I Like It When You're Angry

Chapter 13

I opened my eyes, my vision was blurry and I let out a groggy moan. The ground beneath was cold and rigid, I was sitting on stone. I squinted, trying to make out my surroundings, but it was so dark. I heard the clicking of someone's heels against the hard floor and I tried to move, but my hands were bound in shackles and my back was against a large, thick column. I craned my neck in the direction of the sound, but it echoed throughout the entire room, my head was throbbing and I shut my eyes.

The sounds ceased, and I caustiously peeked through half closed eyelids. A figure towered before me, dressed in a crisp suit and dress shoes. I started to make out objects in the room, a long and delicately carved dining table sat quietly in the middle, surrounded by statues and silver candle holders. Near the ceiling, long white framed windows extended to the floor, crowned by fine silk drapes which cascaded like waterfalls. Beams of dim moonlight streamed in, illuminating the figure and causing his profile to be shadowed on the floor.

His hair was slicked back and it gleamed with every turn of his head. I couldn't tell who the stranger was, his face was shrouded by darkness, and he approached me a foot closer and bent down on his heels. I was fully awake now and I struggled against the shackles to break my wrists free, but it was useless.

The figure cocked his head to the right and I could tell he was looking me over. I was dressed in a flowing black gown, strapless, a deep dip near the chest giving a shy view of cleavage, finally adorned by a sly slit which crept up the side of my leg exposing my thigh.

My messy auburn hair looked black in the dark and my feet were bare. I heard the stranger give a low, throaty chuckle.

"You looking dazzling Mina."

I bit my lip and looked down, refusing to make eye contact with him. He nudged himself closer to me; his knees grazed by my right thigh. "I gave you a compliment Mina, you should thank me."

I turned my head away from him, but his hand suddenly shot up and slithered around my neck, his fingers laced around the back of my head and he forced me to look at him.

My cheeks grew hot and his soft, cold hands seemed to singe my skin. I shuddered at his touch and I could feel his breath on my throat.

"Why did you leave?" he whispered.

When I didn't respond he dropped his hand from my cheek to my thigh, but I jerked my body away from him. He paused and then stood, his back facing me. I could hear his breathing getting deeper and the rage that emanated from him.

"Why did you leave me?!" he nearly screamed, his fist shot out, slamming into the column I sat against. Stray bits of stone fell from the impact, landing in my hair as other bits skidded across the floor. 

My eyes frantically darted around the room, at the stranger, and finally at myself. This was so familiar, too familiar. And then it hit me, like a NYC subway train coming at rush hour. This had been from my dream, the night that Edgar had talked with me on the church. I gasped at my sudden realization, and I stared up at the stranger in horror. It was Edgar.

"Edgar!" I cried out to him.

He slowly withdrew his fist from the column, walking until he halted with his back facing towards me.

"It sounds familiar, doesn't it Mina? The disgusting heartbreak and heart-wrenching questions. You put Edgar though a lot, you know that? I almost feel sorry for him..."

"Him? Edgar, what are you talking about?" My wrists rubbing uncomfortably, and I could feel the heavy shackles slowly start to cut away at my flesh.

"I'm talking about the sorry excuse for a man that you love so dearly. The monster that has helped his father terrorize Heaven. You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about!"