Branded To Him (On Hold)

Chapter 14 ~ Enough ~

“Go back to sleep.” He grumbled, the door closing as his footsteps ventured further down the hall. Everything was quiet for a few minutes except our breathing. I placed my hand over my heart, hoping to stop its racing.

“You can come out now.” Parker sounded fully awake now.

“But what if he comes back?” I whispered back.

“He won't.” Although he sounded sure, I didn't.

“How do you know?” I waited for an answer, but none came. “H-” A hand pulled me out from under the bed and covered my mouth.

“He will come back if you keep making racket!” He whispered angrily, releasing his hand from over my mouth. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He was so nice before, but now he's just being a jerk.

“Duh!” I huffed angrily to myself, pushing him away from me. All men are jerks. How could I forget?! “Whatever, I don't care if I get caught. Better than staying here with you.” His hand stopped mine before I could open the door. “Let go of me!” I yelled, trying to pull my hand out of his.

An arm wrapped around my waist and his hand flew over my mouth, muffling my scream. I struggled to get out of his grip, but it was useless. I heard footsteps outside of the door and kicked at the door with all my might. Parker grunted, pulling me away from the door as it flew open.

“What's going on?” Henry's eyes went wide when he took in my tear streaked face. “Parker! Let go of her. Can't you see she's scared to death?” He let go of me and I ran to Henry, slamming my body into his, hugging him for the life of me. Sobbing into his chest, he heaved a sigh.

“Why was Master Carthwrite down here?” My head bobbed up as Trent's voice filled my ears.

“Trent!” I let go of Henry and ran to Trent.

“What'd you do to her?!” His chest vibrated against my cheek as he spoke in an angry tone.

“She was making too much noise.” Parker deadpanned.

“Are you okay, Brandy?” A worried expression took over Trent's face. Taking in a breath of air, I nodded.

“We'll talk about this later.” Henry finalized, closing the door.

“What were you doing down here?” Trent asked, wiping my eyes.

“Meena said that Master Carthwrite told you to stay away from me.” I could feel more tears threatening to fall, but swallowed and held them back. Henry and Trent exchanged a look before nodding.

“He did and we can't ignore it. You'd get punished, as would we.” Biting my lips, I shook my head.

“I don't care if I'm punished, but I don't want you guys to get hurt.” They both looked at each other, shaking their heads.

“Brandy, you need to stay out of trouble. You've been hurt enough.” Henry nodded his head, agreeing with Trent.

“You're right.” They looked at me surprised. “I have been hurt enough.” And with that being said, I took off running down the hall and up the spiral stairs. By the time I got to the top, I was out of breath and on the floor.

“What are you doing?” Letting out a groan, I rolled onto my back and looked up at Mr. Crowley.

“Not meaning to sound rude, sir, but could you just leave me alone?” He chuckled, picking me up off the floor and carried me down the hall bridal style. I was too tired to struggle to get out of his arms and let him carry me.

“Wanna tell me why your eyes are red and your face is wet with tears?”

“No.” I grumbled, closing my eyes.

“What's wrong with her?!” My eyes flew open at Master Carthwrite's worried voice.

“I don't know. Found her at the top of the stairs, laying on the floor and crying.” Closing my eyes, I wished that I could disappear and opened my eyes. Nope, didn't work.

“Where were you?” He growled, snatching me out of Mr. Crowley's arms. “You can leave.” Mr. Crowley rolled his eyes before giving me one last glance of concern and left.

“With the guards.” I was too angry to care if I was punished. His arms tightened around my back and legs.

“I knew you were down there.” He glared down at me and I returned it. After a few minutes of glaring, he started laughing, dropping me on the floor in the process. I let out a pain filled squeak, grabbing the back of my head as my vision blurred. “Brandy?!” I pushed his hand off my cheek and groaned.

“Ouch.”

“Come on.” He picked me up, carrying me down the hall into the kitchen and pulled an ice pack out of the freezer.

“Why do you suddenly care?” I asked in a hateful tone, but jumped under his glare.

“Someone important is coming tomorrow. I'm going to need you tomorrow.”

“Who?” His lips twitched into a mysterious smile.

“Someone.” He looked genuinely happy. Now that's a scary thought. I laughed out loud and he looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “What's the joke?”

“Ha, you actually look happy. It's kind of a scary thought.” I chuckled before I realized what I said.

“So you think me being happy is bad? Because I can get scary.” Boy, he wasn't kidding. His eyes went dark and his lips pulled back into a creepy grin. The way his long brown hair fell over his eyes as he stared down at me, had me shivering.

He pulled back and I let out a breath of air I didn't know I was holding.

“You know, your face is so priceless when your scared.” He let out a laugh through is nose. “Your teeth even chatter.” I clenched my teeth, letting my tongue rub against them.

“Why do you find fear and pain so amusing?” The muscles in my body tightened when he let out a low growl.

“Eat something and go to bed. Tomorrow's a busy day.” And with that, he left the room in a hurry. My stomach rumbled while my eyes were trained on the doorway.

How'd he know I hadn't eaten?

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So, who do you think is coming? :) Dedication to the first person that guesses right, but you only get one guess. :)