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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.