HER || 18+ (OLD VERSION)

N I N E T E E N

If I was going to be miserable, I was going to be miserable in style.

I was sitting on the floor of the closet in 'my' room with boxes of jewelry that I had discovered in the various drawers in the closet surrounding me.

There had to be jewelry worth millions here.

Millions.

There were clothes, too. Awesome clothes. Expensive clothes. I was, in no way, poor but I was sure I did not even one-fourth of the money the Creeds had.

Why was this stuff here?

When I was with them five years back, there was jewelry and clothes which they had chosen for me in the closet of the room I first stayed in -the room I had not seen since I came into the mansion- and in the closet of the room at the penthouse. I had never paid much attention, I had bigger things to worry about.

But now, there were many additions to the jewelry and none of the clothes looked to be five years old. Meaning, they had continued to buy things even after I was gone.

I had entertained the idea of these things being for someone else but everything was of my size and style.

I did not get this. They bought stuff for me even when I was gone and kept it here in this large closet which was probably the size of the apartment I once owned here, in NYC. Probably a little bigger.

There was everything there.

It felt as if they had been...anticipating my return. I was supposed to be gone for only two years and after I had confessed my love, they must have expected me to return, to call, to do something.

But I had forced myself to forget. I had thrown myself in my work, made friends like Tamara and Rick, drove around the country to just feel something other than the ache I felt in my heart.

It will go away with time, I used foolishly assure myself. It did not go away, no, it just got buried with guilt and hatred for myself.

I looked down at a large diamond necklace. The design was pretty basic, something to wear with a designer gown to flaunt your wealth. There were so many things here. Rings and bracelets and earnings and ankles and necklaces and whatnot.

I heard the closet door open.

I looked over my shoulder at Xerxes.

He walked towards me, his steps confident as ever, and stopped when he saw the jewelry I had surrounded myself with. "You like?" He asked, making space for himself for sitting down beside me.

I nodded as suddenly picked me up and sat me down on his lap.

I looked up at him. He looked down.

"Are you angry with me, baby?" He asked, taking my one hand in his.

I nodded, not bothering with words.

He moved me so that I was straddling his waist.

He cupped my face in his rough hands, setting his forehead against mine. "I'm sorry I got angry. I should have talked to you."

"You should have kissed me." I removed his hands from my face. "You should have taken your clothes off when I asked. You...just used me."

His eyes widened. "I would never use you like that, little love." He pressed his lips on my forehead. Not my lips. "Never, okay?"

I swallowed thickly. "I guess it hardly matters because I'll go back to Paris on Tuesday."

He froze, completely.

Then, he gulped. "Okay," he whispered. He picked me up and set me down on the ground gently. "You are welcome to take any of this stuff with you," he told me, standing up, a distant look in his eyes. "Thank you for staying till my birthday."

He walked out before I could say anything.

I bit my lip.

Goddamnit.

. . .

I sat down on the bench. I was in the backyard of the mansion, somewhere I had never been, looking at the maze in the middle of the yard.

It was large. Half of a soccer field for sure. It had one thin opening and probably an exit on the other side. It was covered, too. Completely darkness was inside.

I had heard of Creeds' maze over the years when I searched them up on Google every day. I had demanded Alexi and the Valentinos to tell me more, too.

I felt him sit beside me.

"What are you doing here, kitten? It's about to rain," he told me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

I shrugged. "Admiring your torture maze," I muttered. "When was the last time you had someone run through this?"

He looked down at me. "The guy who hurt you." He touched the back of my head. I didn't need a bandage anymore but the wee was still tender. He had just broken the skin a little. "We tortured him and killed him, kitten. We don't let anyone hurt us and ours."

I bit my lip. "Oh." I had told the guy that they would kill him and I'd be happy when they did. Now I felt...weird. Protected, in a sense, I guess.

Protected.

They would hurt anyone who hurt me.

I snuggled into his side.

"You told Xerxes that you are leaving on Tuesday," he said monotonously, his arms tightening around me. I gulped.

Why were all there of them having tantrums one by one?

"It...breaks my heart, Olivia," he muttered softly, but I could hear the razor-sharp edge in his voice. "That you gave your body to someone else." He sighed. "I was so angry when I found out a year back. The thought of him touching you and..." He tipped my chin up, looking down at me intensely.

"Did you think of us at all after you left?"

I gulped. "Zavier..."

He kept looking at me. "Go on, kitten, answer honestly. Break my heart."

. . .

Thoughts?