when I was driving. You should be thankful you did not fall and I did not allow you to.” He answered and sounded so arrogantly annoying.
• I remained silent for a few seconds, letting his words sink in and understanding what he had told me because I clearly and absolutely do not remember that I had passed out. “W-What did you do to me?” I asked again, raising my voice a bit louder this time as I am clenching on the robe only to make me realize that I was actually naked from underneath. I pulled my head up right away and stared at him in a more panicked way. I gasped in surprise, “WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES?!”
• “Laundry.” He responded as he kept drying his black hair with the towel.
• “Did… Who… Who took off my clothes?”
• He looked at me intently and grinned as I waited for him to answer but he did not.
• “You pervert!!” I screamed at him.
• “There was not much to see in the first place.” He barked and chuckled under his throat as it reminded me that he is a straight man and might not know that I am gay.
• “Did… Did we… Did we have sex?” I asked in horror as tension started building inside me.
• “You wish!” I watched him as he threw the towel he used for his hair over the table with that smug look on his face, “I am not gay and I have never been attracted to men. I do not think I will. I just saved your ass from getting caught for causing public disturbance and you accuse me of having sex with you?” He shakes his head sideways while grinning at me, “You are hallucinating. I am straight.”
• “Then who undressed me?”
• “Does it matter?” He tilted his head to the side with that smug look on his face.
• I scoffed, “Well yes because–”
• “You caused traffic on the street and was about to be run over by another car. You passed out while I was driving and I did not allow you to fall.” He interrupted me from what I was going to say before continuing to say, “You did not even want to move from the spot and looked as if you were ready to reside there.” He snickered, making fun of me, while walking to the single couch and sat down. “At least I should get a thank you, don’t I?” That mischievously smug look on his face is nowhere near disappearing.
• Everything flashed before my eyes about what happened earlier; from the moment Troy dumped me in that restaurant and chose to be with Eva, to how I chased them while they were driving away under the heavy rain during a storm, to falling to my knees and causing traffic on the street to the last second that I got on a man’s motorcycle. Troy’s words came back ringing in my ears as the tone of his voice kept filling my head as I am reminded with the look on Troy and Eva’s eyes and how they stared at me.
• “Eva to me is like a real partner that I can see myself spending the rest of my life with.”
• “She is someone that I can depend on especially when problems arise.”
• “I don’t see you as a real partner. I never had.”
• “You are like a lost puppy under the rain that I needed to take care of because I felt pity.”
• “You are not a partner. You are an extra baggage.”
• “Our clothes are being washed and dried so we have to wait for it before we can leave and–”
• I started crying again as I began to cover my face with my hands interrupting the tattooed man from what he was saying with my sobs. I pulled my knees up and cried against it while wrapping my arms around them as my tears and the heartbreak began to sink in. I clenched my claws against the blankets and sobbed louder as it filled the silence of the room where I was in. I can still hear Troy's words ringing in my ear as it ripped me into pieces once again and it tears me completely apart because of the kind of betrayal that they both had done behind my back with me knowing about it.
• “Please leave me alone.” I begged for him as I kept my head down low. “Please.”
• “Where do you want me to hide? The bathroom?” He asked, mockingly.
• I pulled my head up to him and realized that the room only had this bed that I am on and the bathroom that he just exited earlier. He looked at me smugly before telling me nonchalantly, “Go on, cry. Crying is not really a sign of weakness.”
• I fell back on the bed and began to cry, spending an awfully good time as I turned my back to him. I do not know how many minutes I spent crying and sobbing over my heartbreak, but I was then interrupted with the sound of a can opening. Slowly, I looked over to the tattooed man who now has a robe wrapped around him as he was chugging a cold beer which he obviously got from the small fridge.
• His eyes slowly looked at me and finished his long drink from the beer as he asked, “Do you want one Cinderella?” He asked, casually, before taking another sip from his can of beer.
• I gradually pulled myself up and sat down on my bed as I wiped my tears away from my cheeks, “Why are you calling me Cinderella? Quit calling me that.” I barked, trying to sound manly.
• He laughed as he slowly walked towards something then pulled it up, “Your shoes. Only one left.” He showed it to me while holding it with his hand before throwing it to the floor. “I think you must have left it when you were chasing that car.” He reminded me again as I immediately felt this pang of pain once more.
• I groaned inwardly, “I do not want to talk about it.”
• He hums, “Beer cures pain, temporarily though.”
• “I can not drink yet.” I answered right away because it was the truth. I am still twenty, only a few months to go before I turn twenty-one.
• “Ah, not a rule breaker, I see.” He responded while he enjoyed the beer as he sat back down on the single couch. “You look like an adult though.”
• I did not want to talk about my age nor my name since I did not really want to exchange anything with him since he looked bad news because of his tattoos and how I am reminded that he had a big motorcycle and obviously he owned that black leather jacket from earlier. Also, I am very uncomfortable that he and I are both absolutely naked from underneath these robes. I was already kind of suspicious of him and kept my guard up since I absolutely do not know him very well but then again, he kind of helped me. Moreover, he looked like he did not want to introduce himself as well, so why would I do so then? Right?
• “Why did you help me?” I could not help but ask him. “You… You do not even know me…”
• “You help people even when you do not know them, right?” He asked as he looked at me emotionlessly.
• “R…ight...” I mumbled as I looked over the window and noticed that it was still raining cats and dogs outside. “Jeez, how am I even going to get home now?” I looked back at the tattooed man as he was just sitting there and staring at me. “What?” I barked at him. “What are you staring at?” I asked, trying to cover myself with the thick duvet over me.
• He took a pause and looked away as he stared at the window, “Nothing.”
• We were then interrupted as soon as there was a ring from the door as a muffled voice from the other side called out to inform us, “Room service!”
• “Oh thank God!” The tattooed man stands from the single couch. “I am fucking hungry.”
• I watched him head to the front door as he welcomed the bellboy to enter our room with the small golden room service trolley which had food on it. The smell of the food immediately spread inside the room, making me starving the next second but then my eyes travelled to the dresser from across which had his black helmet. I remember how he put his helmet on me and his black leather jacket without doubting about it and he even let me on his motorcycle even though he did not even know me.
• Hmm, maybe he is not so bad and maybe I am just judging him because of his tattoo.
• When the bellboy left, the tattooed man looked at me, “You hungry? I bet you are after that sprinting you did under the rain.” He reminded me of how stupid how I had done and made me feel even more stupid for even doing it and chasing Troy, but then, this man, this tattooed man does not even know why I chased the car in the first place and does not have a single idea how hurt I am.
• “Did you put this under my debit card as well?” I asked, not sure if there is still left in my savings.
• “No. Come on, eat.” He invited me as he pushed the trolley close to the side of the bed, pulling the chair as he sat right across from me. “Here.” He handed me a plate since the serving was in platters then he placed a fork and spoon on my left hand. “Dig in.” He told me before he started eating as well.
• I began to eat as well and shockingly the food was great as we enjoyed it together. We did not really speak much but the food was already making me feel better. I grabbed the remote control and turned on the television since I wanted to see the news about the storm and how long it will last because I do not want to share the same room with this man who I do not even know. As I waited for the weather forecast, my eyes widened as soon as the other news was on the television.
• “This young man, who we suspected might be connected to the murder of the missing woman Lindsay Peterson, has an APB placed on him by the police. If you have seen this individual, please notify or dial 911 right away.” The news anchor speaks on the television and shows a picture of a very familiar man.
• My eyes then travelled to the tattooed man who was right across from me because that was his picture on national television news. “He is identified as Sage Langston…” The news anchor says his name.
• “That… That is you.” I mumbled.
• His eyes glued on the television and turned menace and evil, “Perhaps.”