When Raven woke, she felt calm and collected. She didn’t remember if she had a nightmare or not, but she didn’t care. For the first time ever since she woke from her deep slumber, she felt relaxed and well-rested…
How could it have been possible that she felt so warm… but yet so calm…?
That’s when she noticed something cushioned, but warm support the curve of her waist… and her head was cradled in something silky and soft.
She opened her eyes slightly to find herself resting sideways in the arm chair in the mysterious room she fell asleep in.
When did she get here…? She thought she fell asleep in a bed…
She turned her face into the fabric of the armchair…
This was… unusually warm…
So she looked up… to see the color of the seat… or maybe to see if her vision was still tilted or blurry…
But she saw a figure above her… staring down at her…
And in that moment... she knew she was in Malachi’s lap...
A bolt of fear rushed through her and she shot off the chair, but Malachi caught her waist.
“Don’t get up,” his soft voice whispered.
It was a calm whisper… no hint of malice in his tone.
“Don’t get up,” he pleaded quietly. “You looked so comfy….”
Raven started writhing in his hold, trying to break free, but Malachi wrapped his arm tighteraround her waist and pulled her to him, gently caressing her hair to calm her down.
After a couple seconds passed, she realized that she couldn’t get out of his hold if she tried…and she let herself relax in his grip to hopefully get him to ease his grasp…
So she could escape…
“You okay?” Malachi wondered..
Raven’s cheeks heated, but her heart beat slower from his gentle caresses, and she couldn’t stop it from calming…
And for the first time in ages… her blood was calm and warm… not frost and racing through her at light speed…
“Mal,” Raven whispered in exhaustion, “what are you doing?”
“Calming you.” He didn’t hesitate responding. “You stayed asleep all night.”
“What are you planning, Mal?” Raven wondered, a little bit of fear in her tone.
“That, my Princess, is a story for another time….”
He moved his arm off her waist to get something from the side table… and she found the strength to push him back against the chair and shoved herself off him, narrowing her eyes as she stood at a distance.
He seemed surprised for a moment, but then tilted his head to the side curiously. “What’s wrong? You were comfy, weren’t you?”
Yes, she was, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.
As if he had a tunnel to her thoughts, the corner of his lips tilted.
“Why did you take me?” she questioned, backing away a couple steps despite him not moving an inch.
She had to back away before the side of her that let him hold her all night came back…
Why were her thoughts scattered into pieces…? One piece wanted to let him cradle her… the other wanted her to scream at him… the third wanted her to run away and never come back… and the last wanted her to play his game, wondering where it would lead…
Which one should she listen to…?
Should she call the police…? No… she had to wait and see what his motive was… because whenever she asked him, he always dodged the question.
“Malachi,” she said, seeing him tilt his head to the side, as if he were studying her from a different angle.
He still didn’t respond.
“Why did you take me?” she said again, waiting for an answer.
No response.
She threw her hands up in annoyance and walked out of the bedroom, eyes widening when she saw the beauty of his house…
Chandeliers… glass tables… silver walls… ocean paintings…
Jesus…
But she shook her head, hearing his footsteps follow behind her, so she turned right from a memory she had the night before…
When he carried her out of the bedroom last night, she remembered—even though she was half-conscious—that the staircase was on his right… so she turned down that hall, making her way to the bedroom she woke up in first…
When she entered it, she passed the bookshelf full of potion-like bottles and shuffled through the bed sheets.
And she found her jacket, shrugged it on, and slid her feet into her lace-free sneakers, throwing her pack that was placed next to the bed over her shoulder.
“Where are you going?” Malachi questioned, and Raven turned to find him leaning on the side of the door.
“Out of here,” she responded.
“But…” he sounded surprised, “I thought you liked it here….”
She gave him a curious look at his defeated tone, but pulled her phone out of her purse. “It’s not that I don’t like it here,” she responded, opening to the Home Screen, “it’s just that I don’t trust you yet, okay? So don’t take it personally.”
“The way you worded that makes me take it personally,” he responded, brows raised.
She shook her head, searching through her phone. “I know what you’re doing.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re guilt tripping me,” she answered. “Stop it. That’s not nice.”
“What’s not nice is you stabbing me with a steak knife.” He rose his wrist that had a white, cloth bandage wrapped around his skin, stained a hideous red. “It still hurts, you know.”
“I thought you were going to kill me,” she answered, still searching on her phone.
“And I thought you were comfy,” he stated. “And you were, weren’t you?”
She shot him a look. “You’re lucky I’m not calling the police right now,” she stated, “alright? You basically kidnapped me.”
“I saved you,” he said. “Remember? You were sick, I patched you up, healed your wounds, fed you, and helped you sleep all night. Why is that a crime?”
She shook her head, thinking, I don’t know, but you’re making me feel insane. I need time to think without you here.
She also didn’t really know how she got sick, but didn’t feel like asking him right now.
“I don’t know your motive,” she stated. “I’m not saying you want to kill me, but knowing that you just knew those guys who were planning on killing me, and that you threatened them, saying that I’m yours, when we haven’t met before yesterday, kind of makes me question it, okay?”
He was silent for a moment. “Are you afraid of me, Raven?”
“No,” she said, giving him an annoyed look.
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not,” she answered. ”I can take care of myself, Malachi. I’m going home.”
She started out the door, and he caught her arm, shoving her back into the room.
She stumbled backwards, but glared. “Now I’m questioning why I’m not calling the police, Mal. You either let me leave, or I‘ll force you to let me go, capeesh?”
“You can’t be alone, Ray,” he answered. “You’re not safe alone.”
“I can take care of myself, thanks.”
“I’m serious,” he said. “I won’t let you leave unless you have somewhere to go. A safe place.”
“Fine,” she snapped. “I’ll stay at Jaelyn’s house, alright?”
She typed on her phone again, tapping her shoe while they waited in silence for a couple minutes.
“And Jae’s going to be here in five minutes,” she said, “so I’m leaving.”
She passed him by the door, but he caught her arm, making her glare. “Mal,” she warned.
“Raven,” he responded, voice softer than she ever heard, “I know what’s going on… I know who’s after you, I can protect you… if you’ll stay….”
She shook her head. “And how would you know this…?”
“Because… I know him, Raven… I know what he wants….”
“What does he want, then?” she questioned, narrowing her eyes.
“I know how scared you are, okay?” he said. “But I promise I won’t hurt you, Raven. If I wanted to, then I would’ve hurt you already.”
“Or you’re just gaining my trust so you ca—”
“No,” he said, shaking his head, “this guy wants you dead, alright? If I was working for him, I would’ve killed you already.”
“That’s… assuring…” she answered, brows drawing together. “Look… I don’t know you yet, okay?”
I can tell you’re planning something, she thought, and I don’t know what, but it scares me.
They were both silent, just staring in each other’s gaze.
Raven broke eye-contact first, looking down to the floor. “She’ll be here soon… I have to go….”
“Raven,” he said, catching her arm before she could leave, “be careful, Princess.”
And she left his side without responding, heart throbbing against her chest.
When she made it downstairs, she opened the front door, stepping down the porch steps to Jae’s car that was sitting in his driveway.
She shut the passenger door, and Jae was in the driver’s seat, staring at the living room window with narrowed eyes.
Raven knew without looking that Mal was watching them through the glass.
“Is that him?” she questioned, something dark in her tone.
“Yeah,” Raven responded.
“He’s a creep,” she said, looking back down to her gear shift and pushed it into reverse.
“Yep,” Raven responded.
“You know,” she said while backing out, though Raven was focused on his figure staring through the window, “we should call the police. He kidnapped you, Ray.”
“Maybe,” Raven responded, “I don’t know yet….”
And Jae drove off, the car rumbling with he rocks on the roads.
“Hey, Jae?” Raven said then.
“Yep?”
“How did you know where he lived?” she questioned.
A sigh. “It’s hard to explain… But I’ve had to confront him before… so I followed his car to this house to talk to him.”
“About what?”
Jae looked over to Raven. “He’s been stalking you for a while, you know.”
Raven went cold.
“He has severe serial killer vibes,” Jae continued, “but it seems like there’s another internal conflict inside him that prevents him from lashing out.”
“What kind of conflict?” Raven questioned, breath shuttering.
“I don’t know,” Jae responded. “But whatever it is, it’s a strong one.”
They were both silent for a couple minutes.
Jae was the first to break the silence. “Why don’t you stay at my house for a couple nights, you seem a little shaken. I’m sure my parents will agree.”
A small nod.
“You can borrow my car tomorrow if you want to go anywhere,” she said then.
“Thanks, Jae.”
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