Chapter 40: Fifty Shades of Scarlet

The room I entered after following him for a while was dark too. I looked at him and asked before entering the unfamiliar environment: “Where are you taking me?”

“Haven’t you learned that I am not going to answer your useless questions?” He asked, stopping in front of me. Well, I wasn’t that stupid to just follow him anywhere, at least not right after I had seen him kill someone.

“I have learned that they aren’t all that useless. So, unless you are going to answer me first—”

“You’re not coming if I don’t answer you? Okay, go right ahead. Lose the only chance of knowing something about me.”

“Well, maybe you will just kill me and bury me. You might as well have your own graveyard, right?” I said with a hint of sarcasm.

“I promise this isn’t it, though.”

I looked at him with a strange expression. What does he mean? Does he actually have a fucking graveyard of his own!? Wow, this just doesn’t stop getting better, right?

“I am not going anywhere with you and I am definitely not entering a room where I can’t even see inside!” I said with determination and took a few steps back.

He sighed and looked at me with contempt — then he shook his head. “You change so much every day. A man wouldn’t need to date multiple women if he has you, you’re something new every single time I see you.”

“I forget about the kind of man you are, sometimes,” I replied as I took some steps back again, making sure I was away from the sketchy room. “Whenever I am close to you. I feel weird, I feel like I am not in my own control. Maybe it has something to do with that night so many years ago — or maybe it has something to do with the fact that you’re Drew’s real father and I believe—believed, for a while, that he deserves to be with you and not Max, but I don’t care anymore. I gave you a warning, a—an ultimatum that you can not boss me around anymore. I don’t care what you think about me, but I am not going to follow you around like you want me to.”

He became quiet for a minute but then he spoke: “You stayed quite easily even after confessing your feelings to Max, though.”

“How does that matter? I never said I felt anything for you at all.”

“You don’t have to say it when you show it pretty well, Scarlet,” He took a few steps towards me. “When—”

“Stop at your place. Don’t you dare come near me!” I shouted at him from the distance before he could come closer. This situation had arisen one too many times and I had to stop it before it happens again and I have another thing to regret.

To my surprise, he stopped. Because we were practically in the hall, I could see his face slightly. He was staring into my soul with his stormy eyes, his face was stiff — and every single inch of him reminded me of the horror I had experienced just some time ago. It was a miracle I was so strong even after seeing someone die when even the thought of something so horrifying would have made my younger self pass out.

“If that is what you really want, Scarlet,” He whispered from the barely audible distance, “But beware, you’re going to beg me to come closer.”

I scoffed. “Finally, something you’re going to be wrong in.”

The sly smirk on his face made me roll my eyes as I shifted my gaze to look around. I heard footsteps as he passed me by and after a minute, I heard him say, “If you hate me so much, why would you talk to Mr. Cooper for me?”

“Not for you, I wouldn’t,” I turned around to his side, still glued to my position. “But for Drew. I know that I can not leave this place, that— that you wouldn’t let me leave, so I have to make sure that you aren’t homeless.”

“You know you are sounding like a gold digger.”

“Well, you’re the stupid one if that is the case.”

I heard him chuckle before he finally left for a room. I sighed loudly as soon as the hall was vacant and sat down on a sofa kept nearby.

_______________________

“Just being here isn’t enough! Are you getting paid for standing like a dumbass!?” I heard yelling near the hall early in the morning so I ran downstairs to see the drama. I saw Xavier yelling at one of the female maids. She seemed to be terrified of him — and who wouldn’t be? He was yelling like a madman.

“You’re fired!” He continued his sentence and the maid gasped. I came downstairs immediately and Xavier finally noticed me.

“What happened?” I asked whoever might answer me. He looked at me. “None of your business.”

“Well, you can’t fire her because she didn’t make a mistake.”

“You didn’t even know what happened until a few seconds ago!” He almost shouted at me too.

“Should we talk for a moment, Xavier?” I asked and then shifted my gaze towards the maid. “You aren’t fired, please continue working.”

She nodded; her face full of gratitude. I smiled at her as she walked away and left us alone. Xavier looked at me, his eyes trapping mine with such an intense expression that I couldn’t even comprehend.

“Why are you interrupting and interfering in my business?” His voice was deep and serious.

“You’re mad about yesterday,” I said in a softer voice compared to his, “And you’re taking it out on anyone you see.”

“So, you want me to take it out on you?”

“I am not your personal punchbag, Xavier!” I replied sternly as I took a step closer, “But I wouldn’t stand seeing bad happen to good people, either!”

“So, what do you suggest, huh!?” He shouted at me and I scoffed loudly.

“I suggest you stop being so careless.”

“What do you mean?”

I smirked and stepped backward — safe enough to take out his phone from my pocket and wave it in front of him.

His eyes widened when he looked at his belongings in my hand. He chuckled in a passive-aggressive manner and asked: “Give it back to me right now.”

“I guess you are gonna have to take it back yourself,” I shrugged with the smirk still painted on my face.

He didn’t look happy with my words because he glared at me. “Why are you doing things you are going to regret? Do you really think I can’t take it back from you?”

“You can, but only if you think I don’t know that this isn’t a phone at all.”

His anger seemed to die out for a moment when I said that. He looked at me conflicted, with a segment of fear for just a second in his eyes — which quickly turned back to the careless expression he always has.

“Yeah?” He asked as he took a small step toward me. “Then what is this… device which looks exactly like something very popularly known as a smartphone?”

“I don’t have to tell you that and there is a really good reason.”

“And that is…?”

“I can not even think of speaking the words, of forming a sentence with the meaning which would explain the things you are planning to do.”

“Scarlet, there is—”

I cut him off in between, “There is no limit to how low you can stoop, Xavier and I have seen that from time to time,” I added, my eyes on the verge of tearing up. I made sure that I looked strong as I continued, “But tell me, how can a man, how—how could a human do this?”

“I said that there—”

“There is what?”

“There is an explanation, Scarlet. Learn to hear and understand what—”

I shook my head and looked aside for a while to control my emotions. When I looked back at him, my eyes were devoid of any feelings. “You proved to me some time ago that there were worse things, Xavier, and I thought that the trial stopped then, but you have been proving that point every second you’re around me.”

“If you don’t hear my explanation, I wouldn’t—”

“You said yesterday that I didn’t retaliate enough to go back to Max and you were right. I was stupid and a coward. But if you have even a little strength left in you, if that little human soul left in that body means anything to your brain or your non-existent heart, you would let me go now.”

I didn’t have much hope left in me but I kept staring at him for a reply.

A few minutes passed and a few more — and finally his lips moved to utter a single word: “Leave.”