Blood And Devotion

Chapter 26

Ethan

I had never imagined that meeting Siara's father would be an event of tension like the one present at that moment.

"That's not fair!" I said and pouted. Siara laughed and kissed me on the lips. I smiled. Her eyes twinkled in the soft light of the lanterns on the lawn. Her hair had come loose and it moved in the night breeze. The guards opened the doors for us and we went inside. It was warmer here than it was outside.

As we climbed the stairs, warmth pooled in the bottom of my stomach. I had never been in Siara's room before. She pulled me up the stairs. She stumbled, still a little drunk. She giggled when her dress got caught under her heel, almost falling back on me. I caught her arm, steadying her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and smiled drowsily at me.

"Siara." A deep voice sounded from above the stairs. Siara turned around. I looked up and a shiver ran down my back. The warmth turned into anxiousness. Standing at the top of the stairs was William Hemsworth, Siara's father.

So let me tell you something first. I had seen William before. In TV interviews, magazines, banners, etc. But I had never seen him in person before.

Everything about him, from the black tux to the way he stood looking at us with squared shoulders, screamed authority. He had sharp features. Grey streaks were visible in his hair and beard. His dark eyes gave away nothing of what he was thinking. Just like Siara's.

Siara's entire body language changed when her father called her name. Her lips pressed into a thin line, erasing all traces of the giddy smile that had been there seconds ago. Her eyes turned stormy and her fingers curled into a fist at her side.

"What?" She asked coldly.

Her father's eyes turned soft and a smile spread over his lips. "You're back early. Where are the others?"

"Yeah, I got bored. They're probably putting on fake smiles and greeting people, I have no idea."

He sighed and turned to me. He looked at me blankly. I felt like I was being analyzed. Then he smiled and nodded. "And you have a guest. Won't you introduce me to him?"

"Why the fuck do you care?" Siara spat. I couldn't decide if there was more hatred in her words or in the look she was giving her father.

He sighed heavily. "Siara, how are we going to have a healthy relationship if you're not going to talk to me?"

"Oh, you want to talk? Well, you should've thought about this way before everything, Dad."

"I'm trying! We've gone over this so many times, Siara. I made a mistake but you aren't even giving me a chance to correct it. Let's just talk,"

"Talk? TALK?! You should've done that after Mom's death. At her funeral! In the last 10 fucking years! You can't expect someone to eat the porridge you cooked way after it has gone stale!" She stormed past him. "TODAY of all days you bring this up." She screamed.

He ran a hand over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose, then recomposed himself and smiled at me.

"Hello there, kid. I'm William Hemsworth," He extended a hand. I shook it. "Nice to meet you, Sir. I'm Ethan, Ethan Davis."

"You're from Siara's school?"

"Are you coming along or what, Ethan?" Siara's voice was cold as ice.

"You should go," he said. "I'm sure we will have plenty more meetings to catch up," he winked at me.

I said goodbye to Mr. Hemsworth and followed Siara to her room. I closed the door behind me. She kicked off her shoes and opened a drawer. She pulled out a cigar from there and lit it. It was completely dark in the room except for the single bedside lamp and the little fiery dot of the cigar. She stared at the ceiling in silence. I was afraid to say anything. I coughed because of the smoke. She let out a deep breath, ran her hand through her hair, and turned her eyes to me.

She stamped out the cigar on an ashtray and sat on the bed. "Don't tell Richard I smoked."

"Come here," She took my hands and caressed them.

"I have a rather... difficult relationship with my father. I just can't control the anger that floods through me every time he says anything. Especially when he tries to show that he cares for me."

"He tries?"

"There was a time when we were not like this. He was closer to me than anyone else. When my mother died, my father left us. Although he was present physically with us, mentally he was absent. Richard was just 2 years old and he did not understand anything. But I did," she said with a tear in her eye.

"He acted as if I did not exist to him. I told myself he was grieving. Even after months, he continued to act in the same way," her voice cracked.

"I was given everything. The best toys, the prettiest clothes, and nannies to care for me at every turn. However, how could I possibly be happy? I had lost both my parents at the same time. He sent me away to a residential school for the next five years. And when I came back, he was this new version of himself. He had taken therapy and it was as if those years didn't even happen. Everyone tells me to forget it and move on, but I just can't." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry you had to see me scream back there."

"Siara, why are you apologising? You don't have to do that. It's not your fault. I understand," I tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her cheeks which were wet with tears. God, I wish I could do more to comfort her. I wrapped my hands around her and pulled her close. "It'll all be okay."

She put her head against my shoulder. "Everything is already okay. You're here with me."

***

When I opened my eyes, I expected brightness. But all I could see was nothing. It was so dark that I could barely see my hand. I turned to my left and went for the light switch. My hand hit something like a rod and then I realized that I wasn't in my room. I was in Siara's room. I found my phone under my pillow and turned it on. I used the light from it to look for the lamp switch but someone snatched the phone from my hands.

"Hey!"

"No light allowed this early in the morning," Siara said groggily from beside me.

"It's 8 am!"

"You wouldn't have known that if had not touched your phone. You ruined my sleep. I was having such a nice dream," she yawned.

"What dream?"

A curtain of hair fell over my face and Siara chuckled, sitting on top of me. "Not everyone has the guts to ruin my sleep. You're going to be punished for that, Mr. Davis."

"What do you mean-" Before I could complete that sentence, Siara's hands went to my sides and began tickling me.

"Stop! Please!" I breathed out. She went on to tickle me mercilessly. I was laughing so hard that my stomach had begun hurting.

"Are you sorry?" She let out an evil laugh.

"Yes... Please, oh lord..." I gasped for air. She stopped.

I was caught in the middle of catching my breath when her fingers left my sides and went to my shirt. The shirt which I was surprised I was still wearing. She grabbed the collar and pulled me towards her.

She put her lips to the nape of my neck. "If you think that was your punishment," She kissed me. "Then you are so mistaken, Ethan," Her teeth grazed against the skin on my neck.

Her hand moved to the buttons of my shirt. She opened them one by one, slowly. I could feel the tension in her arms. As if she wanted to rip the shirt off me. I wouldn't mind that. I forgot how to breathe when she began trailing kisses down my chest.

"You make a sound, I start again."

If this was my punishment, I was ready to sin again and again.