Chapter 22
**Xavier Black**
"Can we talk, please?" Skyler asks as we're all leaving the restaurant and our parents are to wrapped up in their conversation to notice us falling behind. For once I'm actually glad Candice has her face stuffed into her phone because for once she's not around to get in-between Skyler and I because she just loves to be all up in Skyler's face.
"Now you want to talk to me?" I ask her because I'm being a little shit that's had his feelings hurt. She's hasn't said one word to me all night on top of ignoring me all week and now she suddenly wants to talk. The guilt I had felt earlier had long since went away and now I'm left with this bubbling annoyance towards her that I don't really like. I'm tired of this shit and it's about time she knows that. Fuck not hurting her feelings when all she's done is rub me the wrong way from the start.
"Xavier, please." She begs but I'm honestly so over this. I come running every single time she wants to pay me even a little bit of attention and I'm not sure I want to feel like a dog any longer. I'm going to be a fucken mafia boss in a short while and this doesn't sit well with me. I'm not at the beck and call of anyone, not even when they have pretty begging eyes shining with tears. I don't like tears anyway.
"I have things I have to do, Skyler. I'm not in the mood for this." I tell her and quicken my steps to get away from her faster. I don't even look back to see the look on her face, not because I'm going to break and listen to what she has to say but because I don't really care about how tired and broken she is at the moment. She can pick up the pieces herself for all I care.
The drive back to my house is spent in utter silence and by the time I pull up to my drive way I'm so angry I feel like I can rip my skin of. I'm not sure why I'm angry exactly but it's probably been a mixture of shit that's boiled down to this. Mostly I'm angry because one dark haired girl has made me question my entire existence since I've met her and I'm fucken tired of it. I know who I am and I'm not going to change for anyone, if she can't deal with it then it's on her. I'm not going to loose myself after I've spent years trying to fit the broken pieces of my teenage years together.
"You're home early." I can feel my body coil tight and I know I can't handle one more thing before I loose my shit and do something I regret. I slowly turn towards the red headed woman standing at the bottom of my stairs, wearing one of my shirts and looking so comfortable, like she fucken belongs in my space.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" I ask her, mostly because I've never been one to lay a hand on any woman, and because I don't want to get to close to her. My floors might have blood on them and I prefer to do my blood shedding in a controlled space.
"I thought I would make myself a little more clear, since you don't seem to listen well." She says and that's all it takes for me to loose myself and storm over to her. My hands are wrapped around her neck before I can even blink and I can't even bring myself to feel guilty about it. Who the fuck does she think she is anyway? Talking to me like I'm a damn child. Her hands claw on mine and when my eyes meet hers I'm shocked at what I find. She doesn't seem to be scared of me. Lust is shining in her eyes and I realize I've read her wrong this whole time.
"You liked it." It's not a question and by the smile that plays around the corners of her mouth I know I'm right. She's never been abused a day in her life and I fell into the trap she set. Again I'm angry at myself for not just walking away and I'm even more furious for letting myself get played like that. My hands loosen around her neck, allowing her to breath just a little.
"Finally you figure it out, I thought you were a smart man, Xavier." She taunts and my grip tightens again but she doesn't loose the smile she has on her face.
"You fooled me." I say and I find this whole thing kind of funny really.
"I did what I had to. It's not easy getting your attention." She says and I grin, releasing my hands from her neck causing her to fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes. I take a few steps back, giving her time to gather herself before I let her in on my million dollar idea.
"You and I are going to play a little game." I tell her and she looks at me with interest. "It's called cat and mouse and you have ten seconds to run." I say and it takes her two seconds to realize what I'm getting it. She gives me a coy smile before she runs up the stairs, doing exactly what I wanted her to do and eight seconds later I'm stalking up them like a predator looking for it's pray. The only thing is, this is not a game and she's not winning.
I find her in my bedroom, like I knew she would be because she thinks I'm fucken joking. I close the door behind me, locking it even though I know she won't try and run but it makes her think she had a choice in this. Makes her think this game is going to be fun for her, when I'm the only one that's going to get pleasure out of it. I walk into my closet, grabbing a few ties before re-entering the bedroom to come face to face with her giddy smile. Walking towards her I take her wrist in my hands and she comes willingly enough.
It takes me all of two minutes to tie her against the headboard, her hands bind behind her and her feet bind in front of her. She still has that cocky smile on her lips but it disappears when I take the gun out of my bedside table. I smirk at her and go to stand at the end of the bed, loving the fear that's pooled in her eyes in a matter of seconds. I know she's not smart enough to pull this of by herself so she has to be working with someone and even if she isn't the cat won the game and the mouse lost. So, it wouldn't be right if there wasn't a little blood spilled.