Masked Feelings

by Lechna Baram

  “Why is he sleeping on the couch?” I asked as I approached the sleeping guy.

  “I was in the living room when he came to tell me to pick you up. I guess he fell asleep here, waiting for us.”

  “You were still awake at three in the morning?” I asked in disbelief. He nodded and pointed towards a pile of files.

  “I may party hard but I work hard as well,” Chris told me with a smirk.

  I rolled my eyes but still smiled. I sat on the couch and watched as Chris walked away. I didn’t feel at ease. I felt like I was out of place. After a few minutes, Chris walked back with a glass of juice.

  “I need to get to my apartment,” I told him, taking the glass of juice from him. Surprisingly, he scoffed, then shook his head.

  “Damian and I may not be talking but he would still kill me if something happened to you. After hearing all the dramatic stuff going on, I'm not letting you out of my house. It's near to four am,” Chris said, then stopped to take a deep breath as he was talking really quickly.

  “Where am I going to sleep?” I asked, chuckling. He smiled them pointed to one of the stairs.

  “Any room on the left,” he said. I nodded then made my way to the stairs. Was I making a good choice? Hell yes. Tomorrow, I'll wake up early and go back to my apartment. I walked up the stairs, feeling tired as hell. I should have waited till seven in the morning then I should have left. But again, they wouldn't have let me. When I reached the first floor, I walked to the first room I saw and opened the door. When I saw someone already sleeping on the bed butt naked, I quickly closed the room. Damn. That girl had a sexy ass. Okay. I'm going out of context. I walked the room next to it, then slowly opened the door to find the room empty.

  I walked in and simply stood in the room with my mouth slightly open. The room was huge. It was kinda modern but with a touch of the ancient times. The king-size bed in the middle was decorated with a golden silk cloth hanging on the sides. The walls were gold with little black designs on them. I walked to the bed, then let my body fall on it. The only thing I wanted right now, was to get under the blankets and have a nice sleep. I quickly did that and placed my phone on the pillow next to me.

  After a few hours, I woke up with my phone ringing next to me. I looked at the time and noticed that it was six in the morning. When I saw Rose's number flashing on my phone, I groaned. As long as it was not Damian, I'm good. I slid the answer icon and put the phone by my ear

  “Where the hell are you?” Rose shouted, making me wince slightly.

  “Don't shout,” I mumbled.

  “This morning, I woke up and walked in your room to see Damian sleeping there and I noticed that your stuff was gone. Where the hell are you, Athena?” she asked then huffed in the end.

  “Is Damian up already?” I asked, feeling the tension building in my stomach.

  “No, he's not,” she replied coldly.

  “When he wakes up, tell him that I'm at Chris’s,” I said.

  “Who is Chris?” Rose asked in confusion.

  “Just tell him,” I said as I sat on the bed.

  “But where are you?”

  “Back home.”

  “But why?” she exclaimed.

  “I had some papers to fill at the hospital because Thomas left.” I lied, high fiving myself for the quick but good lie I managed to create within seconds. “When Damian wakes up, tell him that I'm at Chris’s. I need to go,” I quickly said and ended the call. I knew that If I didn't, she'd keep on talking. I got out of bed and made my way to the living room. I saw Ross sitting on the couch. Chris was sitting beside him, with some papers on his lap. Seemed like they were working.

  “Good morning,” Chris said, without lifting his head from the papers. Ross did and smiled in my direction.

  “You got some serious explaining to do,” Ross said.

  “Later.” I grinned.

  “Did you sleep?” I asked Chris. I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He shook his head and finally raised his head to look at me. “I need to go,” I told him.

  “Did you even brush your teeth or wash your face?” Chris asked. I shook my head and grinned.

  “I'll do that when I get home,” I said.

  “Do you want me to take you home?” Ross asked. I quickly nodded. I wasn't really in the state to take the bus. When I reached my suitcase, Ross quickly took it for me.

  “Who's that sexy ass girl?” I asked them both. Chris snickered. “I saw only her ass,” I stated.

  “That's Jasmine, Athena.” Ross deadpanned. I blinked then nodded when I realized that the two were together at the party as well. They were most probably a thing. I turned towards Chris and smiled.

  “Damian is most probably coming to pick me up later, you talk to him, okay?” I said. His eyes widened. Seems like he was scared of Damian. He sighed then nodded.

  “I'll try,” he said. I nodded then walked out of the house, following Ross to his car.

  Chapter 55

  Upside Down

  I walked into my apartment slowly. Ross dropped me off in front of the building. I wasn't feeling at ease. The apartment seemed empty. I put my suitcase by the door then slowly walked to the living room. All the couch pillows were on the floor. The drawers were wide open but nothing had been moved. I was scared. I slowly turned around and noticed shoeprints on the floor. Someone had been there. And I felt like they were looking for something. I walked to the kitchen and noticed that everything was normal there. I turned the corridor, then saw that my room door was wide open. I gulped. I remember that the apartment was clean and all the doors were closed when Damian and I came to take my stuff. Even the walls had handprints. The floor was muddy. It felt like everything was done on purpose. The person probably knew that I was going to come back. Everything was going according to his plan.

  “Calm down, Athena,” I whispered to myself as I tiptoed down the corridor towards my room. The ringing of my phone made me jump in fright and my hands flew to my heart, which seemed to be beating too fast. “Fuck!” I cursed as I closed my eyes for a few seconds before taking my phone out of my pocket. Maybe I was just overreacting. There was no one in the freaking house. I sighed when I saw Damian's name flashing on my phone. I debated on whether I should answer or not. He was going to yell at me. For sure. By the time I was debating, the phone stopped ringing. I called him back. He answered on the first ring.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  He didn't shout or anything. He simply asked me and I could already imagine him shaking his head.

  “Why did you leave?” he asked. I could detect the control in his voice. He was trying his best not to yell at me for leaving. “Your life is in goddamn danger and the only thing you think would do you good is to leave the house alone?”

  “I had to,” I mumbled.

  “Don't pull on the hospital bullshit on me because I know it's not true.” Damian snapped now. Yeah, I was really testing his patience. “And why the hell did you go to Chris?” he asked.

  “I called Ross but Chris showed up instead. Jasmine is here as well,” I told him quickly.

  “I'm going to pick you up,” he told me. My plan was going well. Well, at first, he was not supposed to come after me but if coming after me means he and Chris could solve their problems, then I'm good with it.

  “Yeah, I'll be waiting for you,” I told me as I walked down the corridor, feeling more reassured after talking to him.

  “You have no idea how pissed I am right now, Athena,” Damian said, then I could hear some shuffling in the background. I was now standing in front of my room; the door was slightly opened. I pushed it open and my eyes widened.

  “Holy fuck,” I whispered in shock at the mess. Someone had definitely been there.

  “Athena?” Damian called.

  “Yeah,” I answered, my voice croaking slightly.

  “What's wrong now?”

  I knew he had stopped moving and he was focusing on me at that moment. “Is there a problem?” he a
sked, sounding worried.

  “I'm good. I'm waiting for you,” I said, hanging up.

  He was most probably swearing at me right now. I put my phone back in my pocket then stared at my room.

  Who the hell would do that?

  What was left of my clothes was scattered on the floor. The mattress of my bed was upside down. My pillows were nowhere to be found. All my drawers were emptied; all my things were on the floor. Worst of all was the walls of my room. They were all covered with the small letter J. Who the hell was that person? He was a freaking psycho. Written in the middle of those small letters, were terrifying words.

  'I want you to be mine...Or dead'

  “Calm down.” I ordered myself when I felt myself started shaking. I needed to get a grip on myself. I quickly walked out of the room. Well, I needed to get out of the apartment itself. I did. I took my suitcase and walked out of the apartment. Once the door closed behind me, I took a deep breath, then exhaled. I felt like someone was observing me. I could feel goosebumps rising on my skin. Something bad was going to happen sooner or later. I quickly walked down the stairs, trying not to fall. Damian was obviously going to come here to pick me up so when I walked out of the building, I sat down on the nearby bench and waited.

  Who the hell was that J? What did he want? Me. The message was clear. I closed my eyes and ignored the numerous people walking in front of me. I felt like crying but the tears wouldn't fall. I couldn't be that weak. I needed to be strong. I opened my eyes and stared at the sky. I noticed that it was starting to turn gray. I smiled when I felt a droplet of water fall on my face. When it started raining, I closed my eyes and let my skin absorb the rain. Everyone was running for shelter while I stood up and let the rain fall on my skin. It was so relaxing. I decided to forget about my problems for a few minutes. There was a huge smile on my face and I noticed people looking at me as if I lost my mind. I didn't care for the moment. The rain was calming me down. Even though I was now drenched.

  Chapter 56

  Sick

  “What were you trying to do, Athena?” Damian asked as I got in the car.

  He didn't seem to mind the fact that I was drenched. He turned to look at me, then sighed.

  “I wanted you to talk to Chris.”

  “We did.”

  “And?” I urged.

  “We're good now,” he said with a smile.

  I smiled back then turned to look at the road. We couldn't see a thing because of the rain.

  “Athena.” I turned to him again. He was staring at me, a frown on his face. He pushed a strand of hair away from my face. “Everything is going to be fine.”

  “Someone broke into my apartment, Damian. And that person, either wants me for himself or he wants me dead,” I told him.

  He sighed then pulled me to him. He wrapped his arms around me, then lightly pecked the side of my head. The fact that I was drenched didn't seem to bother him. I closed my eyes and appreciated the moment I was spending with him.

  “Running away from us, won't fix anything, Athena,” Damian said. I pulled away to look at him.

  “Maybe it can. Maybe it can prevent one of you from getting hurt,” I said.

  “You should not decide for us. It is our decision to make. This is my decision, and I'm not leaving you on your own in this messed up situation,” Damian said as he started the engine. I smiled and turned his face to me. I pecked his lips then motioned for him to drive.

  “Where are the others?” I asked.

  “They stayed behind because I told them to,” Damian told me as he started driving. “We're going back home.” I nodded, not knowing what to say. I leaned my head against the headrest t, closing my eyes when I felt a monstrous headache. “I have one more thing to tell you,” he said, making me open my eyes.

  “Yeah?”

  “No work until we clear this whole situation.” Damian more like ordered, rather than asked for my opinion.

  “Why?” I asked, before groaning in exasperation. He turned his head for a few seconds to look at me in disbelief before turning back to the road again.

  “When you're at home, you'll be safer.”

  “Someone broke in your house the other day, Damian,” I deadpanned, rolling my eyes.

  “I'll be with you all the time,” he said and this time, I smiled. I'll get to spend more time with the man I love. At that moment, I didn't care about the circumstances which will lead us to spending time together. I was simply looking forwards to it. I closed my eyes and winced when I felt the pain intensify. “Are you okay?” he asked, concern lacing his words. I nodded.

  “Yeah, I'm simply going to rest a bit,” I told him.

  He didn't say anything. I was feeling really weak. I wanted to sleep. And I did.

  I opened my eyes slowly when I felt someone wrapping his arms around me. I opened my eyes to see myself being carried bridal style by Damian. I wrapped my hand around his neck and offered him a smile while getting cozy in his arms. I noticed that he seemed worried.

  “What's wrong?” I asked as we got into the house.

  “You're burning up with fever,” he said. “We need to get you out of these clothes and dry your hair. I'm going to fill the bathtub with warm water.” He added as he put me down on the couch. I nodded then yawned. Yeah, I was feeling sick. I watched as he walked away and tried not to fall asleep again. Knowing that he will want to carry me up to the bathroom which was on the first floor, I decided that it was better if I already got to the room so that he wouldn't tire himself even more.

  I stood up and stretched. All my muscles were hurting. This would teach me not to stay in the rain again. I slowly walked up the stairs, holding onto the rail firmly so that I wouldn't fall down because of the shaking in my knees. When I reached the first floor, I sighed in contentment. I walked to Damian's room, then made my way to the bathroom to see him adjusting the temperature of the water. When he heard me, he turned around and glared.

  “I was going to carry you upstairs,” he mumbled.

  “I'm already here,” I said.

  He motioned for me to come closer to him. With the little energy that I could muster, I walked up to him. He stared at me then motioned me to lift my arms. I did. He took off my shirt, then my bra. I didn't complain. There was nothing to complain about. He had already seen me naked. In the next few seconds, I was standing naked in front of him.

  “Get in.” He ordered.

  I could feel the control in his voice. I got in the tub, then sighed in relief. The water was so good. It relaxed my aching muscles. Damian stared at me, with a smile on his face. I noticed that he had already brought the towels and my clothes.

  “Get in too,” I said.

  He frowned for a few seconds, then when he saw me pouting, he took off his clothes, then got in the tub with his boxers on. He sat behind me. The tub was big enough so I was sitting between his legs. I rested my head against his chest. I moaned when I felt him massaging my scalp. Damn. Sometimes he was so good to me. We stayed like that for a long time, with him hugging me from behind. Being with him was so soothing for me.

  I definitely love the man taking care of me right now.

  Chapter 57

  Drive and Talk

  Two days already passed and I was still sick. I was lying on Damian's bed with Alena sitting next to me. She was changing the channels without the slightest interest in watching. I forced Damian to go to work as there was an emergency. I rolled on the bed, holding on to my belly. I felt like throwing up. I tried to calm the feeling but I couldn't. I quickly ran to the toilet and threw up. My throat was burning. Tears were rolling down my cheeks. I was glad that Damian was not here.

  “That's it. We're going to the hospital,” Alena said with determination.

  Damian was willing to bring me to a doctor but I always somehow managed to divert his mind. With Alena, I knew it wasn't going to work. I sat by the toilet, feeling weak as hell to stand up.

  “Help me off the floor,” I mumbled.

 
She walked towards me. I could see the worry in her eyes.

  “I'll be fine,” I said and walked to the sink.

  Alena scoffed, then walked out of the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and watched my face before walking out as well. I groaned when I saw her shuffling in my clothes.

  “Alena, I'm good.” I lied, my voice croaking a little bit. You could hear the weakness in my voice.

  “You're not good, Athena,” my sister said through gritted teeth. “I'm taking you to the hospital.” When she felt like I was going to argue, she turned to glare at me. “or do you want me to call Damian?”

  I quickly shook my head. Oh hell no. If Alena feels like I need to go to the hospital, it means that the situation was pretty serious and Damian was going to panic.

  “Let's go. No need to call him. You know that he is going to worry,” I mumbled.

  Alena smiled in victory and returned to shuffling in my wardrobe.

  “You'll wear a nice dress,” she told me but it sounded like she was talking to herself. She always had the habit of sticking her tongue out when deep in concentration.

  “I think I need something warm,” I told her after coughing. Oh Damn. Now my throat was burning as well. She turned to look at me, then gave me a sheepish smile.

  “Even if I am sick?” I asked in disbelief.

  She shrugged then turned back to the wardrobe. After a few minutes, she pulled out jeans and a sweater. I stood up then talked to her, taking the clothes from her.

  “Don't you want me to iron them first?” she asked.

  I rolled my eyes then shook my head. I knew that she was just trying to help but I tended to be bitchy when I was sick. I quickly changed my clothes. I tied my hair in a messy bun. I seriously didn't care about my appearance or the paparazzi standing in front of Damian's house.

  “Let's go,” I mumbled, taking my tissue box with me. She nodded. I waited for her to go ahead, then I followed behind. She was twirling her car keys around her finger, whistling. When we reached the door, I noticed someone blocking me from the paparazzi’s flashing cameras. I smiled when I realized that it was Liam. My sister ran to her car.