She's The Boss

by M.G. Marquez

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  MAGGIE

  I woke up at the smell of pancakes.

  I got out of my bed lazily and walked toward the dining hall. I happened to pass by BD and smiled at him, who in turn, did not even give me the slightest bit of attention.

  Uh-kay. He’s still mad at me.

  “Good morning Janella,” Hana greeted me. “Come and have breakfast already,”

  “Thank you,” I sat on my throne (I had my name carved on that specific chair) which happened to be next to BD’s. A great idea popped into my mind and I decided to move to another chair. Sitting next to him is not a great idea now.

  “Where are you going?” He said when he sat on his throne. “Stay where you are.”

  Obediently, I sat on my throne and stared at my breakfast. I looked down to see my bandaged right hand and thought of ways on how am I supposed to eat my pancakes. Last night was a nightmare for me because they stitched my hand soooo many times that I nearly killed Fred with my bites. I sure did damage my hand big time.

  “Open your mouth.” My face lit up when I heard him.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’m going to feed you. Open up,”

  He could be charming and all but I could not see myself being fed by this devil. “HECK NO –”

  Without further ado, he grabbed my face and put in a spoonful of pancakes. How much cruel could he get?!

  “You like getting hurt so much, do you?” He again, put a spoonful of our breakfast on my mouth. “Chew.”

  “But –”

  Another spoonful.

  “I SAID CHEW.”

  Then I gave up. I chewed everything he fed me without complaining. I watched him very carefully to look for some sign that he’s not mad at me anymore. He showed nothing of it.

  He doesn’t even smile.

  At nine o’clock, I collected the bouquet of black roses that always show up at this exact time. When I entered the mansion, Guji blocked my way and snatched my roses away. He turned his back on me and walked toward my room.

  I saw his maids carry my roses out.

  “Where are you taking them?” I asked him, frantic.

  “I’ll have them burned.”

  “What?”

  “I cannot let someone else bring flowers for you. Especially when they’re black.” He looked at me and I swear that made me breathless. “Dress up now.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “School? Aren’t you going to school?”

  “Yeah! School! We’re going to school!” I pushed him out of my room and closed the door behind me. I put my hand over my chest and felt it drumming and drumming and drumming. I felt stupid asking him that. I thought he would he ask me out on a date.

  While we’re walking toward the gate, he grabbed my bag and had it slung on his shoulder.

  “Hey, that’s mine!” I blurted out.

  “I’ll be the one to carry it, don’t you like that?” He turned to look at me in the eye. “You’re injured because of me. I’m willing to do favors for you.”

  Then I watched his back walk away from me.

  Oh shit. I want to hug his back from here.

  My dreams weren’t as beautiful as they were before. They were crazy.

  I always dream of a shadow hunting me everywhere. He’s throwing so many darts at me and one wrong move could get me dead. I always run run run until I reached the so called Dead End. Frantic, I turned around and saw him smiling at me. He’s aiming a dart at me and just in seconds, he’s letting it go. I always wake up screaming at the top of my lungs with the fear that I’m going to die.

  This time, I woke up at the sound of my own ringtone.

  I wiped my sweat away before answering BD’s call. “Hello?”

  “Hey, are you okay? I heard you screaming so I went here. I’m at your door,”

  I let out a gasp before crawling toward the door. I leaned against it and kept myself composed.

  I’m so happy that you’re there, BD.

  “You’re having bad dreams, aren’t you?” I heard him clear his throat. “If you’re having troubles with sleeping alone, I could watch over you.”

  “And rape me? I have better plans,” I laughed, just enough to fight that Unreachable Monster which was trying to penetrate my conscious level.

  “Well, raping you is great option. But let’s keep this PG.”

  “PG-13’s way better.” I giggled.

  “Shh. Don’t talk like that. I might consider the idea.” I pursed my lips as the Unreachable Monster got a hold on me again. I hugged my legs to myself as I closed my eyes tightly.

  Fear, don’t kill me. Don’t do this to me. Not now.

  “Janella, are you there?” Yes, I’m here. And I’m dying. “Janella?”

  I could feel thousands of needles darting through me, one at a time then multiple of them. I could feel it in every inch of my skin, down to my muscles, to my organs. I could feel it on my fingertips as I touch myself.

  I could feel it.

  Then I heard a knob unlocking and a door opening. Someone collected me from the floor and carried me to my bed. I know this smell.

  This is Guji’s smell.

  “Shh…” he whispered on my ear. “I’m right here.”

  He lied next to me and covered ourselves with my blanket. He draped one of his arms over me and kept my head to his chest.

  “Don’t be afraid. BD is here,”

  “Don’t leave me…” I barely said. “Don’t leave me alone.”

  “I won’t. BD will always be here for you, SB.”

  Then the darkness ate my consciousness.