FINLEY
"No one's coming for you. There's no one here expect for me. Follow my voice, Baby. I'm here, it's alright. No one's going to hurt you." His eyes softened as they searched mine for the remnant of the lost pieces of my soul.
There was a crunch of gravel behind me, not the kind of continuous noise you'd get from a rolling car, but the defined short crunch of a footstep. Footsteps. The darkness pressed in on me as I fought the urge to turn around. Then there came another crunch, this time lighter and slower as if the commander of the noise was trying to be quiet, to sneak up on me perhaps.
As fast as I could, I attempted to break out in a sprint before I felt a strong hand shot out and grasped onto my arm, gripping my elbow in a brutal hold.
It's him. He's here.
"Merda, Calmati." Deep voice snarled. "Baby, calm down. You're going to get worked up and pass out. No, don't do that." Pair of rough, sinewy hands cautiously held my fingers, squeezing them tightly as an attempt to calm down my racing heart though it did quite the opposite. "Sh, you're going to hurt yourself, Finley. Breathe. Breathe with me."
(Shit. Calm down)
"Doll, I'm offended. Were you trying to run away from me?" A deep familiar voice asked so gruffly that I jumped. Instinctively, I lowered my head feeling the need to diminish myself and curl into a ball, disappearing from his scrutinizing gaze. "Whenever I'm talking, I want you to fucking look me in the eye. Do you understand me?"
I rapidly bobbed my head up and down, the intense feeling of fear overpowering any natural instinct I had, and locked me into a cage with the keys nowhere in sight. He was so brutal with his words, taking any chance he could get to include profanities.
"I said... do you understand?" He gritted out, syllable by syllable; his fingers reaching out to take hold of my chin and held it captive between his ashen palms.
I could feel my stomach roiling at the distaste of his horrid touch.
"Y-yes. Yes." I whispered in a tight voice.
"What was that?" I could feel the tension and the intensity in his voice. "Did you fucking just get angry at me? Is that it, doll? You want to disobey me, now?"
"No, no. P-please just... just let me go-"
In a spilt second, outstretched hands seized my elbow, trapping them to my sides and pushed me roughly against the wall. Glowing bright dark blue eyes prodded into mine, burning down my barricades of protection piece by piece.
"You don't tell me what to do, you hear me?" Before I could answer, there came the sound of a rip as they pulled the fabric of my clothes apart, stripping me bare.
His dark eyes lit with lust as his hands ravaged over me. I could feel rough brutal hands unexpectedly made their way onto my lock of hair, and grabbed a fistful of it.
Fingers dug into my skull, the four blackened ovals that would bruise after the blood had dried; I could hear his manly voice panting, the pressure in his breath, like an animal in heat. He shut his eyes tight, and snuck his nose into my hair. Oh god.
"He's... he's t-touching me. I can't— I can't.. I w-want to get out of here.. I-I can't be here! I-I c-can't.. can't... please not today." A hand brushed a strand of hair from my face, and stroked my cheek. "H-he's going to kill me. No, no, not I'm so sorry. P-please!"
"Tight little body. Perfect for fucking. Too bad I can't touch you... at least not yet. He would kill me but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun. What do you think, doll?"
A wracking sob escaped my lips, in such a desolate way that I regretted the feeling of being alive.
I clenched my hands and held it tighter against my mouth so no further sound would escape. The quieter, the better.
"Sh, Topolina. Look at me," Raspy voice with a deep timbre spoke, anchoring my soul a single moment in time. I know that name. Holding my gaze, his tatted thumb caressed my chin desperately trying to pull me back into the here and now and from the binding contract of my destructive mind. "That's it, I've got you. It's me, it's just me. I'm going to hold your hand now, it's just me. Can you feel that?"
Massive, forceful hands slid past my fingers, resting on my palms, reassuring me that everything was fine. I inhaled sharply, almost hesitant as I held his large, skillful palms in contrast to my small tiny fingers; the feeling of cold silver rings sent a whirlwind of butterflies through my stomach, shocking my heart a million times over and left me with the presence of his comforting touch.
My eyes flashed opened like two flashlight beam, and woke up suddenly before he could do anything but I could still the feel the presence of his chilling hand around my throat, digging deeper into me, with sharp edges running around my sweaty paled skin ready to pierce. Pair of translucent, honey eyes with rings of gold encased the pupils of his eyes — dark, deep eyes that made me want to run for the hills yet pulled my entire attention and everything else in the room faded.
My timid gaze fell to his shapely shoulder, thick tattooed bicep and muscular forearm as he extended one arm high, the reassuring feel of his large, calloused hands as they encircled my waist; I wrapped my arms around his muscular frame, breathing in his familiar scent sending my heartbeat into a frenzy. I caught a glimpse of a long, slender red mark painted over his bulging biceps, an audible gasp escaping me when I realized what it was.
Fingernail marks.
"Is that—I-I didn't... I'm so s-sorry. I-I couldn't," I whimpered lowly, my eyes overflowing with tears. My shoulders wracked with every sob as they eventually forced their way out, my chest rising unevenly and falling as I gasped for breath, my fingers bunching the fabric of the duvet.
"I-I'm s-so sorry. I'm s-so sorry. P-please don't be... be mad. P-please d-don't be mad. I'm so... so sorry." I repeated hysterically, the mantra like an broken record piece playing over and over again.
"Topolina, respirare." Instantly I knew what that word meant — the action he wanted me to carry out. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and wrapped his arms around his waist. Feeling Octavius' heartbeat against my chest, I inhaled deeply, my chest rising as I willed my lungs to perform the simple action of breathing, over and over until I, slowly but surely, calmed down.
Gently, his long, slender fingers wiped the tear with the pad of his thumb, slowly rubbing my back until my breathing completely slowed. "It's simply a small scratch, yes?"
I pulled back from the warmth of his neck, shaking my head adamantly. "No, I—" Effortlessly Octavius silenced me with a single sharp look, gently holding my small clear fingers in his massive, tattooed hand and directed it towards his arms, running my fingers along his muscular forearm; my empty gaze flickered up attentively into his tendered dark eyes glinting with pure concern. "I'm still sorry about it," I mumbled softly.
"Hm." He hummed lowly and without a doubt I knew that topic was over. "Topolina," He said my name in his low, firm tone — a tone I knew too well. Octavius stood absolutely still for the longest minute of my life. I could barely breathe while his dark eyes roamed over my face, analyzing every freckle and pimple.
"Who?" Who? The question was just like Octavius. Direct and tempered. "Someone made you scared. Who?"My heart clenched at the unwavering concerned tone attached to his voice, giving me tiny heart palpitations.
"I—I can't... I can't, Octavius. N-not yet. I... please don't be mad, I-"
"Sh, Rilassarsi, I'm not mad. It's your personal information but you'll let me know if you need me, yes?" Dark serious eyes looked at me intently.
(Relax)
"B-but... but what if I'm drowning or... or I'm just being a big baby b-because Charley said I can be really sensitive and I can't take a joke but I really like jokes."
"No buts. I don't care how small the reason is, you'll call me? Si?" He placed a tatted hand on my chin, caressing my soft skin with his thumb, and tipped my head slightly with a curled index finger to meet his chided gaze.
Instinctively, I scrunched up my nose and directed a incredulous glance towards him. "What are you going to do? You're not a gangster or a big boss."
"I am a big boss, Topolina. You'll call me, yes?"
"Sir, yes sir. Up high?" I beamed brightly raising my outstretched hand for an high five. Octavius merely shook his head with a blank look but hesitantly lifted his hand and slapped the flat of his calloused palm against the palm of my small hands. "Yay!" I squealed with excitement.
He never high fives me... progress.
Absently I began to play with his fingers, rolling the rings back and forth between his thumb and index finger fingers while I chatted — more of rambled about how I loved dogs and the movie Forrest Gump which I watched recently and how the ending made me tear slightly. His dark eyes were glued to the screen of his laptop, vacuously humming at my story.
"And then... then she dies. Can you believe that? And then... then Forrest has to raise his son alone without Jenny which is completely n-not fair! I just—just don't understand why she has to die, you know? She had a good life and—"
"Finley." He cut me off, a slight crease in his brows as something on his laptop began to irritate him while his long, slender fingers skimmed over my exposed skin in a distracted manner.
My freckled cheek burned with embarrassment. "Oh, sorry sorry I'm rambling and it's annoying. Won't happen again, promise."
"Sh, Stop that. Don't talk about yourself like that," His gruffly voice silently spoke in a vulnerable tone I had never heard before. He paused, sucking in a deep breath and then with shaky hands, threaded a hand through his abundant dark curls. "We should talk about what happened the other night," He spoke calmly almost tasting the word on his lips.
Oh.
Deep amber eyes that could slice through ice burned into the depths of my eyes. His thunderous voice resonated deep inside me— a voice that could send even the grown of men weeping yet I only found comfort in it. "All those words.... I never meant any of it. I want you to understand that, yes?"
I swallowed hard as my eyes darted back downward, trying desperately to avoid his searing, deep gaze. It was nerve-tickling, yet my toes curled with shivers in seeing him such a raw state. "Topolina, when I ask you a question, I expect you to answer me verbally and look me in the eye." His deep voice demanded. "Dov'e' quella tua bella testa, hm?"
(Where's that pretty head of yours, hm?)
"I just... I don't understand anything. Nothing makes sense. F-first, you say you'll see me later and then you get mad when I text you. I thought—I thought we were friends b-but then you get... get mad when Payson calls me Finley? T-that's my name, Octavius. And then... then you get all angry angry and tell me to leave, but n-now you're apologizing. I-I'm confused. Y-you're confusing." I pursed my lips thoughtfully playing with the fabric of his shirt.
"I know. I'm trying not to fuck it up and I did. I'm sorry." His dark deep eyes stared into mine, a tendered glint in their depths. "Do you still want to be friends?" The touch of his large tattooed hand made me shiver as his fingers brushed my dark hair past my face, twirling a single strand of curl around his pinky.
I stared at him flabbergasted, at a loss for words. "No. I mean— I... don't mean no but I'm... mad.. I'm mad at you but I don't want to be mad because I don't like that feeling. Grr I don't know!"
He circled an arm around my waist to keep me steady, securing my soft body against his chest. Electricity arced between us, warming my blood as I felt the pounding of my unaccommodating heart. "Use your words, baby. Show me how mad you are at me."
My antsy fingers dropped from his shirt and anxiously, my body started shaking in response to his words. I opened my mouth to form words but nothing coherent answered his question. Why was I like this? "Calmati. It seems I would have to work my way up to that. Acquaintances?" He mumbled giving me a reassuring nod as I looked at him skeptically. "Quegli occhi marroni saranno la mia morte."
(Those big brown eyes of yours will be my death)
"What does that mean?" Octavius glanced at me thoughtfully, but said nothing. Cold, delicate fingers reached out to take hold of my chin and held it captive between his calloused palms, caressing my soft lips with his tatted thumb.
"Nothing important."
I huffed impatiently, jutting out my bottom lip and gave him a bewildered pout. "I don't.. I don't understand. Oh! Oh! Oh! I bought an Italian dictionary so I can learn more Italian words but it's a bit confusing. I mean Italian is similar to Spanish right and I did take a few years of Spanish so it should be easier but it's not. There was this man that offered to help but I can't even... wait... why.. w-why are you... you're smiling? You're smiling, oh my gosh!"
His skin felt cold to the touch, my breath hung in the air as my gaze lifted to his lips which were curved into a salivating smile, the slight dip that appeared in the upper part of his right cheek. Dimples. I felt my heart rate accelerate, my head instinctively went down feeling emotions stir inside of me. I did it.
I made Octavius smile. Check. Yay.
"Woah, dude! You have dimples like mine. Aw, we're twinning!" I exclaimed, my fingers reaching outward to gently jab the side of his cheeks where his beautiful dimples resided. "Oh no, it's gone. Bring it back. Octavius... bring it back."
He gave me a blank, brooding stare. "I'll give you a hundred Finley hugs if you bring the dimples back."
He grumbled darkly, eyes softening as I jutted my lips out. Hesitantly, his plump pink lips curved widely into a forged smile, both sides of his upper cheek complimented by the slight dip that appeared. I let out an excited squeal poking the side of his cheek in complete awe that Octavius had gorgeous dimples such as these, and I had never seen them before. I couldn't help but stare at him, slurping up every atom and utterance and curve in his dimple.
Mental note: Find more jokes so you can make Octavius smile.
"Stop staring." I fought the urge to squeal out loud when his possessive hands suddenly rested by my knees, squeezing my thighs through the thin fabric of my jeans and he firmly pulled my body against his, dropping a open butterfly kiss on the curve of my shoulders.
I couldn't help but giggle out loud, the longish strands of his dark curls tickled the side of my neck; I shivered involuntarily as he nipped my ear playfully in which loud, ecstatic giggles fell out of my lips. "Octavius! That tickles!"
He bit the side of my neck and nibbled on my earlobe as he breathed heavily into my ear. "I want you." His deep voice spoke — more of demanded.
"You... you have me. I'm right here in front of you, dude."
He groaned, fire burning in his dark voice. "Not like that, baby." I ran my tongue across my fleshy, pink lips to wet them. "Stop. Don't do that. Non sei pronta."
(You're not ready)
"Acquaintances, Octavius." I teased him with a goofy smile plastered on my lips. "Acquaintances."
author's note:
ps. i made a ig and twitter and I'll be posting some sneak peeks for upcoming chapters and stuff.
personal ig - demimartha026
twitter - demimartha026
follow me. please. no pressure or anything, you know :)
okay fine I'm desperate :0
all my love,
dee