Belonging

Chapter 14

"Don't we all pride ourselves on our independence and skills?" muttering to herself, she rubbed her eyes and refocused her attention on the laptop screen.

Having spent most of  the past week silently smuggling her things out of Clayton's room, she felt much better knowing she wouldn't be sleeping there again. Just entering the room gave her flashbacks to some very R-rated kisses she'd experienced there. Nothing she needed in her life at the moment.

Victoria sighed as she scrolled through the list of self-help books she'd been perusing online. She had managed to get a grip on her emotions and was finally able to think about her captor without her heart going into overdrive. Emotions were a tricky business, but she'd managed to tame hers; for the time being. The overbearing bear, her oh so generous captor had been gone for business for well over two weeks now. Giving her a much needed respite from him and his confusing presence. Once she had gotten past the first week, she had begun to miss him less and understand that she had been fool enough to develop a strong case of Stockholm syndrome. 

Victoria knew where she stood in this scenario, she had been in one 'relationship' prior to Clayton entering her life. And that had been a poor excuse of a relationship, with Harry being much more interested in her than she had ever been in him. He'd been whiny, clingy and only the most boring man on the planet; the only redeeming factor in the relationship from hell being that he hadn't lived close enough to visit her often. She'd dealt with it for eleven months before calling it quits.  A better decision she hadn't taken in her entire existence.

Frankly, she was scared witless of relationships and commitment. There hadn't been much love lost between her parents, and she'd barely seen anyone happy once they got together with anyone. Victoria, for one couldn't understand the allure of romance or a significant other. She was entirely numb inside and was not at all capable of understanding what was happening inside her own mind and heart until it was too late. Deep down she knew she probably felt an entirely physical attraction to Clayton, much like what he felt for her.

"Fuck this, I need to get out." Victoria muttered to herself. She needed to get fresh air and clear her head. "I really need to find something better to think about than him."

She dug around the pile of clothes that was her wardrobe and pulled out a warm looking jacket, not that she knew where she was headed, but it would be better to be over-warm than freezing to death. Within a minute she was out the door and down the stairs, she could make it out undetected no problem. The security detail assigned to her was probably gathered in the living room thinking she was settled for the night. Good, gave her some more time to be by herself. There had been way too many people around her recently. Easing the front door open, she slowly stepped out and closed it as silently as possible.

Sticking to the shelter the shadows gave her she breathed a sigh of relief as she made it to the main road. There was no one around, just as she liked it. Victoria hummed a happy beat under her breath as she made her way to the nearest park. It would be a little creepy, and she probably wouldn't have the guts to stay there long, but it would make for a nice walk. The park was however far from empty, about a dozen adults and even more children were having a nice evening stroll. Victoria made her way to the nearest bench and sat; content to watch the people around her as her thoughts roamed.

She really should learn something to keep her mind busy, perhaps something creative. Victoria detested the degree she'd ended up in, she just hadn't been smart enough to make it to anything better. While at her parents' house she hadn't been given many options when it came to her career, and she'd barely met the requirements for journalism and mass communication either. Neither was she a very confident speaker, nor did written journalism interest her. She'd had a piss poor college application. It was a miracle she had even made it into the program.