Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

SERAFINA

It’s dead silence at the table and in the kitchen. It’s like the three of us are fighting. Lia keeps looking down at her coffee. Naya acts all bubbly with her boobs bouncing inside her shirt. She’s not wearing a bra. She never seems to.

My head is rubbery. It’s like a hangover but way different. I feel so tired, spaced out and confused. Like my brain is working but it keeps taking breaks for a few seconds at a time so I lose that sense of time and balance.

The coffee helps a little. Food just about the same. I haven’t ventured into my bedroom yet. When I hit my bed I’ll end up sleeping for another twelve hours or more. My entire sleep schedule will get fucked up.

All because of some…

My body jerks and I bump into the table.

“Sera?” Lia asks.

I jump, knocking my chair over. I run toward the kitchen and end up at the sink. I’m going to vomit but I don’t want Lia and Naya to hear or watch so I lean down and try to turn the water on.

I end up punching the wall and letting out a loud heaving sound. My cinnamon raisin bagel makes a grand return along with my coffee.

“I’m right here,” Naya’s voice says as she touches my back for a second.

She then touches my hair, pulling it back and twisting it up into a bun, then holds it there so I don’t get puke in my hair.

“Thanks,” I groan.

“Fuck, you’re not used to it yet,” Lia says.

I turn my head and see her through my tear-filled eyes.

“Where the fuck were you last night?” I ask.

“No,” Lia says. She stands up. “I did nothing wrong! I went and found Ty. For you. He was the only one who could have helped you. You were…”

Lia looks ready to cry.

“Best not to attack when you’re the one who fucked up,” Naya whispers.

I stand up and turn to face her. She’s still holding my hair. Without hesitation she reaches for my bottom lip and swipes some water and vomit away.

“My advice? Never take a drink from anyone ever. You open the drink yourself or you mix it yourself. You’re lucky Ty was there.”

“Lucky?”

“Sera, I’ve been afraid to ask,” Lia calls out.

I look at her again. “What?”

“Did… anything…”

What? Huh, Lia? Do you want to know if I was… raped? Is that it?

Better yet, how about I tell you about how Tyrant took my pants and panties off and inspected me. Between my legs.

“You’ll be okay,” Naya whispers to me. “That stuff is hardcore. Depends on how much you take. You know that though. Whoever did this to you… Tyrant will kill.”

I snap my gaze back to Naya. “Kill?”

“For sure,” she whispers.

She leans in and kisses my forehead, lets my hair go, then walks away. Damn me if I don’t feel myself tingling. Slight goosebumps kissing my skin.

Does Naya turn me on?

No. Impossible. I’ve never been attracted to a woman before. It’s just that Naya is so… broken. She’s what I’m going to end up as, right?

Naya takes my seat at the table, her left foot up on the chair. She hugs her leg, her left boob just casually resting over her knee. Not a care in the world.

“Believe me, he will,” Naya says. “He almost fucking killed me last night. Grabbed me by my hair and forced me to my knees. Threatened me. All because I told you his name.”

Naya is way too calm when she talks about violence. And Lia is back to staring into her coffee cup. Fuck them both. And fuck this place.

I rinse my vomit down the drain in the kitchen sink. I oddly feel better after throwing up. I’m not about to admit that.

“Sera, please don’t be pissy at us,” Lia says as I walk from the kitchen to my bedroom.

I shut the door and wave both middle fingers. I walk to my bed and pull the covers back, ready to take that twelve hour nap. Instead of collapsing to my bed, I suck in a breath and cover my mouth with my right hand.

Tucked under my covers is a teddy bear. A headless teddy bear. The head’s been ripped off and tossed aside. It’s two small, black eyes have been torn off and placed in front of the bear. A very clear message if you ask me.

The eyes… watching…

Or eyes ripped away…

It’s a threat.

My chest instantly tightens and I slowly step back from my bed. My head messes with me, telling me someone is standing behind me.

I turn and scream at the sight of a few hoodies hanging on the back of my door. A second later my door opens and Lia and Naya are rushing to catch me because I’m about to pass out again. As my legs give out, I look at Naya and manage to say one thing.

“I need Tyrant.”

It’s like someone has shot a missile at the apartment door the way it explodes open. Tyrant races toward me and I find myself standing up, still wobbly, reaching for him. His hands grab my sides and he picks me up like I have the weight of a feather.

My hands touch his shoulders. Flexed, muscle-laced shoulders. His grip is firm. Tight. Hard. Protective. He sits me down on the table.

“And you didn’t hear a fucking thing?” Tyrant growls at Lia.

“I was drinking at the party,” she whispers. “Then I came home and slept.”

“What about you?” he snaps at Naya.

“Calm the fuck down,” Naya says. “I wasn’t even here.”

Tyrant lunges for Naya, hand around her throat, driving her against the nearest wall. Slamming her hard, releasing his hold, leaving her falling to her knees, clutching her throat coughing. He grabs her by the hair and forces her to her feet.

“Tyrant! No!” I manage to choke out. “Don’t hurt her! She didn’t do anything wrong!”

With his left hand still full of Naya’s hair, Tyrant looks back at me. He’s like a wild beast. Untamed. He can’t be controlled.

Unless I can…

“I wasn’t here either, right?” I whisper. “I was with you. I was never in danger.”

Tyrant lets Naya go again and moves down the hallway toward my bedroom. I slide off the table.

“I’m so sorry,” I say to Naya.

“No problem,” she says, rubbing her throat.

I chase after Tyrant into my bedroom. There I shut the door.

“You can’t do that to her,” I say. “You can’t just grab people like that and hurt them.”

Tyrant turns and looks like he’s gotten somehow bigger. He closes in on me.

“Are you fucking telling me what I can or can’t do, claimed one ?”

His massive right hand lifts and touches my throat. His hand slides to the back of my neck. His thumb pressing at the middle of my throat, teasing to cut off my air.

“Maybe you’re just jealous I pulled Naya’s hair and not yours,” he says.

My teeth chatter. A question hits me.

How do I know it’s not Tyrant doing this to me…?

Maybe he drugged me last night. Maybe he left the headless, eyeless teddy bear in my bed.

Tyrant lowers his mouth down toward mine but he does not kiss me.

“Whoever is doing this… I’m going to fucking kill them.”

He pulls at my hair, sending me stumbling back against my bedroom door. He goes back to my bed and looks at the stuffed animal carnage. He picks up the black plastic eyes and squeezes them tight in his right hand.

“Pack up your shit, Sera,” Tyrant says with confidence. “You’re coming to live with me from now on.”

“What?”

“That wasn’t a fucking question. That was an order.”

He drops the teddy bear’s eyes to the floor and motions for the bedroom door. I shake my head. He walks up to the door and opens it anyway, tossing me forward with such force that I fall to the floor.

“What the fuck is this?” I ask.

“Not sure. But someone wants you hurt. Wants you dead. And since you’re mine, it’s my job to protect you. And I meant what I said, my chosen one. Whoever is doing this to you, they are going to die.”

Tyrant leaves the bedroom and I look at the teddy bear eyes on the floor. My heart sinks and I feel like I’m going to throw up again.

I guess this means I will be living with Tyrant.