Chapter 8 Eight
- CHAPTER
- EIGHT
- I wake up and get dressed as quickly
- as possible. Dread fills me as I think about meeting Don. I am still terrified
- of him. Being his mate, I am supposed to keep his anger at bay, but I guess I
- have the opposite effect. I put on a jumpsuit, and plait my hair into a
- ponytail. I check my bag for the locket, it is still there. I slide my bag over
- my shoulder and walk downstairs.
- “Morning” I announce. No one replies.
- I am wondering why they aren’t chattering away as usual.
- “Morning,” I hear Don’s deep voice,
- and I shiver. How did I miss him?
- “Morning” I repeat, and I sit down at
- the table.
- “Breakfast?” Claire asks me, and I
- reply with a tight smile and an affirmative nod. Claire walks away, her usual
- smile not visible on her face. Don sure knows how to make everybody around him
- miserable. Claire returns with steamy, buttered pancakes.
- “Thank you, Claire. I love pancakes” I
- start to pile the food in my mouth.
- “You will choke if you are not
- careful” Don warns me. I don’t even spare him a glance.
- He suddenly hits the table with his
- fist.
- “How dare you ignore me, Nala?”
- This time, I look up, my vision blurry
- with tears. “Yes, sorry” I whisper, and I droop my head, so he doesn’t see my
- tears.
- “Yes, sorry” that’s all I say.
- “I am dropping you off, let’s go.
- Now.” I jump out of my chair immediately and follow him out of the mansion. My
- stomach still rumbles from hunger, but there is nothing I can do about it.
- Don drives recklessly, and the car
- jostles as we move. We hit a few speed bumps. Yet, no complaints fall out of my
- mouth. When we arrive at my school, he practically pushes me out of the car.
- “Don’t go sleeping around’
- That’s all he says, and he is gone.
- Immediately he leaves, my best friends
- surround me.
- “Nala, did he hit you?”
- “You look like you cried all night:”
- “Did you even sleep?”
- “You look miserable”
- “Is this how you are meant to greet me
- this early?” I joke, not wanting my friends to know how angry and sad I am. I
- am never one to lose her cool, but Don annoys the hell out of me.
- “Sorry, we are just worried,” Willow
- assures me, and I fake a smile.
- “I’m fine” I state.
- “Are you sure?” Sheldon asks, and my
- control snaps.
- “What is wrong with you all?!” I scream.
- “I am fine, I don’t you understand that?” Their shocked faces stare back at me.
- “W-we were just trying to look out for
- you,” Dash mutters after a moment.
- “And I don’t want you to. Just leave
- me alone. I am fine” I say again, mostly to reassure myself.
- “But, Nala……”
- “You know what, leave me the hell
- alone. I’m fine!” I snap. I rush into the bathroom. There, I let out my pain
- and frustration. I really want to see my mom, but I know that seeing her will
- escalate my problems with Don.
- I decide to skip classes, it is not as
- if I will be able to focus. I go into the library and stay there until it is
- time for lunch.
- Our table is silent until I get the
- courage to speak up.
- “I am really sorry, guys. I don’t know
- what came over me. I just poured out my frustration on you all”
- “I don’t want to lose you guys” I
- continue, sniffing.
- “We understand, Nala. You just need to
- talk to us so we can help.” Keeran speaks up, and everyone nods in agreement.
- “So, now tell us what is going on”
- Sheldon demands.
- “His anger is horrible. I am scared he
- is going to hit me soon….” I drift off, as Willow’s smile confuses me.
- “Your mate can’t hit you, especially
- when he has waited centuries to find you.” She explains.
- “He accused me of sleeping around
- because he smelt Jordan on me” I reply.
- “And did you?” I give Sheldon a
- shocked expression.
- “Shelly! You know I can’t do that!” I
- almost laugh. “Thanks, guys. It is nice to finally talk to someone”
- “Anytime,” they all say, and I stand
- up to leave.
- “See you guys tomorrow, love you,” I
- say, with a broad smile on my face.
- “We love you more, Nala”
- I leave the cafeteria and sit under
- the oak tree, enjoying the last few moments of peace I have before the torture
- begins again. I wish that Don does not show up. I do not want fear to consume me
- again.
- “Hey, Nala.” Jordan walks up to me.
- “How are you today?” I ask. His smile
- is all I need for happiness to feel me.
- “You talking to me has made my day” he
- replies, and I smile.
- “Nala, will you give me a second
- chance to show you how sorry I am.? The sudden change in the atmosphere is
- shocking.
- I suck in my breath “Errrmmm…..Jordan,
- I need more time, but we are friends, okay?”
- Okay, Nala, take all the time you
- need” I smile. At least, someone appreciates me and doesn’t make me sad all the
- time.
- “Thanks, Jordan,” I state, and I hug
- him. I withdraw immediately, remembering Don’s warning. It seems Jordan doesn’t
- understand my move, because the next thing I know, his lips are on mine, and he
- locks me in a feverish kiss.
- “What the fuck, Jordan?” I scream, and
- I step away from him.
- “Miss.” It is the same driver from the
- last time. I breathe a sigh of relief when I realize that the driver has come.
- Thank Goodness.
- “What a nice locket” the driver
- states. Thank goodness he said something.
- I am summoned for dinner, and Don was
- still not back. A very small part of me cares about him, and it annoys me a
- lot. I am shocked to see him at the table. I eat silently, not wanting to upset
- him again.
- “I can smell him all over you” he
- mutters between bites.
- What the fuck is his problem?
- “Don, please, I am tired. I am really
- tired” I say, trying to act strong, but my shaky voice betrays me.
- “Really, Nala? You’re sure about
- that?” he shoots from his seat and stands in an intimidating manner. I quickly
- decide that it is better to confess now, than risk punishment later.
- “Okay, he kissed me, but I swear it
- meant nothing. I wasn’t even expecting it.” I confess.
- “I knew something was up” he spits out
- angrily.
- Shit,
- I sold myself out. He did not know about the kiss.
- “Please, Don, don’t overreact” I
- plead.
- “Me? Overreact? You cheat on me twice,
- and you say I am overreacting?” he shouts, moving dangerously from his seat,
- towards me. For a second, I am sure he is going to hit me, but instead, he
- grabs the sides of my head and pulls me into a kiss. The kiss is rough, and
- very far from romantic or gentle.
- “You are mine”, he whispers, “and I
- don’t like to share what is mine.” I nod slowly.
- “Good, I don’t want to ever smell him
- on you” he shouts.
- “Okay,” I say, push back my chair, and
- race up the stairwell to my room.
- My life is really a mess.