Chapter 10: Temptation

I couldn’t even bring myself to peek up at him with one eye because I could already feel it on my skin that he was staring me down intensely again. Much to my disappointment, one of his hands withdrew and returned to my hair. Once again he combed it between his fingers and then rubbed his thumb across my dark brown locks that had a shining red tint under the sunlight. He seemed so entranced by my tight, wavy hair that he stopped massaging me between my thighs. Julian suddenly took his hands away from my thigh and hair before quickly tying the back of my bikini’s top.

“I’ll see you later,” he speaks with a horsed voice before abruptly leaving while adjusting his long swimsuit shorts. I watched him go, wide-eyed with surprise and disappointment.

Damn. Ok?

My yearning to swim had died pretty fast as well as wanting to be out here in general. I heaved an annoyed huff while picking up my belongings and making my way back inside the mansion.

The rest of the day went by boringly slow. I didn’t even see Julian for the rest of the day either. At least not until dinner but even then, he said nothing to me, let alone even look at me. Gabriel did most of the talking during dinner. My mother seemed to be joying herself and Grace seemed to accept the situation. Julian chimed in every now and again but I remained silent during the entire meal. Gabriel has enough common sense that if he wants on my good side, it’s best to leave me alone when there seems to be something bothering me. Just like therapists, I hated it when people poked around in my business.

After dinner, the sky reflected my mother’s hair color, and my mom spent time with me in my bedroom. She sat on my bed and I sat behind her, combing her perfect hair. I couldn’t understand what Julian liked so much about my hair, my mother’s hair is truly beautiful.

“What’s wrong, sweety?” she murmured in a soft voice. My walls always melted for her.

“Nothing. I’m fine.” I lie through my teeth like always. I may always feel comfortable around her, but I still wasn’t going to confess what was going on in my head. How could I? She’d be mortified if she found out what had just happened between me and my stepbrother.

Mom looked over her shoulder up at me with a worried frown. “I know you, hun.”

This time I was the one who frowned but with pursed lips. My stubbornness remained strong as I continued to comb my mother’s bright ginger hair. “Yeah, I know. And I’m telling you that I’m fine.”

My mom heaved a sigh and looked forward. “Alright… I’ll trust you to handle your problems on your own. I love you.”

Those three little words at the end of her sentence struck me deeply. It’s been a very long time since I heard them. I leaned my forehead against the back of her head while giving a cracked whisper. “...I love you too.”

She hummed her gentle laugh while placing a hand over my own that had frozen in the middle of brushing her hair. “My ragged woman is still just a sweet baby behind those walls.”

“Mom!” I snapped grumpily as I resumed brushing her hair. My mother gave a more hearty laugh this time.

The rare quality time with my mother didn’t last long but was still very enjoyable to me, no matter how grouchy I acted. My mom knew it was just a part of my personality. Once night had fallen, she returned to her bedroom with Gabriel. Unfortunately. Part of me wished she had just stayed in my room with me, it wouldn’t be the first time we slept in the same bed together. I missed the company.

My nightmares still haunted me on a regular basis, hearing my father scream my name but I couldn’t see him through the fire. It’s always like this. And I feel so helpless and shaken when I wake up. It’s the reason why I often have bags beneath my eyes. This was another night that I was determined to hold off my sleep. So, I put on one of my baggy white sweaters and placed my hair up in a messy bun before putting in my earbuds and playing some music on my phone. My sweater was baggy enough that I didn’t wear any shorts under it, in fact, it slipped down one of my shoulders so far that you could see a good portion of my cleavage. I slowly walked around the empty, quiet hallways in the mansion while humming songs to myself. One of my favorite songs happened to be one called Villian and the lyrics eventually started slipping off of my tongue.

“I’mma straight up villain… yeah, no feelin’...” I softly sang to myself then stared out a window I was about to walk past, gazing at the beautiful rose garden. “I’m alive, but I’m dead, Hear my voice up in your head, watch it fill you full of dread till you go, pow-” That last word that I used to scare Grace had suddenly scared me when I felt a hand grab my shoulder. My instincts kick in, making me whirl around and punch my pursuer right in the face. My jaw dropped when I realized I had just decked Julian right in the nose. “Shit! I’m so sorry, man! Are you ok??”

Julian groaned while rubbing his nose and I was lowkey freaking out, afraid that I had broken his nose. Even as he withdrew his hand from his nose, you could still see clear pain in his eyes. “You’ve got some impressive reflexes...”

I heaved a sigh while crossing my arms. “You lucky bastard, I could’ve really hurt you! Don’t sneak up on me like that! What’re you doing out here anyways?”

“I could ask you the same.” he shot back at me, I couldn’t make a good excuse so I just frowned and looked away. He kept the conversation going, as usual, “I heard your singing. It’s beautiful.”

He once again gives me a compliment with the same word. ‘Beautiful.’ I didn’t make eye contact as I felt another blush coating my cheeks. That nagging annoyance racks at me and I end up grumbling grumpily instead of showing gratitude for his compliment. “What do you want?”

Despite my hostility, I saw that familiar grin play on his lips but I could tell that it held hidden intention behind the charm. “My nose could be broken, don’t you think you need to take responsibility? I have a first aid kit in my bathroom.”

You gotta be kidding me… is he trying to be sly?

I’ve seen a hundred broken noses, half of them inflicted by my fists. His nose wasn’t even fractured. Not to mention I already knew I had a first aid kit in my bathroom too. Even then, why would I need to take responsibility when he could easily patch himself up? If he was trying to pull something, it was ridiculously obvious. The question that stumped me now is whether or not I pretend to go along with it. The moonlight from the window reflected a different look in his intense blue eyes. I knew what was going on in his mind.

Ah, fuck it… I’m already going to hell anyway. Sorry, Mom.