(A/N: Above is a picture of how I imagined Nova's whole outfit and hairstyle for the date)
I sat in the bathtub. I scraped all the dirt off my skin with a sponge. It was five p.m. now, two more hours until Damien arrived. I did not want to go. Was it a date? I doubt it. He was probably just forcing me to go to dinner with him to bother me. I squirted shampoo on my hand and proceeded to massaging it onto my scalp.
Everything that had happened during my jog kept replaying over and over in my head.
Why am I even following his orders? I'm not a dog! I couldn't believe myself.
I was getting ready to go to a date that I shouldn't have to go to if I don't want to! Yet here I was. I was angry with myself for following the idiotic orders of Damien.
I rinsed the shampoo off and wrapped a towel around my body.
Maybe he was possessive. Perhaps he has a dominant personality and doesn't know how to act around girls. He can't be that bad. Right?
He'll be here at seven, Nova. I reminded myself. If he takes you to a fancy restaurant, are you really risking your dignity by showing up in sweatpants and a tank top?
A part of me felt like screaming: Why should you care about your appearance? Risk your dignity?! Fuck off! You're being forced into a date with a psychopath. Show him you're not scared and don't dress up. If he gets upset, at least he'll lose his temper somewhere public. There was to be someone who sees his meltdown.
He did say he'll take me whether I'm properly dressed or not. Was he serious though?
I looked down at my arm to see his red fingertips imprinted on my skin, where he had grabbed me before.
He was serious.
Great.
I sighed and let the towel fall to the floor, revealing my naked body. I put on some undergarments before walking up to my closet for a dress.
I don't think I even own one that was elegant. All the dresses I did own were a little above my knees and looked casual, something you would wear with a beanie plopped on your head or Converse thrown on your feet. Elegant dresses had to be at least knee lengthened, right? I groaned. I don't know! I'm horrible at this! I did have one dress though when I was going through my girly phase after giving up on my 'tumblr' phase. Yeah, I went through a bunch of phases when I was fifteen.
It was a nude low-cut party dress. With the right shoes and hairstyle I bet I could make it look appropriate for dinner. It was better than all the other dresses that I owned. Hopefully it still fit, I remember adoring it.
When I slipped it on it looked even better then I remember. It was a little loose before but now it hugged my body which I loved.
I stepped in front of the mirror and smiled at the reflection staring back at myself.
Perfect.
***
After tying my hair in a bun and picking out some matching shoes, I quickly ran to bathroom where I kept all my makeup.
However, things don't always go as planned with me. My clumsiness took over and my heel got caught on my rug... so I tripped.
Typical Nova move.
I groaned and slowly got up. I needed to speed up the process. I didn't have enough time to do my full face of makeup so I decided to keep it natural. I added quick strokes of mascara to my eyelashes and picked out a dark red lipstick to my lips. To finish the look, I put on some earrings.
Ready to go.
I looked at the clock change from 6:59 to 7:00 p.m. As if it were on queue a soft knock was heard on my door.
The devil has arrived.
I sighed. I was nervous. I walked as slow as possible down the stairs. This only caused Damien to knock even louder.
"I'm coming!" I snapped. I arrived at the door and wiped my hands on my dress before putting my hand on the doorknob. I bit my lip and slowly opened the door to reveal a handsome Damien in a suit and tie.
The first thing he said was "I look good... don't I?" followed by a wink.
I ignored him and grabbed my purse "Do I have to go?" I tried.
"Yes, I said it was an order"
"What does that even mean? " I rolled my eyes.
"If it's an order you must do what I say, princess. Duh" he grabbed my hand and slightly pulled me so I was no longer standing inside with the front door open.
I raised a eyebrow "What if I don't want to follow your orders?" I closed and locked the door with my key and put it inside my purse.
"Yet here you are, c'mon. You're already all dressed up and looking pretty. Might as well come with. Quit being difficult" he reasoned with me.
I ignored the sudden pace of my heart increasing as he complimented me.
"Whatever" I said, walking ahead of him and into his car.
***
We were inside the restaurant. Damien reserved a whole room just for us, I found out. It made me highly uncomfortable to be in a room alone with him. We sat in a large table in the center of the room.
"Ready to order?" A waiter asked the both of us.
"Yes." I smiled. "I would like the-"
"We both would like the big bowl of pasta with chicken. Do us a favor and bring us a bottle of your best white wine" Damien cut me off.
I stared at him with my mouth hanging wide open. I couldn't believe the disrespect he had just put me through and I was definitely not going to stay silent. "Damien!" I exclaimed. "Where are your manners?!" I looked at him and back to the waiter who looked in between shocked and uncomfortable. It was a mixture of both.
"Oh, you're right. My bad. Please and thank you, sir." He said before picking up both our menus and shoving them towards the man.
The waiter looked the happiest he's ever been. He placed the menus under his arm and sped walked away.
As soon as he left I spoke up once again. "What the hell! I didn't want pasta!"
He shrugged. "I don't care"
I stood up. Based off my encounters with him the day before yesterday, yesterday, and today... I was able to notice that he was severely bipolar. I was tired of all his sudden mood changes. "I'm leaving" I announced. I grabbed my purse and stepped aside to push my chair in.
"Sit down, Nova" Damien said. His voice was followed by a click.
Shit. I looked up to see a black pistol pointed straight at my face. My eyes widened. My mouth immediately snapped open, ready to scream.
"Scream and I shoot you. Sit down." His voice had taken a suddenly demanding turn. He nodded at the chair I was previously sitting in. My legs were wobbling yet I was able to manage to quickly sit down as Damien put away the pistol. My heart was beating fastly against my chest. My hands were sweaty. I felt dizzy and tears were pricking at my eyes.
I knew I shouldn't have come! Was this a prank? Was I getting Punk'd? What happened to the smirking Damien? Ego boosted Damien? I prefer that one instead of this lunatic one!
"This might not make sense but I need you to shut up and listen. You better pray you remember. I'm only telling you once and if you disobey and forget my rules you better believe you'll receive punishments" Damien spat. He started off with a strong tone but as he continued to speak his voice lowered to a slight whisper.
"Wha-?" I started. Tears were threatening to spill.
"Don't speak unless I ask you to. You should know that there's three of us. Two excluding me. Kyle and Andrew. You'll meet them later."
I'm so confused! I can barely think straight! Kyle? Andrew? Are they here right now? Will Damien shoot me if I get up and run? Will Kyle and Andrew pop out and tackle me? What? I don't understand!
I looked down and licked my lips. What is he going to do to me?
"I'll let you go home tonight. Act normal but try to be around your family as much as you can. One word to anyone, especially the police, I'll go after you and your family. I mean it. Don't underestimate me, Nova. You don't know what I'm capable of." His eyes were staring at me. Besides his eyes looking crazy, his posture looking neutral. Has he done this more than once?
I gulped. "I'm not going to be sitting here while you threaten me!" I said. I did my best to sound bold. I scooted back and stood up.
Damien picked up the pistol once more, making me sit down again.
"No attempts to escape The Mansion. I'm telling you now. There's no way out. You'll find out everything you need to know while you're living there." Damien stopped talking.
LIVING THERE?!
Damien made sure I was watching as he tucked his pistol back under his shirt. His mood instantly changed when the waiter came back in the room.
"Thank you, sir" Damien took the wine bottle and poured it in two glasses.
The waiter disappeared and Damien sipped the wine. "See you tomorrow at ten p.m." He nodded and stood up. He drinked the rest of the wine in one gulp and slapped the empty glass down at the edge of the table. He looked down at me with his intimating demeanor. I couldn't hold his eye contact. I quickly looked down. He pushed the wine glass off the table. I gasped as it fell to the ground and shattered. There was glass all over my feet along with a few droplets of wine. I quickly looked back at him. He was already staring at me. "Oops" he said. He looked at me up and down. "Nice dress" he smirked before walking out.