Taunted
I was still hung up on making my ex-boyfriend cry, so imagine my surprise when I saw Cap on my porch, waiting for me.
Sigh, couldn’t a girl have a heart wrenching breakup with one boy one day, and worry about what to do about the other one the next? This was just too much for one day – just too many emotions, even for me.
“Chloe.” He said, hugging me tightly.
“Cap… I chose you,” I told him, kissing his tender lips softly. Even that small of a kiss sent me a journey like no other.
“I know, Bonnie told me. Well, after she threatened to kill me if I ever hurt you again.” He said, the crooked smile he gave only me tingeing at the edge of his lips.
“That my Bonnie. And don’t think she’s lying. One time, Damian forgot our anniversary and she tased him when he came over,” Cap gave me a skeptical you-have-to-be-kidding-me look, “no, really.” he looked wary.
“Well, then I’ll treated you like royalty.” He said, gently kissing me.
“You better!” Bonnie yelled from the second-story balcony. I gave her the finger and she gasped loudly. Cap laughed and kissed me again.
“I want to show you somethin’,” Cap said before he led me to his black Jeep. Y heart thudded. I let the heart-wrenching Damian thoughts stay at the very back of my mind, and tucked it in the I’ll-stress-about-this-later compartment.
It was kinda surreal to be in his Jeep again, considering that I’d thought on that Saturday night I’ll never see him again. The black leather smell flooded my senses as my body molded with the comfortable seats.
Cap took me to his home, a two-story mansion on one of the hills in South Marketa. The mansion had an interesting Grecian architecture, large white pillars stretching from the roof to the front porch. The house was cream-beige color with a dark pale blue roof, white window paneling and a white-framed two-door door. Cap parked in the driveway and led me to the door like only a gentleman could, my eyes connecting with his.
Inside was even more mystical. As soon as we entered the house my eyes were flooded with different painting, sculptures and intriguing décor. The entrance hall was very royal-like with mahogany wooden paneling across ivory-colored walls, a large crystal chandelier hung on the second-story ceiling which looked like a painting in itself. in front of us was a large mahogany and red carpet staircase that led to the second story, the staircase looked like the ones you always saw in majestic palaces, or in one of Disney’s classic princess movies. To the ends of the staircase were breathtaking sculptures of the Grecian goddess Aphrodite. Large tied-up, red curtains with lark brown fringes covered the large windows and added to the royal feel of this one room.
“Wow,” was all I could manage to say as I stood dead still, admiring the beauty of this breathtaking entrance hall that made mine look like child’s play.
“It use to belong to my parents,” he said, with a smile on his face, his eyes never leaving my face.
“Use to?” I asked, unsure of what Cap was telling me.
“Yes, they were killed a long time ago by a beast,” he said with a tinge of pain and shame in his voice.
“Oh,” I said. “I'm sorry to hear about that.
“It’s okay, really it is. It took me a long time to get over what happened with them, which is why I moved to Washington when it happened. But, now that I've got you, I think I'm finally beginning to heal.” He told me, his black diamond eyes filled with hurt. I squeezed his hand.
“But, if your parents were killed, then who’s looking after you?” I asked. Cap wasn’t older than seventeen so he’s still too young to legally looking after himself, right?
“I live with my only surviving aunt that I know of, Shelly. But, she’s got a job as a real-estate agent in Marketa’s CBD, so she’s not here at the moment.” Cap said, his eyes still not leaving mine.
“Oh, so we’re alone?” I asked, my skin tingling at the thought of being alone with Cap, again.
“Technically, yeah. But, I think Jenkins, my dog, is wandering somewhere outside.” He said, his crooked smile displayed on his jaw-droppingly gorgeous face.
“Well, I hope he doesn’t interfere,” I said, my lips reaching out for his.
“I hope so, too.” He said before his lips met with mine.
Once again, his lips melted with mine and as the kiss deepened, I couldn’t tell where his ended and where mine began. His arms embraced me tightly and my hands entwined with his soft, silky, black hair. Just like all good things, eventually it came to an end.
“I love you, Chloe.” He said, his voice so filled with desperate love it made me ache.
“That’s why I chose you,” I told him honestly. Though Cap’s apparent enourmous love for me had influenced my choice, my unending feelings for him had a much more substantial reason for me choosing the guy who might end up breaking my heart.
His hands left my back and entwined with my hand before he led me up the stairs, my forest green Chloé (hehe) heels clicking against the hardwood stairs.
He led me down a mahogany paneled second-story hallway, where I saw a breathtaking family-portrait of Cap and his parents, another guy that resembled Cap’s perfect bone structure was in the painted image as well, they were all dressed in regal-looking clothing from the 1850s. Cap looked not much older than ten and was as adorable as ever.
“You didn’t tell me you had an older brother, and with blond hair nonetheless.” I told him, noticing the abstract difference in the two boy’s faces.
Though it was no doubt in my mind that they were both brothers: where Cap’s eyes were black, his brother’s eyes were a deep-golden green, and where Cap had silky pure-black hair, his brother hand the most beautiful head of blond hair I’d ever seen. Cap’s parents were almost as striking as Cap and his brother was, if not just as striking. His mother was incredibly beautiful with a paler version of Cap’s black eyes, an oval face, pouty mouth and a long set of golden blond hair, and cream colored skin. His father had Cap’s dark, intriguing features, with the same black hair and a less striking beautiful bone structure, a slightly curved mouth and a strong nose. They looked stunning, and happy. Cap’s eyes were filled with pain as he stared at his family-portrait, as if it was his first time.
“I do, his name’s Cameron,” hehe, Cam and Cap, “He left the house as soon as he was old enough, took the family by surprise coz he always seemed so happy. Daddy thought he’d take over the family business when he turned eighteen, but instead my mother’s heart broke when she read his letter, stating that he’s run away and that he loved us.” Cap said, his eyes glistening with tears now. It felt amazing to hear Cap opening up to me, but it also felt awful that everyone he loved had left him, sometime or another. I promised myself that I’d never do the same to him, never. “I miss them from time to time, Chloe. And every night before I’d met you, I’d wonder if they're happy wherever they are. I’d wonder if they’ve forgiven me for betraying the family name. I’d wonder if they’d be proud of me.” He told me, this time a perfect crystal tear escaping his diamond eyes. I didn’t know what to say.
My own family was messed up as well. Momma was an alcoholic who always fought with my father at least once a month, claiming that he’d slept with the new secretary, or editor, or accountant, or any new female she saw him with even though she knew daddy would never do that to her. Daddy was the CEO of a Marketa’s leading clothing store, a much more high-end version of American Apparel, who constantly came home late from work and was barely there to spend quality time with us. But despite all heir faults, momma and daddy still loved one another, they still loved me. But with Cap, he had no one, his parents looked picture perfect, the amount of love, pride and happiness they felt for their children clearly displayed in their eyes. But now they were dead, and besides his aunt, Cap was alone. And who knew where his brother could be right now.
Cap’s room was just as stunning and regal as the rest of the house. The same mahogany wooden paneling of the rest of the house was across Egyptian blue walls and duke blue carpeting covered the floors. In the centre of the room was dark gray wooden four-poster king sized bed, which also resembled the types of beds seen in castles and palaces. Egyptian blue Egyptian cotton sheets covered the bed and large ivory pillows complemented the regal feeling of the rest of the room. A plasma screen television stood on a stand that stood diagonally between two of the corners of the room. In front of the set was regal-looking loveseat with the same dark gray wood as a frame. To the right side of a room stood a large desk that had a fancy-looking laptop on it. A bookcase that was filled with books stood next to the desk made my mouth drop; it’s not an everyday thing to find a bookcase in a guy’s room, instead of salacious looking posters. Cap really was mature for his age.
“I've never had a girl besides you in my room,” he told me, his arms embracing me from the back. I tilted my head to be able to look into his black diamond eyes and gave him an ‘oh-yeah?’ look. “Really, you're the only girl to be in my room.” He said honestly.
And then it hit me. I was in Cap’s room – his ultimate private space. And I was the only girl to ever be in here. Therefore, I was special to him. Special enough that after a month of ignoring me, he’d let me into his personal space; the place he’d go to after a long day, the place he’d go to right after a long, hot shower, the bed he’d lie on was right in front of me.
A tingling sensation ran through me as his fingers grazed the skin of my arm. I was in heaven. I turned around to face him, my lips lightly grazing the edges of his lips, tempting both him and me to engage in another breathtaking, skin tingling, insides melting, stomach flopping, heart thudding kiss.
“Why’d you choose me, Chlo? I mean, Damian could make you happy. He can give you a happy, long, normal life. He could provide you with so much I can.” He said, his voice echoing the unworthy feeling he felt onside him.
“Because you can provide me with the things he can’t: unconditional love, happiness like no other, you.” I said to him honestly, my lips giving him a light kiss.
And I knew it was true. As long as I had him, nothing else would matter; no one else could interfere with what I felt for Cap; nothing else could even compare to the way I felt when I was with him.
I woke up the next morning feeling like a million bucks. That night was first real night Cap and I spent together. And despite what your dirty minds are thinking, nothing too salacious happened.
I looked around and was surprised to find that Cap's side of the bed was empty. As if he sensed my distress, he walked into the room in distressed True Religion jeans, with a silver tray held professionally in his hand.
"Good morning, love." Cap said, his black diamond eyes filled with a happiness I'd never seen in his eyes before.
"Good morning," I said, my cheeks flushing at his gesture.
"I brought you something to eat. I hope you like bacon n eggs, I'm not really that great of a cook." He said, his wicked crooked smile warming my insides and increasing the speed of my pulse.
"I usually have salmon, but it would have to do." I joked as I sat up, the Egyptian cotton caressing my bear arms.
Cap sat beside me on the bed after he kissed my forehead gently, igniting passion within me with that single touch. He handed me my homemade breakfast to me with his crooked smile securely on his face. The smile still held it's hypnotizing sex appeal, but had a hint of nervousness to it that made me giggle.
"What?" He asked, his voice amused by my action.
"You're nervous," I said, taking an unladylike mouthful of eggs.
"Well, remember when I told you I've never had another girl in my room?" He said and I nodded as I took another mouthful. He reached out with his hand, his porcelain skin wiping ketchup from my mouth. I flushed. "Well, this week seems to have a whole lot of 21st century firsts." He said and his Adam's apple bobbed lightly. "I've never cooked for another person, let alone another girl. And I'm afraid my rancid attempt at cooking might kill you. And I've never slept with another girl before, too." He said and I giggled again. I swear I could see him blush.
"You make it sound so dirty," I said, trying my best to do a Bonnie-like wink. "And it's not that bad. Certainly not going to kill me any day soon. But you flushing might." This time he had the giggle thing that I had going on. Except when he did it, it wasn't cute or girly, but it was sexy, husky and all man.
"Forgive me, Chlo. Despite popular belief, my experience with the the fairer sex is pitiful." He said, his black eyes twinkling with mischief.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. I've never really had much luck with your kind." His tone was amusing but I could sense an underline of guilt and shame in his voice.
"Have you seen the way girls - and some guys, admittedly - look at you?" He looked confused. "You cannot tell me that you haven't noticed their googly eyes and their 'random acts of kindness'". He still looked skeptical. I was baffled. "Like for example, the way Cally Saunders or Trevor McCaw were all over you the week after your first arrival at South Jeff? I mean, even queen bitch Meghan had a thing for you." I said, reminiscing on the countless times people flirted with Cap.
"Really, Trevor and Meghan?" I nodded and he made some enlightened 'hmm' sound. "Well, I guess I've never noticed the way other people treat me coz it's only you I see." He said with my smile spreading across his awe-inspiring face. I awed.
I didn't want my morning to end but it had to sooner or later. And when Bonnie texted me that I had to get home ASAP the time came for me to go home. Darn it.
"Here we are." I said, unwilling to leave Cap's Jeep. "I had a great time with you, Cap."
His Adam's apple bobbed again before his hand hesitantly reached for my face, my skin trembling in both the temperature of his hand and with pleasure as soon as his skin connected with mine. Slowly, Cap inched closer towards me, my heart thudding uncontrollably when I realized what was gonna happen next. My eyes closed and I inched closer towards him before his lips connected with mine, both of our lips parting hungrily to take our otherworldly kiss to the next level. His hands cupped my face and my hands entwined with his soft, silky, pure black hair. My lips molded hungrily with his as our kiss deepened, my entire being erupting at his every touch, every move, every kiss.
But much like most things that made my world stop and everything else fade into the background, our kiss broke, both of us gasping for air. His hands still never left my face as our eyelids parted slowly. My clover eyes immediately connected with his black eyes, as dark as night and as enchanting as diamonds.
"I love you," I said to him, my voice barely registering as a whisper.
"No amount of measurement would be able to tell how much I love you." Admittedly, that was kinda cheesy, but it made me melt instantly. Right before my blood froze.
"Chloe Katerina Van Cleef!" My parents' voices yelled. The sound was almost harmonious and I would’ve 'awed', had I not feared both mine and Cap's life.
"Mom, dad! It's uh... not what it looks like." I said, meaning for it to come out as a stern statement, but instead it came out as a timid, guilty-sounding question. I flushed deeply.
Timidly, I got out of Cap's Jeep, cold rain pelting every part of me. Cap came out with me and covered me with his hoodie.
"Momma, this is Cap. Daddy this is Cap... my friend from school." I said even more timidly. Even from there I could hear Bonnie's snicker from my room and could practically feel Cap struggling to keep his crooked smile from arising. I was torn by either feeling really pissed or really giggly at the fact that they found my being humiliated by my parents' interrogation hilarious. "And he was just about to leave." I said, nudging him.
At first I thought he was gonna stay and do the whole interrogation thing with me with my parents, but instead I was relieved when he said, "It's nice to finally meet you Mr. and Mrs. Van Cleef." He said, outstretching his hand. I could see momma melting at the gesture. I glared at both her and Cap.
Finally his crooked smile appeared on his face and his hands dug coolly into his jeans after I gave back his hoodie. "Goodbye, Chloe." He said, his black diamond eyes never once leaving me as he walked back to his black Jeep.
As Cap drove off I was left standing there on the front porch feeling stranded.
"So, are you going to tell us who this Cap guy is? Or do we have to drag it out of you?" Momma said, her hand going through her newly dyed blond hair, while her free hand tapped the ash off of her cigarette.
"I told you, momma. Cap's just a friend. Nothing's going on." I told her. Okay, so I was lying. But I'd just broken up with Damian and I really didn't wanna get into to that - or look like a slut - especially with daddy sitting on the couch with his legs crossed, his black Armani suit and red Paul Smith tie glistening under the lights of the living room.
"Chlo, hun, friends don't make out in each other's car, even in these modern times." She said. Looks like momma might've gotten over the delusion that daddy was bumping nasties with the receptionist. Hmm, Hamptons changes people, I guess.
"Nothing's going on." I said, holding my ground.
"Chloe, if you're dating someone else, or two people, then I want you to tell us." Daddy said.
"Why?" I said too fast. "You're never here, so you probably don't even know what time I get home from school. And now all of a sudden you wanna know who I'm dating?!" Okay, admittedly I reacted too dramatically to daddy's question but it was the truth.
"Oh Chloe,"
"No daddy, it's the truth. I want you to be here and be the storybook dad and be here at six while momma cooks and you'd say 'honey I'm home'. But you're never home so how could you? How could I tell you who I'm dating if the only time you get home is when I'm in bed, and when I wake up you're gone?" I vented.
"Chloe, I -"
"No daddy. It's okay. It's not like you can tap your thousand dollar loafers and make everything okay. It's not your fault you wanna give us everything our hearts desire." I said when I saw I was hurting him. I mean, what I said was true and I meant it. But that didn't mean I wanted to hurt him. He's my daddy and I love him, no matter what.
"Oh, Chloe. I'm sorry I'm not here as much as I'd like to be."
"No, it's okay daddy. Why are y'all here so soon, anyway? Wasn't the Hamptons thing supposed to end on Monday?"
"We came home as soon as we could after we heard about the break in." Yeah, one week later. Through my skepticism my heart warmed that they'd skip Sunday's Hamptons gala for me.
"Oh daddy,"
"We were just so worried about you, baby girl." He said, as I hugged him tightly. I smiled at momma as she looked at me with her warm clover eyes. I mouthed 'love you momma' before I broke off the hug.
"Don't think you're getting out of spending the night at a guy-we-don't-even-know's place." Momma said, her warm smile still on her face, which kinda made me take her grounding me not too seriously as she meant it.
I walked up to my room feeling irritated that my parents were forcing me to stay away from Cap until they knew him better, but relieved that I wasn't killed in the process. When Damian and I had just started dating, my parents had also caught us in a rather incriminating position and I swore daddy was more than willing to castrate him, even though he'd known Damian for years.
"I'm sorry, Chlo." Bonnie said as I slumped onto my bed.
"You know, you could of warned me that my parents were home." I told her, my voice irritated.
"I tried to! But someone had the nerve to not to pick up her phone!" She said, rolling her brown eyes. I reached into my jeans to try and get my phone, but when I did I found nothing. Shit.
"I must've forgotten it at Cap's house." I said and Bonnie 'mm-hmmed'.
Slowly I got up from my bed and walked over to the window. Ever since I arrived home, I had the gnawing feeling that I was being watched. But because my mind was fretting over other things, I shoved it at the back of my mind and tried my best to ignore it. But now that my mind was semi-cleared, the feeling came back and with avengence.
I drew back the curtain covering my window with my hand, expecting to see the man starring at me, his haunting eyes igniting fear instantly.
"Chlo, what's wrong?" Bonnie's worried voice seemed miles away as the feeling increased, threatening to topple me over with paralyzing fear. My thoughts kept drifting to visions of the man's ghastly scar, kept drifting to the feeling of fire cooking my skin, kept drifting to another world where Cap didn't come and I wouldn't be alive, singed beyond recognition...
"Nothing..." I said, my voice sounding like a whisper. "Nothing..." I repeated as I got into my bed, as if to reassure myself that I was okay even though I knew for a fact that I was far from it.
The next morning I woke up feeling hung-over and completely unwilling to go to school. The only light at the end of the tunnel was the reassurance that I'd see Cap again.
But I couldn't be public with Cap just yet. You know, for Damian. And because it'd be weird for the school to see me dating a complete stranger just days after word broke out that Damian and I were no more. But that didn't mean I still couldn't publicly hang out with Cap, right?
It was kinda surreal dressing into my dullsville school uniform, my Louboutin’s still part of my Revamp the School's Uniform campaign, without the reassuring thought that I'd see Damian as soon as I left the house. But whatever, you have to move on to bigger and better things in life, right? And so far Cap was my bigger and better thing to move on to, no matter how nasty that may have sounded.
As Bonnie and I drove to school the spine chilling feeling that I was being watched hit me again. I could feel myself welling up with fear as I drove around a bend in the vintage Rolls. I looked out the window and around myself as the feeling increased. Paralyzing fear erupted through me like I'd never felt before and I was not completely sure it was because I was sure someone was watching me. It felt as if my entire chest was under a three thousand ton dumbbell that I couldn't get off. Bonnie looked extremely worried as my eyes filled with tears of fear as the fear peaked so high that vicious tremors ran through me uncontrollably.
"Chlo? Is there something wrong?" Bonnie asked, worry clearly resonating in her voice.
"Nope," I attempted lying.
"Oh come on, Chlo. You look awful. Don't tell me this is because of Damian."
"Do you ever feel like you're being watched?"
"Not at the moment."
"Well, right now that feeling is all over me. Every nerve in my body is screaming 'run and hide, someone's after you!'. But the more and more I try to shake the feeling off, the more it threatens to topple me over in fear..." I admitted. And as if on cue, a corpse of a dead cat collided with the hood of the rolls and then with the window, making the car swerve dramatically to the right, and almost into the tree, just missing it by an inch when the car came to a deadly halt, airbags impacting with both of our faces.
"Chloe?" I heard Cap's fearful voice.
"Cap?"
"Cap?" Bonnie's voice sounded confused and a bit suspicious.
"Are you two okay?" He asked, opening my door and picking me up to take me out of the Rolls and into his Jeep.
As I heard a flurry of different voices echo in my ear, I curled up in the backseat of the Jeep and cried softly in utter fear.
Much to my dismay, even in the state that I was, I still had school to go to. Cap offered to take Bonnie and I to his home but I was insistent on going to school. I wasn't about to let whoever was trying to make my life hell exceed at it. I was too stubborn for that.
I brushed my hair with the brush that was in my Prada tote and reapplied my Chanel concealer and my YSL gloss. When I was sure I was looking good again, Cap's deep gaze confirming it, I put my makeup back into my tote. I looked at Bonnie and she puckered her glossed lips and we broke into laughter. My sudden laughter and good mood shocked both Bonnie and I because not long ago I was trembling in fear. But I guess being in Cap's presence brought an unparalleled safety that no one else could bring, plus being with my two favorite people in the world might've helped too.
The whole incident with the cat and being watched thing made us late for school. Which helped because now I didn't have to face the stares of the school and the scrutiny that came with it. But because Cap, Bonnie and I all shared the same biology class, being seen together couldn't really be avoided.
Everyone’s eyes were on us as we entered the blue biology class, some peoples' gaping mouths unable to utter a single word, others unable to stop the whispering that echoed in my ears. With my peripheral vision I could see that Cap was struggling to keep his crooked smile in and so was Bonnie, who I clung to tightly.
Meghan's gaze was the most scrutinizing, her bitchy smile filled with both shock and menace. I felt like jumping her again. But instead I walked confidently to my shared desk, ignoring Meghan when she 'whispered' skank as I walked past her.
Sitting next to Cap during the period that felt like it took hours to end was torture. Now that we'd become exclusive (it was still surreal to call him a boyfriend), it was tremendously difficult to sit next to him and pretend nothing was going on between us. Next to me, Bonnie looked like she was having a blast as we tried our darnest to keep away from each other. I glared at her.
Finally, the bell rang and the class was practically in slow motion as they tried to catch Cap and I in a incriminating position as if we'd be all over each other just because they wanted us to. So intead of giving them the skanky eye, I clutched Bonnie's hand and we walked out as if nothing had happened. I for one was proud of myself for not giving into the class's heightened curiosity with my life.
By third period rumors ranging from that I'd dumped Cap for Damian to I was doing Cap while still secretly dating Damian had made its way to my ears. Though the first one was true, I was no doubt sure the second one was spread by arch-bitch Meghan in her ongoing attempt to ruin my life. I gave her the finger in drama but that was pretty much all I'd succumed to.
All eyes were on me as I got into Cap's car, because, you know, my car was in the garage and all, and Bonnie looked pissed, probably at Meghan. What pissed me though, was that no one had the guts to come to me and ask what's going on with Cap and I. Instead, everyone sat there staring and gossiping as if Cap and had somehow turned into the new Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. Urgh, the tribulations of being at South Jefferson. We'd even somehow surpassed news that Mandy Stefferson went to rehab because of an eating disorder that probably half the girls at South Jeff suffered from, and the racy pictures of Stacy Mendon. Sigh.
Cap didn't look very comfortable about the buzz and attention he was getting that some guys at South Jeff crave. All day he kept the dark, brooding scowl of incredible discomfort on his face that I clearly understood. I tried comforting him as we drove out off the schools gates but he just kept his gaze securely on the road.
"I'm sorry about this," I told him.
"Yeah we had no idea this would’ve happened, Cap." My mouth fell open when Bonnie apologized for probably the first time she had nothing to do with.
"It's okay, I guess. It's just that I'm not use to all those stares and whispers ringing in my ears, one ridiculous theory after another." Cap admitted.
When I arrived home I got out of car and hugged Bonnie goodbye and kissed Cap lightly on his lips, my heart fluttering wildly as our lips met.
I walked into the quiet house and the feeling hit again with staggering avengence. After making sure that every latch and door was locked I ran into my room and hoped that the feeling would go away. But much to my dismay the heart wrenching feeling increased as I laid alone in my bed, clutching to the satin sheets of my bed. I fell asleep quivering in fear.
The vibrations of my BlackBerry woke me up and the sound of Bonnie's heartbroken voice had me rushing to her house.
I choked back the fear as I got into my car, stopping dead in my tracks when I saw another message, this time written in blood red ink on the dashboard.
You should've chosen Damian... Was all it said, but the message/threat had me shaking again, hardly able to put the key into the ignition.
When I finally figured out how to drive without killing someone and wiping the almost dry ink off of the dashboard, I drove to Bonnie's house, my heart thudding wildly in fear.
I got out of the car hesitantly, my mind racing a thousand directions. I didn't know how to react to the statement other roll up in a ball and die. Was I supposed to break things off with Cap and run into Damian’s arms, or was it too late already? Something inside me - something I was struggling to ignore - kept telling me that it was already too late and there were deadly consequences to be paid.