- 3-
Butterfly awakened to sunlight streaming across the room. She rubbed her temples as her head throbbed. She brought her hands up to her eyes, to protect them from the bright sun. She looked around the room and noticed that it wasn't the bedroom she shared with Lance.
Lance, she thought. Just thinking his name made her angry.
Butterfly's thought process was a bit hazy. She couldn't remember what happened after her wedding fiasco. The only thing she remembered was Lance dumping her at the altar. After that, everything was a big blur to her.
She instantly got out of the full-sized bed, noticing that she still had her wedding dress on. That was a relief. At least she knew that someone didn't rape her, or maybe the person did and just put her dress back on like nothing happened. Even if this person did it, she couldn't really be sure.
Butterfly listened to water running, while pots and pans banged around making her head pound even harder. She needed to find a way out of there fast. She didn't know where she was. For all she knew, the person in the other room could hold her hostage.
"Leaving so soon?"
Butterfly put her hands up to her chest, turned around, and backed up against the window. She saw a man with a cup of what smelled like coffee in his hands, smiling playfully at her. He had his shirt off and she couldn't help but notice his lean body.
"Stay back," she said.
Butterfly kept looking around the room, trying to find anything she could to protect herself from this perverted man. Butterfly finally noticed a bat holding up the window. She hadn't noticed it until now. She picked it up and started swinging it at him.
His smile instantly vanished and he quickly backed away from her. "Let me explain what's going on."
She kept swinging the bat towards him while moving every which way he moved. "I don't need you to explain anything to me. The facts are staring me right in the face. You raped me didn't you?"
He dodged around the room away from her. "What? No, I didn't rape you. I saved you from that guy last night. You should be thanking me."
Butterfly stopped swinging that bat at him. She looked into his bright sepia eyes, to consider if he was even telling the truth. "What guy?"
He walked a little closer to her, but when she raised the bat he backed off. "Listen, I'm not the bad guy here. That guy was trying to take advantage of you. I think he put something in your drink."
"How would you even know if he was taking advantage of me? Were you stalking me?" she asked while pointing the bat at him.
He chuckled and said, "I wouldn't say I was stalking you. You just intrigued me, walking into a bar with a wedding dress on. So I kept an eye on you the whole night. I wanted to come and talk to you, but you had your hands full with 'ol boy."
"So what you're telling me is that it was a possibility that this guy tried to rape me, but you prevented it from happening." She put both of her hands on her hips. "Do I look that gullible to you?"
He ran his hands across his fade and glared at her. "I'm telling you the truth. He tried to take advantage of you. You were so out of it that you didn't even know what was going on."
"If that's the case, why didn't you just call the police?"
"It's the south-side of town we're talking about here, darling. They wouldn't even have made it in enough time to prevent anything from happening to you. I wasn't even thinking about calling the police. I was just trying to get you out of harm's way."
She looked at him for what felt like a lifetime. He seemed so sincere, but could she really trust him? His eyes kept pleading for her to believe him. "Do you know the guy's name?"
"It starts with a c. What was it?" He looked up at the ceiling like it would magically give him the answer. "Chauncey...no...Chance. His name is Chance."
"Are you sure?" She still wasn't sure if she could trust him.
"Yeah, I'm sure. He frequents the bar as much as I do. We've spoken a few times, but I always thought he was creepy. But the women love him," he said, smirking.
"I didn't love him, let alone like him. I was just trying to forget about my worries. He offered to help me out with that."
"Well you sure know how to pick 'em," he stated while shaking his head at her.
She sighed. "It really wasn't like that."
"Hey, I'm not judging you on what kind of men you like to date. If you like the creepy rapist types, then go for it."
The corners of his lips turned upwards, while he continued to keep staring at her, with a twinkle in his eye. He was teasing her and she knew it.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you trying to get me upset?"
"Yeah, you look cute when you're angry."
Butterfly scoffed and said, "You're crazy and I have to get out of here. I must be a fool standing here talking to a potential rapist."
She grabbed the train of her dress and tried to bypass him to get out, when he grabbed her by the waist, bringing her into his chest. Butterfly couldn't help but notice how good their bodies fit together. His body heat was radiating through to her, making her feel warm and safe.
Butterfly sensed that he didn't try to rape her. Her memories started to return to her in bits and pieces. She recognized the face of the man named Chance. If she ever saw him again, he was a dead man. She wasn't sure why she was being so mean to this man. He did after all help her from getting hurt. Maybe it was the weird feelings she was getting, by being in his arms.
"What is it going to take for you to believe me?" he asked.
She heard her own heart beating rapidly, while her breathing picked up in pace. His eyes kept roaming across her face, landing on her lips, and then back up to her eyes. Butterfly's words caught in her throat. She could feel the heat start to rise in her cheeks and in between her thighs.
She cleared her throat and said, "I believe you. Some of my memory has come back, so I know that you're telling me the truth."
Butterfly pushed her hands against his chest, making him stumble backward. She stepped back from him while fanning herself.
He smiled at her and said, "Do you need to take a cold shower?"
She snapped her head in his direction and then narrowed her eyes. "No, I don't...Ugh, where's your bathroom? I do need to freshen up though."
"There's a bathroom right here."
He walked over to a door closest to the right side of the room. She hadn't noticed the door there before. Well, she hadn't noticed much of anything in his room. She was too worried about getting out of there at the time.
He opened the door for her, and she noticed that the inside was quite clean for a bachelor. The marble sink sparkled as the light hit it. The tiled floors were just as clean, not a trickle of dirt was seen anywhere. She was starting to think that he had OCD.
"No, I don't have OCD. I just like things clean and tidy."
Was he a mind reader now?
***
Butterfly stepped out of the shower and wiped away the condensation on the mirror. Her make-up was still on, but it was smeared all over the place. She washed her face and then brushed her teeth with a new toothbrush he gave her.
She let her damp hair down in ringlets. She usually flat ironed it, but she wasn't at home and she was pretty sure he didn't have one. She would just have to deal with it for now.
She peeked out the door, to make sure he wasn't in the room. Once she scanned the entire room, making sure he was nowhere to be seen, she walked out of the humid bathroom. She didn't have anything to wear, so she reached to get her dress off the bed when she noticed a pair of violet skinny jeans and a white blouse.
Before she asked if these were hers to wear, she heard his rich-smooth voice, on the other side of the door. "Those are my sisters. You two look to be the same size, and I thought that would be more comfortable for you, than that wedding dress."
She said a quick thanks, as she proceeded to put on the clothes. They fit her perfectly, not too tight and not too loose. She left the bedroom to find the mysterious stranger in the living room watching ESPN.
He turned his head in her direction when she sat next to him on the couch. His eyes roamed over her face, to her hair. She probably looked a mess. He kept staring at her until she cleared her throat.
"I just want to say thank you for helping me out. I feel like such an idiot. I shouldn't have taken that drink from him."
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. We all make mistakes, as long as we learn from them that's all that matters, right?"
She looked back at him to find him smiling at her. Her stomach immediately did a flip-flop motion. Was it butterflies? No, that can't be right.
She sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You know I don't even know your name. How can I thank you properly?"
"My name's Isaiah."
"Isaiah. . . I've always loved that name. I want to name my son that, that's if I ever have one."
"I'm sure it'll happen for you. Why wouldn't it?"
His gaze toward her was intense. But he was always staring at her like that. Maybe he was just a very intense, passionate guy. She was starting to feel uneasy from the pressure of his gaze, so she stood up and announced that it was time for her to leave.
"I made breakfast, aren't you hungry?
He smiled when he heard her stomach growl. She looked at him bashfully and replied, "I guess I can eat a little something."
"I think you should eat before you leave. And then I think we should go to the police."
"I don't think so," she said, as they moved to the kitchen, to eat the omelets he prepared.
"I think you should report that guy," he said while taking a sip of his orange juice.
"I'd rather just forget about what happened altogether."
"Why would you want to let him get away with trying to harm you?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "It's not that I want him to get away with it...I just don't want to re-live what happened, okay?"
An awkward silence fell around them. She didn't mean to get angry with Isaiah, but he just pushed a nerve within her. He was making her feel like a horny teenager with a crush. She was getting too nervous around him, and she kept hearing her heartbeat in her chest whenever they made contact. That was really starting to annoy her.
She felt his eyes on her before he spoke. "I'm sorry if I upset you. That wasn't my intention. I should have thought of your feelings."
She glanced up at him and smiled gently. "No, it's okay. I know you're just trying to help me out. I understand where you're coming from." She brushed a ringlet of her hair out of her eye. "But I just don't want to get the police involved. You saved me, so it's all good."
They both started laughing and continued to talk amongst themselves while eating the rest of their breakfast. A knock at the door ended their discussion about different types of foods they liked, so they both went into the living room. She figured if he had company, then it was time for her to go. She went into his bedroom to get her dress, while he answered the door.
When she was walking back to the living room, she thought she heard a familiar voice, but shook the thought out of her mind and continued to walk back into the living room. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who was standing before her.
She clenched her fists and said, "Lance, what are you doing here?"
"Do you two know each other?" Isaiah asked, darting his eyes between Butterfly and Lance.
Butterfly didn't respond. Her only thought was on how she was going to murder Lance. He just broke up with her, and she couldn't believe he was standing right in front of her. Lance wouldn't even look at her. He kept his eyes on anything but her.
Butterfly heard a female's voice coming from the kitchen. She turned her attention to the kitchen area when she saw Asia coming out, eating an omelet. She stood between Isaiah and Lance.
How did Isaiah know them?
"Who is she?" Asia asked, looking at Isaiah and me.
Was she serious?
"That's none of your business, sis." Isaiah turned his attention to Lance and said, "What's up my future brother-in-law?"
***
Hey, guys. Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to comment, vote, and share:).