But if he had the necklace now, he must have known that girl. So how did he get it and who was she to him? The walls began closing in on me and the closet suddenly felt too small as many questions flooded my mind. However, when I looked down at the gun in my hand, it was only one that stood out, and was the most dangerous to answer. Did he kill her?
I forgot to breathe as I stared down at the cold, hard steel of my reality. I had to get out of here. I needed to escape him before he took away everything I ever loved. I couldn’t let him hurt my aunt. I knew what it was like to be hurt by Keiran. It dug deep and never let go.
Instinct was screaming at me to get out and for once I listened to it. I quickly slammed the clip back into the gun and carefully arranged it back in the box and threw it back on the top shelf. Just as I was sitting down Keiran walked in. He immediately looked at me suspiciously. I probably looked as nervous as I was feeling.
“What were you doing?” he asked calmly.
“No – nothing. I was waiting for you like you told me to.”
“You didn’t do what I told you to do.” I stared at him confused, feeling sweat form on my brow. “I also told you to clean up, so what were you doing?”
Think, think, think. “I – I was but…there wasn’t any towels left to clean up with.” Shit! What a dumb lie.
“Is that so?” I nodded dumbly and swallowed the saliva that was suddenly too thick and heavy for my throat. “Show me.”
The room begun to spin and I could practically smell shit hitting the fan. I stood up and walked out to the hallway and headed toward what I hoped was the bathroom door. I was too distracted last time to remember where Sheldon had led me. I quickly played ‘eenie meenie’ with the doors and reached for one.
“That’s Keenan’s room.” I rubbed my sweaty palm against my dress to hide my nervousness.
“Sorry. The thing about doors is that they all look the same.”
“So do lies.”
“I’m not lying.”
“Then get your ass in the bathroom, Monroe. My favorite clock is ticking.” He stood against a door further down the hall with his arms crossed over his chest and the light bulb finally clicked in my head. I walked over to the door and stood in front of him trying to mask my nervousness. “Yes?”
“You’re standing in front of the door,” I whispered.
“Am I?”
I hope so. I stared up at him but didn’t say anything. He smirked and pushed open the door all the while keeping his gaze on mine. I looked inside hesitantly and let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“Congratulations, you bought yourself a few seconds.” He walked into the bathroom and leaned against the sink, waiting for me. I walked in and looked around the clean but plain bathroom. You could tell by looking that only men used this bathroom. There weren’t any of the frou frou decorations that women liked.
“I didn’t see where you keep the towels in here.”
“That’s because we don’t.”
“Then why did you –”
“I wanted to see if you were still lying to me.”
You could hear a pen drop a mile away. I opened and closed my mouth but no words came out. He stared at me for a few seconds longer and then walked over to the shower and cut the water on. When he walked back over to me, I took a step back but he caught the front of my dress and pulled me to him. He spun me around and unzipped the back and when it was off, he nudged me into the shower. He left the bathroom and returned moments later with two cloths and two towels in his hand. He continued to ignore me while he slipped out of his jeans and shirt and when he stepped into the shower, I moved over to put space between us.
He grabbed the bar of soap out the dish and grabbed my neck next, pulling me to him again. “Wash me,” he ordered, placing the cloth in my hand.
“Aren’t you going to punish me?”
“Do you want me to punish you?” I faltered and realized I didn’t know how to answer that question. No, dumb ass! I mentally screamed the answer to myself but yet the words couldn’t pass my lips. He smirked and said, “I know you better than you know yourself, Monroe. I’m not going to punish you…tonight. I’m fucking tired. Controlling you is exhausting.”