Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Coraline
" Y eah it's going good, I've settled in well" I say on the phone to Tyler. I leave out the part where someone slid a drawing of a tattoo I have on my ass under my front door and disappeared into fucking thin air.
He's been calling twice a day, checking in and seeing if I need anything. I appreciate it, but I wish he wouldn't worry so much about me. It's been three days since Rose has been over, and since the creepy incident. I've been trying to shrug it off but it's too weird for me.
It was the exact same flower, it's not just any violet flower, it was wilted. I was sadder at seventeen than what I am now and I thought a wilted violet flower would be fitting.
"Good, I'm coming into town next week, how about we grab a coffee or watch a movie? I know you've been moping around that grim house all day" I roll my eyes at his comment and laugh because he's right, I have been. I haven't been to town yet and I made a mental note to get my ass out of this house for a while today.
"That sounds nice, I miss you" I say as I pick an invisible lint off of my jean shorts. "Yeah I miss you too kid, see you soon Cora, I love you" he hangs up the phone and I sigh as I mentally prepare myself to head into town, I need a few groceries anyway.
I pulled my white Honda Civic Type R into a parking lot of a local Whole Foods. It was a gift from my father on my eighteenth birthday. I told him that a KIA would have sufficed but he insisted. I finish up my groceries and head back to my car, as I buckle myself in my cellphone chimes twice. I see Rose's name pop up and I unlock my phone and open the message.
Rose : Hey bitch
Rose : Party at Vixen tonight?
Coraline : What's Vixen?
Rose : Only the hottest nightclub in Louisiana! Wear something slutty ;)
Coraline : I don't know Rose, I'm not really a nightclub kinda girl.
Rose : You need to get drunk, you need to dance, and you need to get yourself some COCK. I won't take no for an answer, I'll be over at 7pm. Kiss kiss!
I roll my eyes and smile as I lock my phone. I pull out of the parking lot and make my way home, I pull into my driveway and start grabbing bags and almost break both of my arms off as I try to carry all the groceries inside in one trip, this is definitely an Olympic sport.
I pull my keys out and try to unlock the front door when it creaks open. My brows knit together in confusion, I freeze as I try to not drop my groceries, I lock the door. I know I did.
I would never NOT lock my front door. I push the door open hesitantly while I try to steady my breathing.
I place the groceries on the ground in the foyer and silently hurry to the kitchen, I rush for my marble knife holder and I grab one, fisting the kitchen knife in my hands so tight until my knuckles turn white.
Someone has been in my house while I was gone. I slowly make my way over to the living room and I stop dead in my tracks at the sight, I lower the knife and my blood runs cold.
On Top of my grey sofa sits a black box with a ribbon on top of it and next to the box lies another piece of paper. I stare at the two objects for a second before approaching them.
I pick up the box and undo the ribbon, my trembling fingers battle to open the box but when I finally open it, I find a picture of me. In the shower.
With my tattoo on full display. Fear settles into my bones, he's watching me right now, at this moment I can feel his eyes on me but I don't know where they are. I pick up the note.
"Did you like my drawing, delicate flower?"
I bare my teeth and I turn on my heel to throw the box and the note into the crackling fireplace. I grab the knife and storm out onto the porch.
How dare he? How dare he invade my home, my privacy!
"Where are you?! I know you can hear me! Stay the FUCK out of my house and leave me alone before I call the cops" I shout to whoever he is and wherever he is. I walk back inside tossing the knife onto the kitchen counter and I grab a bottle of 1968 whiskey and take a few healthy swigs from the bottle.
Fucking asshole.
Rose is sifting through my closet herself because none of my outfit options have been "slutty enough" . She pulls out a black spaghetti dress that has a layer of lace on the hem and over the cleavage area.
"Now THIS" she says with emphasis on the last word "you can catch something in" she laughs as she throws the garment onto my lap. I scoff as I hold it up "Are we going to a nightclub or am I handing in my application to a brothel?" I say as I quirk a brow at her.
Her smile is infectious, she shrugs and motions for me to start getting ready. I put the dress on, put on some extra eyeliner and false lashes, strap on some black heels to match, I've ironed my long black hair pin straight and decided to go for a pop of colour on my lips, I've always been told red lipstick brings out my eyes. I rub some shimmer oil on my legs and my chest, spray two squirts of Chanel No5 and call it done.
After a twenty minute drive we pull up to Vixon, there is a line outside halfway down the street and I sigh at the fact that I shouldn't have worn heels. We park across the street and make our way to the club.
"Tonyyy!" Rose shouts in her girlish voice, she's been using that tone to get whatever she wanted since she was 16. "How ya doing girl?" The bouncer hugs Rose and glances at me "And who do we have here?" The bouncer says as he wets his bottom lip and traces my body with his eyes.
"Tony, this is Coraline, Cora, this is Tony" Rose says while waving her hand over at me "Nice to meet you, princess" he says as he unbuckles the red rope to let us in and everyone in the line starts hollering.
"Settle down y'all! Or none of ya asses will get into this joint" Tony says.
We walk into the club and "under the influence" by Chris Brown is playing. "Why didn't we have to wait in line?" I ask Rose as I intertwine my arm in hers. "Tony is a friend" she says while looking at me with a mischievous smile.
"Rose Stirling, are you fucking the bouncer?" I ask her and she smiles and we both bellow out with racks of laughter. We walk over to the bar and order two G&T's with two slices of lemon each, Rose grabs my hand and pulls me to the dance floor where neon lights and fog are surrounding us.
We dance for what feels like hours, after our 5th drink I start closing my eyes and just let the music take me away.
Rose laughs and puts her hands on my hips and starts motioning me to the music, I giggle but stop as soon as I feel another pair of hands on me. I look up to see a man with a crisp white shirt and olive skin with sun kissed blonde hair and emerald green eyes looking down at me.
Rose smiles and winks at me as she leaves us and makes her way to the bar.
His hands are caressing my body and he is undressing me with his eyes. I'm not sure if it's because I haven't had sex in so long or if it's the constant supply of G&Ts and shots Rose keeps feeding me but.. I'm not mad at it. So I decided to lean into the situation.
"What's your name baby?" He asked me. I put on my sweetest smile and bat my eyes at him while guiding his hands to my hips. "It's Coraline, what's yours?" I toy with his silver hummingbird pendant around his neck and twirl it in my fingers while tugging him closer by it. He grabs my waist tighter and wets his bottom lip with his tongue.
"It's Evan" he says against my ear while breathing into my neck. The motion gives me goosebumps and makes my eyes flutter. "And you, Coraline, are looking good enough to eat right now"
I smile and lean into him, he cups my breast and slides his thumb over my nipple which sends shockwaves through my entire body. I feel a tingling between my legs and I can't help but slightly rub my thighs together at the pooling wetness between them.
The club is dark and the fog is surrounding us so nobody pays attention to us in our little bubble. I let a small whimper escape my lips as I close my eyes and feel his mouth on mine. In the distance, glass starts breaking and people are screaming, the music stops and we tear our lips away from each other and look over at the commotion to see that there's a fire that broke out.
Both of us look at each other with wide eyes and I hear Rose screaming my name "CORALINE!! WE GOTTA GO!! C'MON!!" she pushes her way through a panicking crowd of people to get to me.
The fire is spreading and making its way toward the bar. I grab Rose's hand as we fight our way through the crowd of people who are all scurrying to get out. We see Tony through the crowd and he has sweat dripping off his bald head and is screaming to everyone to get out "THIS PLACE IS GONNA BLOW FOLKS!! GET OUT!!!"
I look behind me for a split sending and I see a man about 6 '4 wearing a black hoodie with his hands in his pockets. I can't see his face but.. he's looking at me. He's staring right at me.
His stillness in the chaos is terrifying, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, my legs can't hold themselves as I see him smirk at me faintly.
I sit outside of Vixon with wide eyes and sweaty palms. I watch the building go up in flames and I flinch as windows shatter, he was here. The man who watches me. He did this. I have no idea what he wants with me. I sit on the sidewalk as I watch ambulances pull up in three's and inspect the people on the sidewalk.
A few people have been injured, one man has third degree burns on his face and another woman is clutching her leg and screaming in agony as the paramedics attend to her. What just happened? I'm still drunk off my ass and I find it hard to fully grip the weight of the situation.
"Let's go Cora, C'mon baby, you gotta get up" Rose says as she pulls me up by my hand. I stumble over my heels and I look back at the club engulfed in flames and take her hand as we head back to the car. I stumble into my house and I toss my bag on the sofa, I head to the kitchen and grab a glass from the shelf and fill it up with water and I chug it down before filling it up and repeating. What the fuck? I feel like I'm going crazy.
Why haven't I called the cops yet? Why haven't I told my brother or Rose about all of this? Will I be held accountable for the fire if I saw the man who started it and I didn't say anything? I mean it could have not been him.. but I know it was. This is too much to think about right now. I need to shower and I need to get to bed. My head will be killing me in the morning.
I climb the stairs and pull off my dress as I enter my bedroom, I start the shower and I throw my dress over my desk chair and I peel off my false lashes and remove my jewellery as I get ready for the shower. I stop in my tracks for a moment as I realise that he is probably watching me.
Can he see my bare breasts and my black lace thong? Will he watch me as I soap myself up in the shower? The thought crosses my mind and I'm overwhelmed with rage and I decide to play his little game.
That's what he seems to be doing, toying with me. Frightening me. I walk towards my bedroom window while keeping my breasts exposed and I peek out, I see nothing. I look around and I start cursing at myself at how stupid I must look right now.
Out of the corner of my eye I see something, I see him standing on the edge of the tree-line, I didn't notice him at first because he's dressed in all black. He has a motorcycle helmet on his head and I see a cell phone light up in his hand. My phone chimes.
Then chimes again. My blood chills and I close my eyes before opening them again, hoping it's just Rose checking in. I walk over to my phone and I pick it up, taking a deep breath and trying to steady my racing heart before I click open.
Unknown Number: You looked delicious tonight.
Unknown Number: I couldn't keep my eyes off of you. Too bad some fuckers hands were all over you. Did you see your precious Even after the fire? See you soon, delicate flower.
I stare at the text messages without a single thought in my head.
I swallow a few times as I have flashbacks of the man standing in the club staring at me.
It was him, he started the fire.. he burned the club to the fucking ground because someone else touched me? And I wanted it, I wanted Evan to touch me. I stare at the message for a solid five minutes before my fingers start moving across the keyboard
Coraline: Who the fuck are you? Leave me alone, if you ever set foot on my property again I will be calling the cops, you fucking psycho!
He reads the text immediately and the three dots start dancing and my palms start to itch. Anxiety starts to creep in and I keep my eyes on the window.
My cellphone chimes and I tear my eyes away to open the text.
Unknown number: I love it when you talk dirty to me.
Is he fucking serious?! Is this a joke to him?! Of course it is! I groan and I lock my phone and storm towards the window, I hear a motorcycle humming before it purrs into a loud roar. Headlights flash through my window and blind me.
I see him pulling off with his back wheel sliding side to side as I watch him ride into the trees and he is out of sight in seconds.
The next morning I wake up with the sun shining in my eyes, I clutch my head while groaning and suddenly all the memories from last night start to surface. The fire, the man on the motorcycle. Evan.
I groan again and reach over to check the time on my cell phone. 10:40am. FUCK! I was supposed to meet Tyler for coffee forty minutes ago. I stumble out of bed and throw on a pair of Jean shorts and a white shirt before grabbing my sneakers and slipping my hair up into a high ponytail.
I walk into the coffee shop and shoot Tyler an apologetic look. I head for the counter and I order a caramel iced coffee with a double shot of espresso. I walk over to the booth where my brother is sitting and I kiss him on the cheek to greet him.
"I'm so sorry, thank you for waiting, it was a long night" he laughs and says "Yeah no shit, you look like you haven't slept" I take a sip of my coffee and I nod "yeah something like that" Tyler laughs as he fiddles with his latte. He's nervous.
"You okay?" I ask him. "Listen Cora, I wanted to talk to you about something. I met with the Lawyer a couple of days ago and he found something in mom and dads will" I knit my brows in confusion at him as he proceeds "They had a bank account set up for you. With two million dollars in" My eyes go as wide as saucers as I choke on my coffee and tap my chest.
"TWO million dollars?" I whisper and shout in shock. "Yeah... but.. you can't access the account until you've become of age. You need to be twenty one before the authorities can give you access to it" I nod as I do the calculations in my head. Okay, that's two years from now. No biggie.
"I had the Lawyer check it out.. and Cora.. the account has already been drained. Exactly one month after mom and dad died."
I drop my head in my hands as I sigh "Well who else had access to the account?" I ask Tyler as I stare at the distressed coffee table.
"Dunno" these days. "We can't exactly call up mom and dad to ask" he sniffs. Well, I guess that's it. Someone stole two million dollars from me and there's no way we can find out who it is or why they decided to rob me. I look at Tyler and my eyes trail to the TV behind him, a reporter named James Portland stands outside of the skeletal frame of Vixon and says
"Good Afternoon, my name is James Portland coming to you live from outside of Vixon. Last night a fire broke out in the most well known night club in Louisiana. There were 5 people injured and one proclaimed dead. The family of Evan Richards has been notified and the cause of this tragic event was said to be an electrical mishap. Our prayers are with the severely injured and with the Richard's family"
My iced coffee threatens to work its way up and I suddenly feel light headed. "You good?" Tyler looks at me with his constant worried look. I shake my eyes from the tv and I look at my brother and give him a quick smile "yeah, yeah I'm good I just remembered that I had to pick up a few books from Rose soon" that was an absolute lie, Rose doesn't read.
Evan is dead. And it's because of me. I might as well have his blood on my hands. I stand and kiss Tyler on the cheek and walk towards my car, I buckle myself in and I lean my head against the head rest to steady myself. I think for a few moments.. I should.. no.
I shouldn't feed into his creepy antics. My eyes start to burn as I pull up my phone and click on the unsaved number and click text.
Coraline: You killed Evan.
I drive home and I settle myself into the grey, plush sofa with a blanket and a book in front of the fireplace. I'm six chapters in and just as the enemies to lovers plot thickens my phone chimes.
Unknown number: WE killed Evan.
I stare at the text in disbelief. No the fuck we did not! I had nothing to do with this!
Coraline: We? You killed Evan. Why? Why did you start that fire?
Unknown number: I don't know, I felt like it. I don't really take lightly to people touching what's mine. He had it coming. You let him touch you like that. If you wanted a cock all you had to do was say so baby.
Coraline: I'm not yours. I belong to nobody.
Unknown number: you can run all you want. As soon as I have my dick inside of you, you'll want to be mine.