"When is dinner?" You asked, clutching your bag to your body. He glanced at the expensive looking watch on his wrist.
"We still have a few hours-" You turned before he even finished.
"Great, I'll be in my office, getting acquainted. I presume everything from my house has been transfered?" He paused.
"Uhm, yes, I think so," You headed out of the room and to the door that he had showed you before. "Wait!" You glanced over your shoulder. He was behind you, looking lost. "Don't you want to... you know, spend time together? Or something?"
"I need to work, Lycan. I-" You faltered. "I'm sorry." You headed into your new office, and closed the door.
The truth was, you could have spent time with him. Work could wait, as you had stayed up last night to finish everything that had a deadline.
Truth was, you were just afraid of how he made you feel.
You glanced around your office, and grimaced at the boxes of papers on the floor.
Unpacking... what fun.
It took you two hours, but you had the office set up just as you liked it. The papers were filed accordingly, the computer had it's hard drive in, pens and notebooks were scattered within reach... it was perfect.
You had just sat down to get some actual work done when the door opened, and Lycan's head popped in.
"Dinner is in an hour. Your father is coming, so my mother told me that we should dress nicely." Parents... You had yet to met Lycan's family.
"Thank you." You said stiffly, brushing past him and towards the bedroom.
"Is something wrong?" He trailed after you as you found the door to the closet and pulled it open. It was quite large, and all of your clothing was hanging inside.
"Why would you ask that?" You skittered around the question.
"Because you're quiet. And... you don't seem happy. At least, not as happy as you were with me earlier." You eyed him briefly, before pulling a purple dress from the mess seemingly randomly.
"I'm happy." You lied, moving to another section of the closet. He continued to follow you.
"You don't sound happy." He pushed. You set your teeth, trying to fight the frustration you felt rising.
"I'm happy." You repeated, more forcefully, plucking a pair of vintage-style black pumps from the row. You turned, and were face-to-face with Lycan. His dark eyes bore holes into you.
"Why wont you talk to me, Rayan?" He nearly growled. You involuntarily took a small step backwards, and brought your arms - filled with shoes and a dress - up a bit higher. His face softened, and he continued talking when you said nothing, still frightened. He was stronger than your father, faster, and being young, he would have less will power. He would stop later, rather than sooner. "Do I scare you?" He asked quietly. You gulped.
"A..." You paused, trying to gather your thoughts. "I am happy, Lycan. But I barely know you. Give me time to adjust before you ask me for my life story, my feelings, my... before you ask for me." You slowly brushed past him, going into the bathroom and closing the door quietly.
He had scared you, more than you wanted to admit. But not because of his anger... no, the threat of being injured didn't frighten you nearly as much as the care in his voice did. The smile on his face, the concern.
That scared you most of all.
More.
You stepped out of the bathroom to see Lycan standing near the bed, fumbling with a tie. He looked handsome, in a dark suit and a purple shirt that matched the dress you had chosen perfectly. He stopped what he was doing when you left the bathroom. You fidgeted under his intense stare, touching your hair nervously.
You had decided to try and make a good impression on Lycan's family - your red hair was up in curls on the top of your head, and light makeup graced your face. The dress was one of your favorites, but you had yet to wear it to a special occasion.
"You look... great." A smirk fell on your lips.
"You'd look a lot better if you could manage to tie that." You noted, nodding towards the mess in his hands. He growled, and tossed it on the bed.
"It hates me." He said simply, glaring at it. You couldn't help but laugh as you headed forward, picking it up and putting it around his collar.
He was silent, staring gently at you, while you carefully tied it and tucked it under his jacket. You smiled shyly, glancing up at his dark eyes.
They were blue, you realized with a surprise. A deep blue, the color of a large sapphire, with flecks of silver that brought their color to life. You had no idea such eyes were made in nature - if you hadn't know better, you would have sworn they were contacts, colored beautifully.
His hand on your waist jostled you, and you glanced at the soft smile on his face.
"You really do look beautiful." His voice was quiet, and you suddenly felt like you had plunged into a bad romance story. You couldn't help feeling pulled towards him as his lips came closer to yours, but as you felt his breath on your cheek, you realized what was happening. What he was trying to do.
You pulled away, and moved towards the mirror on the wall. You heard a soft curse behind you.
"Are you ready to go down?" You asked, checking your hair. You could see his face in the mirror - the pain, the longing. You didn't understand why he showed himself to you like that, when you barely showed him any emotion.
"Yeah... yeah, come on, we'll go down." He took your hand gently and together, you headed out of the bedroom. Both of you were silent as you went down the stairs, but he squeezed your hand before you both entered the foyer area.
Your father laughed, a booming noise that hurt your ears, with another man. He was tall, with dark hair and light brown eyes. A woman stood with them, short and petite with long light brown hair. Her eyes flashed with a smile as she saw us walking down the stairs. They were blue, a light blue. Like a sea, an ocean of crystal.
"Lycan! This must be Rayan, it's so good to meet you." His mother rushed to you, and squeezed you in a tight hug before you even had time to comprehend it.
"I'm Elizabeth, dear, please call me Liz. This is my husband, Lycan's father, Tom." You smiled, and bowed your head in respect.
"It's an honor to meet both of you." Liz's laugh made you feel embarrassed, like you had done something wrong.
"We're family, you don't have to put on an act for us." She said lightly, and her smile made you feel so welcome that you couldn't help but add to it by smiling yourself.
"I could eat a horse. Let's get going." Tom said with a jovial, light smile on his face. My father watched closely as Lycan took your hand before leading you into the large formal dining room. You and Lyan sat next to each other, and your father was across from you. Sitting across from Lycan was his mother, the his father sat at the head of the table. You sat straight, hands in your lap, and watched as two maids carried out trays and trays of food. There was more than any four people could possibly eat - you also noticed that the food was casual, not higher class and prim like you would have expected.
Once everything was set, you glanced around. Two whole chickens, half of a turkey, a good sized chunk of roast beef, a massive bowl of mashed potatoes, corn cut directly from the cob, gravy, glazed carrots, and steamed brocoli with what looked like cheese sauce were scattered around. You couldn't imagine eating even a small portion of all of the food.
"Dig in!" Tom said happily, grabbing a large knife. He proceeded to carve the chicken and the turkey, but instead of serving everyone, he heaped some of each onto his plate, and then sat back, letting everyone get what they wanted.
You were awkward, but your father seemed quite at home as he passed you the dinner rolls. You set them to the side.
In the end, you ended up with chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and broccoli on your plate, plus a dinner roll buttered with honey butter.
Lycan shocked you by having turkey, beef, a bit of chicken, a massive heap of mashed potatoes with corn on top, plus gravy, two dinner rolls, and a huge amount of glazed carrots.
Huh. So... he can eat.
Dinner was nice, if quiet. Your father was easy to get along with, and you felt yourself relax with Liz and Tom. After dinner, Liz invited your father to stay for drinks, and he accepted.
For nearly two hours, all four of you sat and laughed. You and Lycan just sipped soda, but your father had quite a bit of whiskey. You had no doubt, though you couldn't tell from his actions, that he was fairly drunk. You felt relieved as he was leaving when you noticed he had brought a driver with him.
"Rayan, may we speak before I leave?" Your body tensed, but you followed him back into the study where you all had drank. No sooner than the door had closed were you on your knees, clutching your cheek - the very same cheek he had hit earlier that day.
He had never hit you so hard...
"Why do you shy away from that boy? Why?" His voice was demanding, and fairly loud. You had no doubt that he wouldn't do this if he hadn't drank so much, but you forced yourself to stand in front of him, legs shaking from the blow he had just given you.
"I do not, father," You argued gently. He grasped the bun your hair was in, and jerked back. You whimpered, but didn't cry out.
"You do not touch him, hold him, humor him... I will return in one week, and if you two are not a happy couple," He jerked harder, bringing you to your knees once again. You felt the fabric of your beautiful dress strain, before ripping at your knee. "You will be disowned. Do you understand?" Tears were barely being held back, the pain was so intense. He had never harmed you this way, never laid a hand upon you unless you had did something wrong, and you fought the urge that was boiling to push him away, to tell him you didn't need him.
"Y-Yes, f-f-father," You managed to say instead. He let go, and your shoulder slumped forward. Taking just one finger, he lifted your chin so you would meet his eyes.
"Good." He hit you again, and the metallic taste of blood filled your mouth to the brim. You swallowed the bitter liquid so that it would not spill over your lips.
He left, closing the door behind him. You stood, unsteady, and left as well. Luckily, Lycan had pointed out the maids staircases in the back. You hurried up, only passing one shy girl, and made it to your room before Lycan had. You locked yourself in the bathroom, and practically ripped the dress off of your body. You sat, in only a strapless black bra, black underwear, and high heeled shoes, crying.
You hadn't cried in years. Since the day of your mothers funeral... since the day your father started hitting you.
You only let a few tears of sheer pain leak from your eyes, before slipping off the shoes and putting them near the hamper. You stuffed your completely ruined dress in the small trash can, before carefully washing the makeup off of your face. It hurt, but you managed.
Your cheek was starting to bruise, but you wrapped a towel around yourself anyway and opened the door.
Lycan was on the bed, taking off his shoes.
"Why did you leave so suddenly?" He asked, before glancing up. You had your back to him by that time, but you could feel his stare as you closed the closet door behind you.
You just wore a simple white tank top and long, flowing cloth pants. You also pulled your now ruined how from the bun, instead letting it fall around you.
"Rayan-" You opened the door, but was unable this time to avoid Lycan's stare. He was directly in front of you.
His eyes honed in on the bruise that was on your cheek, and his eyes widened.
"Rayan... what happened?" You tried to brush past him, to go to bed, to escape, but his arm latched onto yours. You stopped the moment he touched you, fear coursing throughout your body. "Tell me what happened."
"It's nothing." You said quietly. His eyes hardened slightly, turning a darker shade of blue.
"Rayan, we're stuck together. Period. So you can trust me now, or you can trust me later; but we need to talk to each other." You mulled over the thought for a moment.
"My father just wants the best for me." You said after a moment. He cursed, letting you go and turning around, walking towards the bed. You stood where you were, hands clasp in front of you. "He really does. He worries, that we're not going to be right for each other and he's going to have to find a new family for me, that's all... he knows how unmanageable I can be sometimes, it's not his fault." He spun, taking two steps forward. You quivered, but didn't step back.
"No!" He growled. "Do not defend that man!" Your eyes widened in surprise, and his tone changed, softer this time, but still angry. "He hurts you, Rayan, and there is no reason for that. Ever."
"But he loves me." You argued meekly.
"Rayan, you cannot love someone, and hurt them." He touched your bruised face gently. "Come on," He took your hand and pulled you into the bathroom. "Sit there," You sat on the closed toilet seat and watched quietly as he searched through the cabinet. Finally, he pulled out a little bottle, squirting some on his finger and rubbing it into the hot tissue on your face.
"Does that feel a little better?" He asked, kneeling to your eye level. You nodded gently. He washed his hands off, before taking your own and pulling you back into the bedroom. He pulled the covers back for you, and let you lay down.
He turned off the light and crawled in next to you.
Suddenly, you felt awkward. Unsure. What did he expect of you? This was your first night together - did he expect you to give him what any man would want in this situation?
Instead of confirming your fears, he moved his arm so that you were forced to lay on his chest, and held you there tightly.
"Goodnight, my sweet, naive fiance."
"Goodnight." You mumbled, finding his firm chest comfortable against your skin. You gently laid an arm around his waist, and closed your eyes. Before you knew it, you were asleep.
More
You awoke to realize you were no longer laying on Lycan's chest - however, you did realize that a heavy arm was around your waist, and your back was against something firm.
Stiffling a painful yawn, you slid from his grasp and headed into the closet. You came out only three minutes later with black cloth shorts and a tight, light pink tank top on. You headed to the bathroom, where you brushed your hair and pulled it to the top of your head, brushed your teeth, and washed your face.
The face...
It looked worse than any marks you father had left before. Deep purple bruises covered your cheek, creeping you near your eye, and towards your chin. You grimced, and put a little makeup on - enough so that it didn't look horrid, but not so much that it would hide it altogether. That would be enough to make it sweat off.
You slid on white ankle socks and white running shoes, and headed for the door.
You jogged down both flights of stairs, and were out of the house in no time.
Your feet fell in time, keeping pace with your heart, and you felt free and unrestrained as you ran down the drive way, then turned left.
You didn't know the area, but blocked out everything around you, knowing you would go straight for as long as you could, then turn around.
You thought about your father some - what had possessed him to become so violent. You pondered about his threat, as well, of disowning you, but felt a little less worried than you had the night before. He needed you to help run the company, and besides, he was your father. He cared.
You mostly thought about Lycan, though. You were stuck with him, like he had mentioned. There was no use fighting it. It might not have been legal, but it certainly wasn't something you were going to argue with.
Your thoughts finally settled on starting school. You knew you would be abandoning those that you spent time with in the past, and it would be awkward for you to have to start over. You thought of the few friends you had at school - Krista, Darius, Lee, Trisha and John were your closest companions, though you did know a few others at school. They didn't even know you had moved... maybe you would call them, today. To talk.
Maybe.
You ran for another hour and a half, before arriving back at Lycan's house, covered in sweat and out of breath. You jogged up the stairs, though, feeling energized. Running always made you feel better; it cleared your mind, made your body feel good and fit, and kept you in very good shape. Your father always insisted you do some sort of exercise - running had been your choice.
"Where were you!" Lycan snapped a cell phone shut. Clad in silk sleep pants only, you averted your eyes from his bare, muscled chest.
"I went out running." You grabbed a towel from the bathroom, and wiped the sweat from your face. He followed you, standing at the door.
"You couldn't tell me?" You forced him to move to the side, and headed towards the closet for something to wear.
"I didn't realize I had to keep tabs with you." You didn't like his tone, and felt your normally quick temper rising. "I went to run, I do every morning. I was only gone for two hours or so." You grabbed a pair of comfortable, but classy, work pants and a brown button up shirt. You added a white vest as an afterthought. Lycan was quiet for a moment, thinking. "What does it matter? I'm here, not dead. No harm, no foul." You almost closed the door to the bathroom.
"I was worried about you." He admitted.
"Why?" You peered at him, pushing stray, sweat-covered hair from your face.
"Because." You sighed slightly, feeling guilty at your anger.
"I'm sorry. Now, you know." You closed the door gently.
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