Considerably Wicked: A Dark Romance

by Leigh Frankie

  She had a long conversation with her concerned professor about her plans―or the lack thereof―of getting a major next semester, and by the time she drove home, she only had a few minutes left to turn the lights on before darkness filled the house. And she wouldn’t want that. Not if she could help it.

  Slamming her car door and locking it after, she hurried to her house and switched the porch lights on. She looked up and saw the clouds blotting out the light from the setting sun. She sighed heavily as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. It had been a tiring day for her after all.

  Swinging the front door to the house, she turned on the lights in the living room, then the kitchen lights. She walked back into the living room and turned on the TV and frowned at the annoying vertical lines on the right side of the screen. She had to get it fixed. Or maybe buy a new one. It was starting to bother her.

  “... Police are now investigating into the disappearance of an attorney-at-law, Hilary Hinze, 37. The Fareham police chief leading the search says her partner at Hinze and McKinley Attorneys at Law was the last person who spoke with her…”

  The voice of the confident field reporter trailed off as Una’s heart pounded so heavily, she thought it was on loud speaker. Reports on missing people, especially within her city, always had this effect on her.

  “…The police chief refused to identify Larah McKinley as a person of interest in the case, but said they are considering every possibility. Ms. McKinley said in a statement earlier that she hasn’t received an invitation to sit down with investigators to discuss her partner’s disappearance; however, she is cooperating with the investigation…”

  Una grabbed the remote and pushed the mute button as her eyes scanned the living room; the main door was locked and the windows were shut tightly. She inhaled deeply. She couldn’t let paranoia set in again. It would mean more sessions with Dr. Larson, and she had settled that issue already. She needed to shake off those weird emotions and decided that a quick bath would do the trick. She needed to freshen up before her tenant came home.

  She went to the bathroom and stripped off her clothes. Ever since Will moved in, the bathroom had smelled of lavender and mint. Her tenant’s obsession with hygiene and orderliness started out as annoying, but then she managed to shrug the annoyance off and began to just enjoy it. Plus, she wouldn’t have to pay anyone to keep the house clean anymore. She slowly understood that it was, for the most part, to her advantage.

  She turned on the tap, steam filling the room in almost less than a minute. Her mind was still engrossed on the news she saw on TV a little while ago; it was the fourth missing person she saw on the news for the past couple of months and she could never deny the instant feeling of empathy she felt for those missing people. From the bottom of her heart, she knew that the investigators had a slim chance―or none at all―of finding Hilary. At least not alive. But what could have Hilary done to deserve her demise? The reporter did mention she was an attorney. Did she make an enemy fighting for someone?

  Stepping into the shower, she flinched under the gushing water from the showerhead. Her mind slowly faded into dullness and the news about Hilary Hinez was now a foggy illusion. She loved how a good, warm shower could do something magical like this: take things off her mind. Her thoughts swirled. She loved warm baths, but just like every beautiful thing, it could never last.

  She reached for the face wash from the cupboard and squeezed out a pea size amount into her hand. She applied it gently onto her face and neck area, rubbing softly until it got foamy. Squinting to prevent the suds from getting into her eyes, she stretched her arm for the soap bar from the soap dish. She turned the shower off and started rubbing the bar softly on her chest and arms when, suddenly, the soap slipped through her fingers.

  Una flipped the tap of the shower to clear her face from all the bubble and turned it off again, but as she moved backward, her right foot stepped on the soap. She lost her balance and fell on her back. Her body made a loud thud. She hit the back of her head against the tiled floor. She writhed in pain that was soon followed by a high-pitched ringing in her ears. As she tried to push herself up, she instantly felt dizzy and lightheaded before everything around her slowly went black.

  ***

  At twelve midnight, after the CAT scan and tests, the doctor allowed her to go home and had instructed her to visit the hospital as soon as she noticed any signs of concussions; like nausea and intense headaches.

  Hospitals. The thought of these cold and white institutions always left her feeling in the pits. After Aischliff, she had avoided hospitals as much as she could. Too many bad memories that may lead to depression; something she wouldn’t want to go through with Dr. Larson again. She was very supportive and did everything she could to pull her out from her inferno.

  Okay, Una, stop.

  “Did you see me naked, Mr. Thomas?” she asked to steer away her mind from digging further into her past. She had expressed her gratitude to him countless times already for rushing her to the hospital, but his sudden distant behavior left her wondering.

  Frankly, Una was more worried of his answer than she was ready to admit. She didn’t know whether it was because she already knew what his answers would be or, perhaps, he only had not seen her exposed but he had done something while she was unconscious.

  Una seriously hoped Mr. Thomas wasn’t that kind of guy.

  Will took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he cut over to a lane exiting the highway. It was needless to say that the question caught him off guard.

  “No. Well, technically, yes, but I looked away the second I saw you unconscious and grabbed a towel to wrap around your body,” he told her, eyes focused on the road ahead.

  He was aware that Una was extremely conservative. Although he did the exact things he told Una, it wasn’t after a few seconds later when he was finally able to pull away from the naked body before him. He would have turned away the second he stepped inside the bathroom; however, his body froze, and he actually had to fight the urge to stare a little longer. He couldn’t believe how his body and mind had reacted to Una’s nakedness. It was very much different with Kate.

  After their little game, their interaction had improved and telling Una the truth that he had gazed a little longer at her could only bring back the awkwardness between them. Not to mention he didn’t want to give her any emotional distress because she could demand him to leave the house immediately, and he had already grown to like the house―and his room.

  “Really? Are you sure about that?” Una asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

  Will smiled. “Yes, Ms. Miller.” He turned briefly to her, smiling. “You don’t have to worry at all.”

  Una gave him an approving nod. “Okay, then. Thanks.”

  When they reached home, Una silently got out from his car and went inside the house before him. Somehow, she felt much better when she saw the brightly lit house. She was still feeling somewhat odd after her unexpected visit to the hospital, but the sight of the familiar house had somehow made her feel much better, relaxed, and secured.

  Inside his car, Will switched off the engine and rested his forehead on the steering wheel. He was tired, but when his stomach made a gurgling noise, he felt certain that if he didn’t get something to eat before hitting the bed, he would have a hard time sleeping. While deciding what sandwich to make, a sharp scream broke out inside the house.

  Will quickly stepped out of his car and ran to the house. He headed straight upstairs and found Una’s door open, and he immediately burst into her room. With the light from the hallway illuminating the room, he found Una backed into a wall next to the door, gasping for breath.

  Gently, he tried to encase her in a hug, but she flinched and started screaming again.

  “Ms. Miller…” He knelt down to her level on the floor.

  Una pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She looked slightly terrified, sweat seeping down her face and neck, eyes wild with rage because as soon as sh
e opened the pitch-black room, her outburst was immediate and violent.

  “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!” Her voice broke, cries ripped from her throat. She started kicking and crying even harder when his hands tried to reach out for her.

  But Will only closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. She pushed him off with everything she got to wiggle out of his tight embrace.

  “Ms. Miller, it’s me. Calm down,” he said in an effort to get through to her and sort out whatever made her suddenly throw a fit like this.

  “The light! I said never turn off the light! Never!” Una’s screaming got only louder.

  “Shush…Ms. Miller. It was… I didn’t…” Will wasn’t even sure what to tell her to calm her down. “Let me turn the lights on,” he told her. As he fought for control and Una flailing against it, the struggle sent their bodies to the floor. He turned and pinned her down.

  “Leave! Leave me alone!” she bellowed, writhing and wriggling underneath him. She was deaf to his soothing voice and assuring words. Her screams came from a place of fear and absolute desperation.

  It didn’t take long for Will to figure out what could settle his landlady down. At once, he let go and got off of Una and quickly looked for the main light switch in the room. Luckily, it didn’t take long for him to locate it right above Una. He switched it on, and light instantly filled the room, but Una’s hissy fit didn’t loosen up.

  He sat back down. Without a second thought, he gathered her into his arms and cradled her close.

  “No! No! Leave me!” Una cried, punching his arms wrapped around her.

  “It’s alright, Ms. Miller. You’re not alone. I’m here,” Will whispered, not letting go. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, slowly rocking her back and forth when he felt her ease up, her muscles steadily relaxing and head relaxing on his shoulders.

  But as soon as he gently rubbed the back of her head in a soothing manner, whispering comforting words into her ear, she flinched and jerked away from him, a distressed expression in her dark brown eyes.

  Will’s brows furrowed but as soon as he saw the panic in Una’s eyes, his blue eyes softened. “I’m sorry, Ms. Miller. I didn’t mean to―”

  “Leave now,” Una’s voice was tight and cold. Her puffy eyes were suddenly furious.

  “Okay.” Will looked away and sighed as he lifted his arms in a gesture of surrender. He stood up and slipped his hands into his pockets. An apologetic smile flickered on his face that he had no idea what for. He just knew he was glad she had finally winded up.

  Will left Una’s room and walked to his, forgetting about that sandwich in his mind. He was exhausted and sleep had become his first priority. After his landlady’s unexpected meltdown, he was too tired to even go down to the kitchen to make himself anything.

  ***

  In the morning, Will opened his eyes to his dimly-lit room; the thick drapes blocked the sunlight from streaming in. He wrapped himself in the duvet but the loud growling noise in his stomach stopped him from going back to sleep. His face scowled. He was famished.

  Sighing, he got off the bed and left his room. For a moment, he stared at Una’s closed door. He couldn’t hear anything but silence. Quietly, he went down and made his way to the kitchen. His mind went to Una and thought she could be starving too. He pressed his fingers to his temples, trying to knead the faint pain away while squeezing his tired, dried eyes that spoke of lack of sleep.

  He started preparing the coffee and moved on to cooking pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon while the coffee was dripping; the smell of food frying on the pan engulfing the kitchen in no time.

  Once he was done, he turned off the stove and prepared the food on the counter. He grabbed the jar of syrup from the cupboard and poured a generous amount on the pile of pancakes. He reached for the coffee maker and poured freshly brewed coffee into a mug.

  He was hungry, but after all the twisting and crying, he was certain that Una was more exhausted and probably starving more than him. He prepared Una’s breakfast on the tray and carried it to her room upstairs.

  “Ms. Miller?” he softly called to her.

  No answer.

  “Ms. Miller, are you up?” he asked, a little louder this time. He raised one hand and tapped his knuckles against the door, the other easily balancing the breakfast tray.

  Still there was no answer and he couldn’t hear anything from the other side of the door.

  “Ms. Miller?” He pressed his ear to the door and listened for any movement inside. There was nothing. He sighed wearily. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should just leave the tray outside the door. He decided on what he thought was the most sensible and right thing to do and turned the knob, gently pushing the door with his foot and tiptoed into the bedroom with the tray in his hand.

  Inside, the sun was gleaming through the curtains, bathing half of the huge room in its warm glow. He looked around and found Una curled in a corner, sleeping. He sat the tray on the bedside table, walked over to Una, and crouched next to her. Looking down at her, he smiled.

  Una looked so peaceful, her breathing deep and even. What could have happened to her to throw a fit like that, he thought to himself. He looked down on his watch and knew that if he wouldn’t leave Una’s room, he’d be late for work. But it was strange to him: being able to not care about work that much right now. What was stranger was that he cared more if Una would be okay as soon as she woke up. Glen had made an opinion based off on an idea that he was asexual which he would have not cared to say was false. But, right now, he guessed his friend couldn’t have been more wrong because, there was no doubt, he was feeling something as he stared at her naked body.

  As Will continued to watch her, curiosity got the better of him and his eyes ran from her tear-stained cheeks down to her neck. Una stirred in her sleep and Will froze. When she settled down again, he let out a sigh of relief before returning his gaze on her collarbones, her long brown hair pooled in a pile on the cream carpet.

  He smiled as his eyes went back to linger on her face. It was then that he noticed her long lashes and full lips. She looked beautiful. He closed his eyes for a moment, resisting the idea of reaching over and running his fingers over her pale skin.

  “Please… no…” He then heard Una mumble which was followed by a quiet moan. Her were brows furrowed, clearly having another bad dream.

  “Ms. Miller?” he whispered, not quite sure on what to do.

  Una slightly stretched. “No… it hurts…” she begged in her sleep. “…it hurts.”

  Acting on impulse, he grasped Una’s one hand on the carpet, slowly brought it up and twined his fingers between hers. When she tossed and turned and the groans didn’t stop from escaping her mouth, he called her name softly, shaking her lightly.

  Soft groans escaped Una’s mouth. She begged in her sleep some more, pulling Will’s hand towards her with tears falling from her closed eyes.

  “Stop…it hurts…” Una said, just above a whisper. Her fingers tightened around his.

  “Ms. Miller, it’s okay.” Will didn’t hesitate on his next move anymore and joined her on the carpet. He quickly pulled her into his arms.

  Una curled on her side and drew in her knees, sobbing, her back to him.

  He reached for the sheets from the bed and tucked both of them as he gathered her back into his arms and snuggled her from behind.

  When Una moved, he, all of a sudden, got the same feeling between his legs when he saw her in the bathroom. As his mind recalled the incident and became more aware of her body so close against him, especially her lower back, the feeling grew. He shut his eyes closed and took a deep breath.

  Wanting the feeling to go away, he forced his mind to think of something else. He thought of work and his friends from work. And as soon as his mind went back to recall the times Glen had an STD scare, the feeling immediately subsided. The experience of listening to Glen was that far too distracting that he felt himself shrink back down
in no time.

  “No…” Una whimpered.

  “It’s okay now, Ms. Miller. I’m here,” he whispered, planting a casual kiss on top of her head and rubbing her back slowly with his hand until her sobs dulled and he drifted back to sleep.

  Chapter 9

  Surprise

  Finding Una next to him wasn’t much of a surprise to Will when he woke up three hours after he joined her on the carpet. However, with her arms wrapped around him, one of her legs thrown over—entrapping his—and with her face so close to his, it was an unmistakably different matter altogether. But it was where his hand was resting that topped it off―on one of Una’s breasts. And despite the bra she was wearing underneath the tank-top and knitted sweater, Will still felt his length bulging against the fabric of his pants.

  Instantly, he lifted his hand and shifted a bit on his side, pulling back. With his leg trapped between Una’s, he debated mentally on whether or not he should just wake her up, but a quick glance at her serene state reminded him of what had transpired earlier. There was no doubt Una deserved her much-needed rest.

  Sighing to himself, Will tried to untangle his leg from her limbs. But after going at it a couple of times, he soon realized that Una was a heavy sleeper. He made another attempt but failed greatly when Una’s hand fell on his hip. And he held his breath when he shifted onto his back and she suddenly flopped across him, resting her head on his belly. He could feel her warm breath against the thin cloth of his shirt; her mouth just inches above the band of his jeans.

  Will froze, and after a moment, he sighed loudly and thought of Glen’s STD scare again to distract him from the seemingly perverse situation he was currently in.

  “Mr. Thomas…”

  He froze when he heard her mumble his name.

  “Ms. Miller?”

  Una shot straight up with arms crossed over her chest, on full alert. Will sat up, fully clothed. This fact automatically put her at ease. “Mr. Thomas?” She rubbed her eyes.