Accidentally Kidnapped

Chapter 28

        Of course, I knew how stupid I was being. Just because I didn't want to stay inside didn't mean I had to come out here and catch a cold in just a thin shirt when it was the middle of January because I couldn't swallow my emotions. Fern would never be this pathetic. In fact, Fern would never find herself in this position because she was smart enough to find a way out. Damn, I really should have kicked Cage in the nuts and ran while we were still in Ivey.

        The body warmth that only comes with nightmares felt good to be cooled down. I don't know how long I stood there in the cold. All I knew was that I should go back to bed before I really did catch a cold. My feet wouldn't budge. Not just because I was lazy, but also kinda because my legs were so numb, I couldn't move even if I wanted to. Shivering, I stared at the moon and then looked away because it was making me question my entire existence.

        In the dark silence, the complete and utter tranquility that shrouded the delicate atmosphere for the past five minutes was suddenly shattered by the sound of the balcony door opening.

        Cage stepped out, the sleep still clear in his eyes. He didn't seem to be his usual self, with the secrets of the night still lingering upon us both. However, it was the little things about Cage that I noticed. How slack his jaw was, how his red lips tugged down in a displeased frown. "November, why are you out here?" Cage mumbled softly, his voice thick with sleep. "It's four in the morning and it's freezing. You're going to get sick."

        "Sorry." I turned back around, trying to shove down the butterflies in my stomach. Cage's hair was all messed up and in that moment, he looked so beautiful with the moonlight glowing down on his dark figure that it was hard to look at him directly. It only reminded me of the things that I couldn't have.

        "I wasn't asking for an apology." Cage growled, his voice taking on a more pleading tone. "I'm asking you to come back to bed before you freeze to death out here in negative degree weather, November."

        His attachment to me was fake, in Heath's eyes. I wanted to see how much Cage Vickers really did care about me. And this was the perfect opportunity to test it out. It was only a matter of how badly I'd hurt myself doing this in the process. "I want to make a negotiation."

        There was stunned silence for a moment. Cage exhaled sharply. "What?"

        "I want to make a negotiation." I repeated, turning around to face Cage. He was standing at the edge of the door, not wanting to step out any further into the snow. The heated glare wasn't enough to defrost my will. "I'll come inside if you-"

        "November, I'm going to ask you one more time." Cage said the words slowly, quietly, carefully. "Come inside while you still can on your own terms."

        "No." It was amusing to watch Cage tick. I don't think very many people, if any at all, had ever refused Cage of anything because they were too intimidated by his presence and too terrified by his psychology to even create the mere air of retaliation. "Let's talk."

        Cage's jaw clenched.

        "I'll come inside..." I trailed my index finger slowly along the snow-covered balcony railing, feeling it numb after a moment. Cage watched me from the doorway, his eyes expressionless. He waited patiently to hear what I had to say. He wasn't going to like it but I had to try. "...if you let me call my sister on the phone."

        A scoff left his lips. "No." 

        "Okay." I shrugged. I was expecting that answer. However, Cage should have also expected my stubbornness. Propping myself up on the ledge, I tried to keep my face composed as the freezing metal railing touched my bare skin. This was crazy. The drop of a good twenty feet or so loomed dangerously below. Just under that fluffy snow was pure concrete. My fingers twisted themselves around the sides of the railing in an attempt to calm down my pounding heart. However, it would do nothing if I really did slip off and tumble down.