by Leah Holt
There was a courtyard outside, plenty of lounge chairs filled the area around the pool. Noella could be there, getting her head together, I thought, as I scanned a few more empty rooms. She had just been belittled and embarrassed, and I had no fucking clue what her phone call was about.
Standing at the double glass doors, I tried to look through the glass. The reflection from inside mirrored the room behind me, I couldn't see a damn thing. Gripping the handle I tore the door the open, and walked briskly into the darkness.
Shifting my head side to side, my eyes bulged out, trying to make out any shapes in the black winter night. “Noella! Stefan!” I yelled out. And still nothing.
Fear began to settle in my skull, crawling down my spine and wrenching its fingers into my chest. Running through the snow, I reached the front of the house. Twisting my head in all directions, I looked for anyone. Any shape, any person I could find.
“Mr. Alexander? Is everything alright?” Anthony, the valet attendant asked, walking up from behind.
Jerking around, I ran my hand over my jaw. “Have you seen Noella? Or Stefan?” Leaning forward I rested my palms on my knees. I was out of breath from running and the frozen air I had swallowed.
“Yes, they came through a little while ago. Why?” Arching his brow, he drove his hands into his pockets.
“Where did they go? Did you see where they went?” Gripping his shoulders, I squeezed down hard, shaking him.
“Stefan said he needed to drive her somewhere, they seemed to be in a rush too. What's going on, Sir? Are you okay? Concern started to blend with his confusion.
“Where did they go, Anthony? I need to know where they went.” For the first time in my life, I felt completely lost. My head ached, trying to put pieces of vague insight together. Why would she leave without coming to tell me? Why would she leave with him?
“I'm not sure, Sir. Stefan said something about her family and getting her to them.” Furrowing his brows, he said, “I think he said a name... Uh, Bernadette.”
Opening my eyes wide, my mind was spinning. Bernadette? Bernadette? Is that a hospital? Her mother's name? I was trying to figure out what place he was talking about exactly. If Noella needed to leave and be somewhere, why didn't she come and get me? Or waited for me and told me what was going on?
Digging into my pocket, I yanked out my cell phone. Scrolling to her name, I hit the call button. The ringing seemed to climb through my whole body, vibrating through my bones and shaking me to the core.
The sound was endless, each drawn out tone, rolling and being followed by another. A click echoed and it was her voicemail. Fuck! Answer your phone! Dialing again, I still got nothing.
Even my text messages went unanswered. Anthony's words replayed over and over in my head. Then it hit me.
Bernadette, it wasn't her mother's name or a hospital. Bernadette was the name of my father's boat, the one he had been renovating for a couple years now. I had totally forgotten about it, he basically gave up on it the day he decided to start that project.
My mom always gave him the benefit of the doubt when it came to my dad and his 'hobbies,' I however knew the truth. He liked to just have things and say he was working on them. When in reality, all his projects went unfinished. Until he finally payed someone else to pick up the pieces and fix it for him.
Why the fuck would Stefan bring her there?!
My blood had started to boil, bubbling up and driving into my veins. He had taken her from here, taken her from me. But why? What was he doing?
Fear for Noella and her safety, fear that he might try and hurt her, settled in my mind. Stefan was a cold and calculated person, I learned that first hand.
In the mansion that night, when he confronted me about her. I got a glimpse at his darker side, the one he had hidden from my family. I didn't know what his motive was or why he felt so compelled to ruin my life, but he hated me with a passion, and now I knew he would do anything to get me out of this family.
Stefan always looked at me with a sense of disgust, an eye of disdain. And when he was around my father, it went a whole level deeper. I had put up with it for years now, and tonight I was going to finish it.
This time he had gone too far.
He took what was mine.
Now, he had to pay. No one fucks with what I've claimed.
Noella, she wasn't his to take.
Chapter Nineteen
Noella
The sounds of the party started to fade, voices turning into whispers in the distance. Following Stefan down the hallway, he seemed to be turning in so many different directions. I wasn't familiar with this place yet, I'd only been here a few times since leaving Martha's Vineyard.
“Where are we going? There isn't another phone closer?” I asked him, trying to keep up with his pace. I was afraid to lose him in the maze of doors and halls.
“We're close, Noella. This phone is in a quieter spot of the house.” His head stayed forward, the sound of his voice riding back at me over his shoulder.
“Any phone is fine, Stefan, really,” I said, an uneasy feeling started to well up in my stomach. He seemed to be teasing me further away from everyone, further away from Hegan. It wasn't sitting right, and the sickening feeling floating around in my gut, made that clear.
“It's just over here.” Pushing open a door, the hall lit with a soft glow from inside the room.
Stepping inside, I noted the phone on the desk, placed off the receiver. Stefan held his arm out, and said, “See, here we are. Go ahead.” Nodding, he stood off in the corner, taking up what must be his standard placement in a room.
Grabbing the phone, I drove it into my ear. “Hello?” Listening for a moment, I asked again, “Hello?” The word strained over my tongue.
But the phone was silent, there was no one there.
Suddenly, a hard object jabbed into my lower back, my entire body shook from surprise. What the fuck? What the hell is he doing?
Stiffening my shoulders, my spine went taut. A low devilish tone filled my ear in a whisper. “Don't scream, and I won't shoot you.”
“Wh... What?” I was trying to process what was happening. Confusion had blanketed my thoughts, a dull numbing sensation had started to trickle through my nerves. “What are you doing, Stefan?”
“Shut up, and just do what I say.” His fingers twined the fabric in the middle of my back. Digging the gun in deeper, he said, “You're coming with me.”
My heart started to race, sweat beading up on the back of my neck. What the fuck is he doing this for? Shit, what the hell do I do? Think Noella, think!
I was trying to clear my head, focus on thinking straight. A gun to my ribs, a man who had peeled off his mask and was letting his true colors shine, and me. I had to do whatever I needed to keep me safe, to keep me alive. And to keep...
Would he really shoot me? Here and now, with all these people?
Inhaling a deep breath, I said, “I'm not going anywhere with you.”
I could feel his breath against the back of my neck, a soft chuckle began to roll across my skin. “Are you kidding me? You stupid bitch, I have a gun to you and you think you can tell me no?” Whipping me around to face him, he spun a curl of my hair around his finger. “You know I could shoot you here and now, and no one would hear the shot.”
Veering my eyes, I glared at him. “You won't shoot me here. I'm sure someone would hear it.”
“Really?” His lip arched up, head tilting to his shoulder. Lifting the gun up, he rolled it in front of his face. The shiny metal flashing with light from the room, his face warped in different directions across the mirror finish.
A deafening boom rang out, my ears buzzing and ringing from the sound. Stefan had pulled the trigger, aiming it at the ceiling. His eyes set firm on me, face an emotionless piece of rock.
He had pulled the trigger so fast I didn't even have time to react. A white dust had started billow out of the ceiling, small bits of plaster coating the floor around us.
L
ooking around the room, he turned and look at the doorway. “See? Not a soul heard that.” Replacing the gun on my side, he shoved me forward. “Let's go.”
“Stefan, please don't do this.” I tried to slow my feet, trudge them across the floor to keep us in that room as long as possible. I didn't want to be there with him, but I was hoping and wishing someone, anyone, had heard the test shot he fired.
“Shut up and walk.” Jamming the barrel into my back, he forced me through the door. Turning away from the direction we had come in, he started down another unfamiliar hall.
“Why? Why are you doing this?” Pleading with him for an answer, I attempted to look over my shoulder. Catching a quick glimpse of his expression, there was nothing there.
He had no feeling or fear on his face. His eyes were blackened, a deep charcoal gray ate up his pupils. Stefan wasn't looking at me, his head flicked around wildly, taking in the entire hall and any doors we passed by.
I couldn't figure out why he was doing this, what reason he had for taking me this way. I never did anything to this man, did I?
The question sat like glue, I replayed the times we met and the conversations we had. There weren't many, but in the few words we exchanged, nothing stood out. How could I have wronged this man to make him do this?
My entire body was a blended mess of fear, worry, and anger.
He was starting to piss me off, rage over what he was doing was starting to deepen and overtake the other feelings.
A lone door stood at the end of the last hall we turned down. Good, no place else to turn. Alright, that's good. I need to try and talk him down. Maybe... maybe if I could connect with him on some common ground, I could talk him out of this.
“Please, Stefan. If you just let me go now, and walk away, nothing bad will happen.”
Huffing under his breath, his fingers tightened around my dress. “Didn't I tell you to shut up?” Stefan forced the gun in deeper, driving it in between my ribs. “If I let you go that's when the bad shit will happen.”
What is he talking about? He had to be crazy, lost his mind. What bad things would happen if he let me go? It didn't make any sense.
Closing in on the door, he ducked to the side, reaching forward and throwing it open. The ice cold breeze from outside whipped across my face, turning my body frigid. My skin began to harden, trembling to the ten degree weather.
“Stefan, it's cold out and I don't have my coat.” Wrapping my arms around my torso, I tried to rub the heat back into my body. “Can we go get my jacket at least?”
“I swear, Noella. If you don't shut your fucking mouth right now you're not going to make it another step. I'll blow your fucking brains out.” Shoving me forward, he guided us around to the front of the house.
Staring up at the windows, the light from inside filtered out against the snow. I could see the figures of people walking by, the dull sounds of Christmas music and laughter were still faintly audible.
And with my eyes open wide, I prayed someone would look out into the driveway, or step outside and see him taking me. Desperately I wanted to see Hegan, see his face emerge through that front door.
But there was no one. I was outside in fear of my life, and everyone in there was partying without a clue.
Crossing through the hoard of cars, Stefan approached my beat up sedan. “Key?” He angrily spat out.
“I, I don't have it. The valet does.” My spirit started to lift, a sense of relief began to flow. We couldn't go anywhere without my keys, and inside I laughed at him.
“That's right, you don't. I do.” Dangling them in front of my face, I didn't have to see him to know he was smiling.
Fuck! He grabbed my keys. Motherfucker! Looking around, I thought about running, but he had a gun. If I took off he could shoot me easily, I was in heels. The exact opposite of what you would need to run through the snow and ice.
The clomp of feet hit the pavement, echoing across the frozen driveway. “Stefan? Is that you?” Anthony had appeared through the row of cars.
Thank you, thank you. I thought, glancing up at the starry night sky.
Whispering into my ear, he said, “Don't say a fucking word.” Clearing his throat, he turned towards the young man, hiding the gun between us. “Yeah, it's me. I'm taking Noella to her family. There was an emergency and she needs to get there quickly.”
“Oh, okay. Well I hope everything's alright.”
“Yes, me too. She's a bit worked up, so I'm going to make sure she get's to Bernadette safely.”
Every piece of me wanted to yell and scream, but the hard metal buried against my back held me silent. My lungs were inhaling slowly, trying to force down the icy air. I had to keep calm, had to.
It was the most important thing for me to do, risking my life wasn't an option.
“Alright, Sir. Good luck, Noella.” And like that, he was gone. We were alone again in the cold dark night. The one chance to get me out of Stefan's grasp had just walked away.
“Get in.” Stefan grabbed the driver's side door and pulled it open.
“I thought you—”
“No, you're driving. And I'm going to tell you where to go.” Placing his hand on my head, he pushed me down onto the seat and shut the door. Climbing into the passenger seat, gun held firmly at eye level, he shoved the key in the ignition. “Start it and drive.”
The shivers that had riddled my body from the cold had disappeared. I was numb. But not from the weather, it was my mind shutting down all my feelings, sending me behind my interior walls.
I couldn't let myself feel the true fear that wanted to settle on me. My walls had always been there to protect me. They saved me from feeling; all the horrible things that had been thrown my way, all the disappointments that seemed to shadow my every move. Until Hegan, he'd knocked them down; opening me up to the pleasures of life I didn't think existed.
But here, I needed to build them back up.
Stefan wasn't going to get to me, I wasn't going to let him. No matter what he threw at me, I wasn't going to let him break me down.
“Where are we going?” Gripping the wheel, I turned out of the driveway, away from safety and towards the unknown.
“Didn't you hear me tell Anthony?” His snake-like fingers crawled across his jaw, rubbing his chin. “We're going to Bernadette, keep you away from here.”
“Why, Stefan? Why are you doing this?” I asked, keeping my eyes on the road. I didn't want to look him, didn't want to see the face of a monster.
“Frankly, Noella, I need you gone. It's that simple.”
“Simple? This is simple?” Rolling my eyes, I squeezed the wheel tighter, knuckles turning the same color as the snow. “Why do you need me gone, Stefan? Huh, tell me why?”
“Look, I don't know how well you know that boyfriend of yours. But he's supposed to have a kid, and I can't let that happen.” His tongue made a sickening slurp as he inhaled through his teeth. “That's why he's with you, he needs you to have a baby.”
“And? I already know that. But what does that have to do with you?”
“You know that?!” His body twisted in the seat, brows furrowed. “Why are you here then?”
“I'm with him because I want to be. And this whole thing is none of your fucking business anyway.” My lower jaw shot out, teeth biting down hard. “You know Hegan's going to come look for me, he will.”
“Is that so? See, that's what you don't get. That's what none of you get, no one can see what I deserve. I deserve all of it, Noella! Not Hegan!” His voice blared into my ear.
Cringing, my shoulders shot up. “What are you talking about?!” Slamming my palm on the steering wheel, I jerked my head in his direction. “Your the butler! Why do you think Hegan doesn't deserve this?”
Lowering his head, he shook it side to side. “This should have been my life, he takes it all for granted. He doesn't appreciate anything his father has done for him.” Dragging his hand through his hair, he said, “This is mine, it should all be mine.”
/> “You're fucking crazy, you know that? You have a good life, a good job. You don't need to be jealous of Hegan.” My chest lifted heavily, throat feeling as though it was thickening. Stefan was coming undone, a loose canon. I was watching him lose his mind slowly beside me, with a gun still set on my head.
“No. I didn't come here to be a butler, that happened accidentally. I came here to meet Brandon. But, when I got here, he thought I came to interview for the position as butler.” I watched his arm start to shake, trembles filtering in from his shoulder. “Alright, shut up! Just shut up and drive, Bitch.” His piercing black eyes glistened under the streetlights.
“Stefan, please tell me why you're doing this. I don't want you to hurt me, my mother needs me. You know she's sick, don't do this to her.”
Shifting my eyes, I was looking down the barrel of the gun. He had lifted it to my temple, hovering it just above the flesh. “Drive. No more talking, unless it's me telling you where to turn.”
Swallowing a large gulp of air, the oxygen mixed with the taste of acid from my throat. The hot grit scraped down to my lungs, the stinging sent a wave of electricity through my body.
All I wanted was Hegan, I needed him there with me. Needed him to swoop me up in his arms, and save me from the insanity beside me. His face was forming in my mind, the wonder if he was looking for me had taken hold.
I wasn't going to let Stefan drag me down, I needed to be strong. I was strong, and always had been. He could try and keep me trapped, try and wriggle his fingers in between Hegan and myself.
But, deep down, I knew there was something between us. All of this had started as a messed up story, a fucked up proposition and demand for me and my body.
Now, now it was real. It wasn't about what he could do for my mom and my family anymore.
I knew I...
I loved him.
And hopefully I'd get the chance to tell him more than that.
Chapter Twenty
Hegan
My head was pounding, chest aching. Noella wouldn't have left without telling me, I knew that. We've grown close, a lot closer than I ever expected. My stomach was in a ball of knots, turning and grinding against my insides.