10 minutes into the ride, Stella cleared her throat and stared at me through the rearview mirror, wanting to say something.
"What, Stella?" I sighed.
She shrugged and gripped the steering wheel tighter and cleared her throat again. "I just think we should tell Nate."
I could feel my face getting hot, and my fists were clenched so tightly, the palm of my skin was starting to break.
"Stella drop it," Carter snapped, boring his eyes into the side of her head.
"No, I won't drop it because I know my cousin, and despite everything going on between the two of them, I know he'd want us to tell him what happened," she protested, swerving harshly into the next lane.
"No offense Stella, but I honestly don't care what you think. I'm tired of you trying to making decisions for me because you think it's for the best. This is my life, not yours, so if I say no, I mean no. I'm very thankful that you're here, but can you just do that? Just be here for me? And listen to me just this once?"
Irritation flashed across her face, but she nodded anyway.
"Thank you," I whispered, breathing a sigh of relief as I leaned my head against the window.
The rest of the car ride was ridden in awkward silence all the way until we were in my penthouse.
"Thanks for all your help, but I'm good now; you guys can go," I mumbled as I settled in on the living room sectional.
Stella snorted and shook her head. "As if Stazi, you can barely move; you need us, so we're staying."
"Do you wanna tell us what happened?" Carter asked softly as he took a seat on the edge of the chair diagonal from me.
I sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of my nose. I knew that if I didn't tell them, they'd never leave my side, and I needed them to go. I just wanted to be alone.
"My abusive ex-boyfriend found me and cornered me when I left to go find the bathroom. He beat me and told me that he was here to take me back with him, but before he could, I fucked him up a bit and ran. He smashed my phone before that, so I couldn't call you guys to explain what happened. But then I found Stella's keys and drove all the way home, and you guys know the rest from there." I rushed, letting out a shaky breath as I clutched my abdomen to dull the pain coursing through my bones.
Stella shuffled towards me with tears in her eyes and wrapped her arms gently around my bruised body.
"We need to go to the police Stazi, he's still out there somewhere," Stella sniffled, peering down at me through bright blue eyes, but I shook my head.
"Stella's right," Carter agreed with Stella for the first time.
"No." I shook my head again and wrapped the blanket tighter around my trembling body. "I don't want to involve the cops, they're gonna want statements and shit, and I don't want to go through that. I think I've been through enough."
Carter sighed and stuffed his hand in his pockets. "But they can find him and arrest him for what he did, don't you want that?"
Of course, I do, but Brandon has money, the top attorney's in the world; he'll get out as soon as the officers finish writing my statement, that is if his parents are still funding him, but I wasn't going to take that chance.
"Let me sleep on it, okay? Then we can talk more tomorrow," I lied, telling them what they wanted to hear.
Stella breathed a sigh of relief next to me, and Carter smiled and nodded.
"Now will you guys leave so I can get some rest?"
My plan was to go to Crap Industries tomorrow to return important files that belonged to Nathaniel and pick up my car that's been there since movie night. Stella would kill me if she knew I would be leaving my house after hearing the nurse telling me to take it easy, but I needed to get this done so I could finally move on.
"I still don't think that's a good idea," Stella started.
"I know you guys want to get back to Theo and Gabrielle," I looked over at Carter, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that I was right. I didn't need to look at Stella to know she wanted to get back to Theo; they were practically inseparable.
"And I'm fine; if I need anything, I'll be sure to ring Jeff up for any help, okay?"
Carter and Stella shared a disapproving look but eventually caved in after I promised I'd text them daily updates.
"Text me if you need anything, okay?" Stella called out from the elevator.
"Yea, yea, love you, bye," I waved her away, keeping my eyes trained on the widescreen in front of me.
"Bye, Stazi."
"Bye, Carter."
As soon as the elevator doors shut, I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a painful deep breath feeling the millions of needles piercing my skin all at once. My head felt like it was going to explode, and every time I closed my eyes, I saw Brandon's pale face towering over me with a wicked smile etched onto his dry mouth.
I could hear my heart beating out of my chest as my vision suddenly became blurry, and a blood-curling scream escaped my throat as something wet dropped onto my face. I sat there patting my face like a maniac trying to wipe the blood away until I looked down and focused my eyes on my hands.
It wasn't blood; it was tears—my tears.
I slowly ripped the blanket off and wrapped my sweaty arms around my body as I rocked back and forth while counting to 10. It was a technique I picked up from an episode of Grey's Anatomy that was used to calm a person experiencing a panic attack. And to my surprise, it worked.
After a few minutes, my heart rate returned to normal, and I felt like I could finally breathe again.
Using the time I had left before another panic attack snuck up on me, I staggered into my room and collapsed on my bed. My eyelids felt heavy as I stared up at the ceiling wishing the pain would go away. It was just after 9 PM, but my body was already starting to shut down no matter how hard I tried to stay up. I needed to figure out a plan for tomorrow, but I guess that would have to wait.
~
I tried to get out of bed but I couldn't. Not because of the pain but because I felt like I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. To my surprise, the pain wasn't nearly as bad as it was yesterday. It seemed like a promising day already. I sat up at the edge of the bed slowly and counted to 10 before pushing myself off.
I clenched my jaw and squeezed my eyes shut, taking small steps to the bathroom. The nurse Amanda from the hospital called and informed me that my medication was ready to pick up, which was news to my ears because I didn't know how much longer I could take, spending every waking moment in excruciating pain.
As soon as I stepped foot into the bathroom and faced the wide mirror, I yelped at my unrecognizable reflection. Right at the top of my head and under my eye leading down to my cheek were dark red/purplish bruises from getting smashed into a brick wall and slapped with a hand decorated with rings.
There around my neck was a red imprint of his fingers from when he held me up and choked me. My wrists were also littered with the same bruises, but it didn't look as bad as the rest of my body.
All you have to do is drop off the paperwork and leave, I reminded myself as I took a hot shower. Hopefully, he wouldn't be there when I arrived, which would make my job easier than I could ever imagine.
Instead of putting on one of the short dresses I would usually wear, I opted for a black long-sleeve turtle neck that covered up the bruises on my arms and neck and paired it with black leather pants.
My plan was to use an entire bottle of concealer to cover the bruises on my face, but it felt like torture trying to dab the makeup on, which is why I decided to slip on a pair of sunglasses and a beanie instead.
Afterward, I brushed my curly hair down, letting it cascade down my slender shoulders before calling an Uber to pick me up.
It wasn't until I was standing outside of Creed Industries when I started to feel nervous. It was only 7 AM, and the chances of me running into Nathaniel at this time was slim to none, considering how he usually showed up to work at 9 AM. Knowing that piece of information alone seemed to calm my nerves slightly.
I stuck out like a sore thumb as I limped towards the elevator since there weren't many employees in the lobby after Nathaniel fired half of his staff.
Luckily, the employees that still had their job were too busy staring at their computer screens to notice my presence.
As the elevator ascended, the more nauseated I became. I lost count of how many times I swallowed the vomit that threatened to shoot out of my mouth. Beads of sweat began to form along my forehead, and I could feel my armpits starting to get moist.
He's not going to be there, I reminded myself for the 50th time.
The world seemed to stop as the elevator doors slid open at my stop and everything seemed to disappear in the background. The only thing I could see was his large double doors ahead of me.
I took my time walking towards the lion's den, clutching the files tightly at my side. Everyone's eyes were trained on me as I passed by, but I did my best to ignore them. It seemed like Nathaniel kept everyone on this floor for now. With him being so unpredictable, who knows how he'd feel come tomorrow.
Once I reached his doors, I took a deep breath, and sharp pains surged through my body like electricity blinding me for a total of 30 seconds. I pinched the bridge of my nose and gathered myself before entering the dark room.
My first instinct was to knock, but I never did before, so why switch up now just because I no longer work here?
Vomit rose in my throat again as I took my first step into his dark office, but the familiar smell of his spicy aroma made it all go away.
I didn't hear any movement inside as I cautiously took two more steps, so I took that as a sign to keep going.
My head was trained on the polished floors as I silently made my way towards his desk but as soon as I looked up to make sure he wasn't there, my eyes locked with his for the first time since that night, making my heart stop.
Not only was he there, but the redhead was too, clinging to his side like fucking glue. My eyes shifted from Nathaniel's handsome figure to hers, taking in everything. How loose the tie was around his thick neck, his wild hair looking as if someone, in particular, had just finished running their paws through it, his seemingly dark tired eyes with dark bags hanging beneath them.
How the buttons at the top of his dress shirt were unbuttoned, revealing a sliver of his inked chest. How her manicured claws were wrapped around his muscular arm, and her caked up face inches away from his.
The old me a few days ago would've felt nauseated just seeing how close the two of them were despite knowing that he's using her. But the person standing in front of them today was numb. Numb to everything except the constant pain coursing through my body.
Despite my spy attire, Nathaniel picked up on who I was immediately, and many unrecognizable emotions flickered across his face. Even though he couldn't see my eyes through the dark shades I wore, he somehow managed to find them, penetrating my soul and sending a shiver down my spine.
My fingers brushed across the files in my hand, reminding me of the reason I was here. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and continued across the marble floor until I stood a few feet away from Nathaniel himself.
The redhead looked up in disgust, clearly irritated that her time with him had been interrupted, but she was the least of my worries.
Nathaniel continued to stare up at me in silence as I placed the documents on the edge of his desk. I wanted to speak and tell him what they were, but I chose against it; he was a good enough reader to figure it out himself.
Without hesitation, I slowly spun around, making sure not to make any sudden moments that would give away my injuries, and just when I thought I was in the clear, just when I was a few inches away from freedom, his deep voice filled the massive office, stopping me in my tracks.
"Anastazi."
--