Chapter 16
A ll night, I thought about what Blade had told me about losing someone close to him. I wondered if it was an old girlfriend or maybe a wife. It could have been about his dad since he hadn’t mentioned him when he told me the only people he loved were his mother and brother. I wondered what happened to the person he lost. Was it a bad breakup, or did they die? He didn’t give me a chance to ask any questions because he left the room so fast.
I also thought about his name being Dion and wondered how he got the name Blade. I wanted to ask him the next time he came into my room but didn’t know if he would answer. It took me forever to settle my mind after he left, but eventually, I fell asleep.
The next morning, I woke up with all of it on my mind again. Since I still didn’t have a television to watch, I got up and showered, then put on some clean pajamas. I was starting to run out, so I would ask Dion if he or I could wash them. Hopefully, he would let me because I was tired of sitting in this room.
Once I washed, I sat on the bed and colored again. It helped occupy me, but I was getting tired of that too. I wanted to ride my bike, go back to work, and spend time with my cousin. I just wanted to get back to my normal life.
I sat up straight when I heard the locks turn. I found it odd that heat radiated through my chest when Dion entered my room with a tray of food.
“Good morning, Pepper.”
“Good morning, Dion.”
He paused for a second when I said his real name. Now that I knew it, I wasn’t calling him Blade anymore. Blade seemed so dangerous and scary; I liked Dion better.
“I figured we could eat breakfast together,” he said as he walked closer to the bed.
I moved the stuff out of the way so he could sit down. He placed the tray on the bed, and my stomach rumbled at the sight and smell of waffles, bacon, and breakfast potatoes. There was a cup of orange and water on the tray as well. I noticed a small flower in the corner and smiled.
“Thank you.” I pulled the tray closer to me. “The flower is cute.”
“You’re welcome.” He didn’t respond to my flower comment, but that was okay. He acted like he was this big, bad guy, but I guess he had a little sweetness to him.
For a few minutes, we ate in silence. The questions I wanted to ask sat on the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t say anything.
When the silence became too much, I decided to ask a simple question.
“Why do they call you Blade?”
He chewed the food in his mouth, then turned to face me.
“I’m surprised it took you that long to ask.” He chuckled. “I got the name Blade because it’s my weapon of choice.”
I thought he would say more, but instead, he picked up a piece of bacon. Since that subject seemed to be off-limits, it had gotten quiet again.
When we were finished eating, he put the tray on the dresser, came back to the bed, and sat down.
He scrubbed his hand over his face like he struggled with something. I didn’t want to force him to say anything, so I sat quietly playing with the bottom of my shirt.
“I was born a twin.” His eyes were on the floor. I stayed quiet because I could tell there was more. “Darren was my best friend, and he was killed in a car accident when we were seven.”
I inhaled sharply. “I’m so sorry.”
He looked at me with sad eyes, then focused on the floor again. “That’s not all. The driver of the car was… your father.”
My heart slammed against my chest. It all made sense to me at that moment. He was out for revenge and was using me in the process.
“What? How-how do you know it was my father?”
“Everyone but the police knew it was him. I’m not sure if he was drunk or what, but he never went to jail for it. There was a witness, but your father threatened them not to tell.”
My heart beat wildly. I didn’t know how to take this news. I never heard of my father hitting a child with his car, but why would I if he got away with it? My mind was swirling, and I had no clue what to say or do.
Then, it hit me, and I backed up against the headboard. Dion’s eyes were on me, questioning what was happening.
“So, did you bring me here to kill me? Oh my God.” I put my hand over my mouth as tears fell from my eyes. I was slowly falling for my killer. It was bad enough that he kidnapped me, but to know he had planned to kill me made me sick to my stomach. I swallowed down the bile that rose up my throat.
Dion moved closer to me on the bed, and I wanted to back up but had nowhere to go.
“Pepper, I promise you I’m not going to kill you.”
I searched his face for sincerity, but I couldn’t determine anything. I wanted to believe him, but how could I? Was he just saying that to make me let my guard down again? An ache formed in my throat. I felt sorry for him for more than one reason, but I still wasn’t sure if he would kill me.
“Why am I here then?” I asked in a whisper.
Dion inhaled, then looked at me. He stopped trying to get closer to me, and for that, I was thankful. I needed space.
“You’re here because I wanted to get your father’s attention, and because I—” He stopped himself from saying something else.
“You what?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. I just need you to know that I would never hurt you.”
My gut told me that much was true, but there was still that part of me that couldn’t be sure. My gut never steered me wrong though. My father needed to be held accountable for what he did, but did he deserve to die? I couldn’t be the judge of that, and I couldn’t bring myself to ask Dion.
We shared similar traumas, and my father was at the center of it. This was too much, but at the same time, my heart constricted when I looked at the pain in Dion’s eyes.
Squaring my shoulders and sucking a deep breath, I crawled over to Dion and got into his lap. I straddled him with my legs wrapped around his back. I was a big girl, but he had no problem holding me up.
It felt like my heart played the percussion in my chest. I was surprised Dion couldn’t hear or feel it.
I leaned my forehead against his. “I’m so sorry.” Tears fell in rapid succession down my eyes. I cried for Dion and his family. I cried for myself and my uncle and cousin. I cried for all the people that my father might have caused pain to that I didn’t even know about.
Dion held on to me and rubbed my back as I cried. Every tear was filled with pain.
After some time passed, Dion lifted my chin with his finger and gazed into my eyes. Under different circumstances, I would have thought he loved me, but that couldn’t be right, not that it mattered. I just wanted to get lost in his eyes for a minute.
When his lips crashed into mine, I moaned. The kiss was urgent, and I could feel him hardening underneath me. Without breaking the kiss, I leaned back a little and reached for the waistband of his pants. I got my hand inside of his boxers, and his dick grew when I gave it a little squeeze.
“Shit.” Dion groaned against my lips, then stuck his tongue inside my mouth again.
Our kiss was sloppy and hungry as I stroked his dick. Sex wasn’t the answer to everything, but it was enough to make me forget everything for the moment.
Dion stood, with me still attached to him, turned, then placed me on the bed. It was a good thing I had one of the nightgowns on because he wasted no time pushing his pants down and roughly entered me. It didn’t hurt, but it was a little uncomfortable, but not enough for me to tell him to stop.
He fucked me hard, and I cried. I could feel his pain through every stroke. I was surprised he didn’t make me turn over like he did the first time. It was still rough, but the look in his eyes was passionate. He randomly kissed me on the lips, neck, and breasts.
The only noise was occasional grunts and moans.
By the time we were done, I fell right to sleep with dried up tears on my face. The last thing I remembered was Dion leaving the room.