Chapter 11 — Skeletons

The skeletons in my closet and under the bed are uncountable for I don’t remember having any. Yet, whenever Cedric speaks about my past self and how I was the same as him, fear and anxiety began painting my heart in dark shades. Even now, as I urged him to let me go and tried to make him see that the former Reese McKenzie may be long gone, there was an invisible thread tugging him and me together. As if we couldn’t live without each other. Scary, it is indeed.

“I’m not afraid of you not reciprocating because I know that you will.”

A bold statement without any basis. His confidence for a woman who has disappeared is quite overwhelming that one would be convinced of his words of reassurance. Almost making me believe in what sounded impossible…What is even more unnerving is that the woman he has such blinding faith in is me.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I shook my head. “Sir, sometimes I wonder where you get your confidence. Yet, I shouldn’t be wondering due to how huge your ego is for the wrong reasons…” Observing his reaction, my shoulders relaxed when he didn’t take it the wrong way and laughed despite nothing was silly about what I just said. “Mind telling me why you have so much faith in me? Why do you want me around when I hardly benefit you.”

Cedric’s blue eyes went wide at the question, then were closed as he chuckled. Grinning ear to ear, he purred. “Well, I do have faith in you, Reese. I thought I established that. You are a capable secretary.” Giving him a skeptical look, his grin grew wider. “What? I’m only telling the truth, my dear. And you don’t have to recover your memories for us to love one another. I like you as I did before you got hurt…I must say, probably way even more.”

A brow raised, I hummed. “Hm…You’re not bluffing? You mentioned last time it’s unfair for you to remember and for me to go on as if nothing occurred between us.” He nodded twice, reaching out to take my hand into his and squeezed them gently. “Why the sudden change of heart?”

“I did say that, but who am I to impose? I never said you need to have your memories back. That alone is not an easy feat to achieve, especially now. Besides, we can always make new memories. Pleasant and pure. Right?” Leaning down close enough to brush the tips of our noses together, he mumbled. “I don’t have to do anything for you to change. I prefer it this way…You, obedient and uncharacteristically charming. But not to a point you seem like a puppet. Just the right one…Any man would want a woman like you.”

“So…” I drawled, “you want a pet? Because it sounds like it.”

Shaking his head slightly, he lifted his hand and caressed my cheek. “No, no, no! You’re not close to a pet, Reese. You are far more than that. You’ve become someone I can protect. Someone I can touch and adore. To love…” Wrapping his free arm around my waist, he made the distance between us disappear, and soon, our faces were inches away. A breath slipped past my lips, speechless at how hypnotizing his eyes and melodic voice are when combined together. Not to mention, the faint scent of peppermint and the spices I remembered came from the restaurant. “Please say you won’t leave me, Reese. I’ll do better. I’ll make sure what happened earlier won’t repeat ever again. Don’t give up…”

It’s irritating how he can switch from overbearing to a puppy kicked out of the house in just a flick of his hand…I hate it even more due to the fact that it works!

Clearing my throat, I tried to hide my flushed face from his view but it proved to be pointless since he was already basking at the view with the advantage of his tall height. Evident from how smug his expression is. From the moment he started playing the role of a helpless puppy, I knew there was no way out but to accept his offer. Still, there was the option to retort and make him come to his senses rather than be a fool. If I have to save anything, it would both be our dignity.

“Sir, please…I—”

“Cedric, don’t leave me!”

I blinked twice at the sound of a desperate scream slashing through my head similar to a knife cutting through butter. No matter how it seemed incredulous, there was no denying the fact that the person screaming was me. And yet, it did not make sense…Why was I screaming for Cedric? And for him not to leave…me? Is this another imagination? Or a memory?

Pouring rain close to blinding my vision, but not enough to obscure the color of Cedric’s coat, back against me as he started walking away. My hand reached out for him and yet, my legs dare not move. Rooted to the ground. Still, I called for him to come back. To take me with him.

He never did.

I watched him walk away until he was a mere speck in the scenery in front of me. Gloomy and unforgiving. A rainy day filled with the absolute worst emotions gushing out. Unable to be kept inside a bottle for too long.

The taste of rain and the dizzying scent of the wet earth. A deafening drizzle. Furious beyond relief, my legs were able to move again. Trying to catch up to the faint back of the man who held my heart at gunpoint and chose to shoot. Leaving me in the dust. Nothing made sense. I thought we were meant to be? I thought he loved me the way I did?

Everything felt wrong.

The world is wrong.

He is wrong.

“Why don’t you love me?!”

Shoulder being shaken by Cedric, I was snapped out of my stupor and was made to look him in the eye, bewildered. He looked equally concerned, searching my face for answers. “Reese, are you listening? You’re spacing out again. Are you all right?” A couple more questions poured out of his lips, but mine was sealed. Speechless and confused at what just happened. Now alarmed, he placed a hand against my forehead, checking my temperature. “You don’t seem to have a fever. Reese, answer me. Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine…” I managed to croak out, pulling away from him in hopes of clearing my mind. “I was just thinking…you know, about what you said.” At my answer, he sighed in relief.

“Oh, okay. For a moment there, I thought you were daydreaming again.”

Pinching my arm to see if I wasn’t, I laughed lightly. “Y-yeah…me too. I guess I’m just tired. Anyway, about what you said…Give me a day to think about it, okay?” Cedric nodded at my request, relieving me of the stress. “Good. So…Do you mind if I can go now? I need rest. You can cut my pay to compensate for my absence today—”

“No, I won’t do that.” The air in my lungs almost got knocked off of me when Cedric embraced me again, squeezing me to a point I was having a hard time breathing. He didn’t seem to notice, for he chuckled affectionately. “You can have tomorrow as a day off. Can I take you out for lunch, though? Just the two of us. I’ll make it up to you, I promise!”

“Cedric, I can’t…breathe properly.” I squeaked out, hitting him on the shoulder twice. Finally, he let me go with an apologetic laugh. Free from his deadly grip, my lungs welcomed air without constraints again. Coughing slightly, I glared at him. “How could you do that?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to squeeze you to death.” He reasoned, sheepishly scratching his arm. “The thought of spending an entire day without you made me feel a bit queasy.”

Narrowing my eyes at him, I huffed. “You lie. There’s no way you would be queasy. You managed to live up to this day without me.” Fixing my crumpled attire and disheveled hair, I composed myself then started bidding him farewell. “If you have nothing else to say, I will go now. I’ll text you my answer tomorrow morning. See you at the office, Sir.” Turning my back to him, I walked up to my front door.

“Of course. But aren’t you forgetting something, Reese?” At the teasing tone, I snapped my head back to him, not bothering to mask my annoyance anymore since I was off from work officially. I stood there in silence, watching him approach slowly with his hands tucked behind his back. He was sure taking his time, making the vein in my head close to bursting. The moment he was in front of me, he leaned down to press a kiss on my forehead. “Rest well, Reese.”

Cedric Dixon was indeed an enigmatic man. Whimsical and definitely not an ordinary person. One should exercise caution when dealing with his mood switching like a broken lever. Even now, I couldn’t wrap my head around such a man who was quite commanding, to an asshole I wanted to punch, and to a sweetheart too sweet for my teeth.

And yet, it captivated me all the same.

“What was that about…” I murmured, reaching up to rub the area he kissed. My body was warm and my cheeks were tinted with pink, my heart was beating hard in my chest. “I can’t understand him.”

Morning came much too soon. Greeting me with the sunlight flooding into my bedroom curtains and shining right down on my squinted eyes. Expecting my whole form to ache, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t. Probably due to the fact that I hardly worked yesterday compared to the rest of the days where I was in the building the entire day with Cedric. Still, it did not calm my frazzled nerves upon the realization that he was waiting for an answer to his invitation to eat outside.

Would it even be appropriate? We’re not at work and I’m not on the clock. Yet, anyone who works for him might recognize us and gossip…Not that it isn’t already.

Rolling to the other side of the bed, I stretched my hand out to grab my phone sitting on the nightstand. The device foreign in my hands as I opened it to begin typing my message to Cedric. As I was told upon waking up in the hospital, most of my belongings with me at the time of the accident were broken, including my phone. However, when I asked where it was, Doctor Freeman said it was in custody with the police who were investigating the crash and what may have caused it. I didn’t bother going there in conclusion that they may need it for whatever investigation they were conducting.

Besides, I don’t need the phone if it’s broken. The whole thing is probably smashed to smithereens…

Yawning, I pressed on Cedric’s contact name. Our message box was bare of any words for we never needed to communicate through text at all. This was the first time, and yet it isn’t even about work. Rubbing my eye, I stared at what I managed to type from a drowsy state.

To: Cedric Dixon Good morning, Sir. For today’s engagement, I…

Yesterday’s event made it clear to me that while Cedric treated me a bit harshly, it was to defend ourselves and from leading down a more recklessly terrifying path of angering the Richardsons. And while it did hurt me for him to speak to me in such ways, he was only looking out for me in his own way, albeit it is strange. Then again, he isn’t the type to do normal stuff.

I shouldn’t be too difficult and give him a chance…

To: Cedric Dixon Good morning, Sir. For today’s engagement, where do we meet up?

After forwarding the message, it didn’t take long for Cedric to reply. In the middle of showering, I halted my actions to stare at his response through the bubbles.

From: Cedric Dixon Morning, my darling. Don’t worry, I’ll pick you up before twelve. Just sit there and doll yourself up ;)

Face twisting as if I swallowed a lime, I went back under the water to continue bathing. Not bothering to form a reply. Time went ticking by and it wasn’t soon before it turned eleven. Combing my hair, I kept glancing at the clock in quiet anticipation for any sign of Cedric arriving. I chastised myself every time I ran to the closest window to check whether the passing car was his or not. Why was I looking forward to it? It’s not like we’re on a date…

Wait, is this a date? Could I even call it one? He’s only taking me out to compensate for his behavior last time…

However, the fact that we were lovers before the incident remains and I couldn’t help feeling insecure. Whatever was the cause for him to love me and for me to do the same is lost. If he does try anything deemed romantic, I must remind him that while we may have shared tender moments before, it isn’t possible now.

Anyone may call me presumptuous, but I don’t want to lead him on further when such feelings don’t exist anymore. Plus, I might die if he kisses me again.

Shaking off the lewd images off my mind, I got up and began choosing what to wear. A simple dress would suffice, but I don’t even know where we will be eating. I might overdress or worse, be too plain as well. Biting my lip out of frustration, my hands started digging through the wardrobe in search of a decent outfit. It wasn’t long before I found something, just in time as a car honked its horn outside. In the middle of putting on the straps of the white jumpsuit, I peeked out the window to see it was indeed Cedric who arrived.

Panicking within, I hurriedly sped through putting on my coat, makeup and shoes. Close to tripping on the carpet, I cursed at how I left my bag as I headed out of my room. The heels I wore clicked rather loudly as I ran down the stairs and to the door. As soon as I locked it, I was panting a bit once I presented myself to Cedric Dixon. He eyed me up and down with a smile, awed.

“Wow! If I had known you would be this beautiful, I should have exerted more effort with my looks too.” He chuckled, reaching his hand out for me to take. I eyed his open palm for a few seconds then took it hesitantly, to which he smirked. “I don’t bite, darling. There’s no reason for you to be afraid.”

Narrowing my eyes at him, I half-heartedly retorted. “You shouldn’t, or else I won’t have any second thoughts of leaving you at the restaurant.” His laughter carried through the air as he pulled me close to him, opening the car door for me.

“Believe me, I wouldn’t dream of doing anything that may cause you to run away.”

Expensive cologne and leather wafted inside the vehicle. Cedric soon climbed in, putting on his seatbelt as I did. Yet, when he merely stared at me in silence, I faced him in confusion as to why we weren’t heading off.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Aren’t you afraid of cars, Reese?”

At the question, I inhaled sharply as I turned away from his piercing gaze. “Why do you ask? Is it because my parents died in a car crash? Don’t be silly. The vehicle isn’t to blame for that ill-fated day nor my father who was behind the wheel.” Swallowing the horrible taste in my mouth at the image of whatever may have transpired during those hours, I leaned against the leather seat with a sigh. “Besides, I ride the taxi sometimes. You don’t have to worry about me, so let’s just go.”

“All right,” Cedric muttered a reply, starting the engine. “Just wanted to make sure. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” I waved off his apology, dismissing it altogether. The vehicle roared to life and it wasn’t soon that we were on our way to Cedric’s chosen destination. A crooning voice filled the car from the speakers, music accompanying its singer with its mellow tune.

Auburn City seemed different behind dark tinted windows. Unlike the taxis which didn’t really provide much privacy, Cedric’s car had a unique touch to everything from how nobody can see us inside to how it smoothly ran through busy roads. No one would be able to see if I were to make a funny face behind such glass. An even more daring image crossed my mind as to how no eyes would lay upon its judgment if Cedric were to kiss someone inside this vehicle. Much more, if he were the shameless type of man to do it inside his own car…

Oh god, what if this car has seen a lot and I’m sitting in it—I shouldn’t be worrying over these kinds of things! And maybe he isn’t the type to do it in the car. It would be awkward…

“Is there something wrong? Your face is all red.”

Covering my entire face, I squeaked out. “Eyes on the road, Cedric!” He didn’t respond, focusing on his task behind the wheel until he turned to the left. A parking lot greeted our sights. Cedric picked the empty lot closest to the entrance, maneuvering his BMW carefully. Even as he backed the car up, hand over my seat as he backed up, he appeared untouchable. I blamed it on his handsome face rather than his driving skills. Moments later, he turned the car engine off and sat on his seat with a gleeful expression.

“Now, did my driving impress you?”

Why is he even asking such things?

Scratching my arm, I stammered out a reply. “I-it was fine.” Seeing that he wasn’t ready to get out, I hurriedly unbuckled my seat belt to head out first when his hand locked itself on my wrist, pulling me close to him. I gasped as our lips met, my protests drowned out by his tongue. And at that very moment, my thoughts were confirmed.

Cedric was indeed the type to get frisky even in his car.