I closed my eyes but winced every time Brett pulled a piece of glass from my skin. The third time I jumped and Brett held my hand, massaging my palm with his fingers before continuing. "Tell me again," he said, pulling out a tiny piece of glass that had embedded itself into my elbow. "What was it you said you did before coming here." I had a feeling Brett was trying to distract me. I decided to let him.
"Ow," I winced. "I'm an actress. Well... was… sort of."
His eyes lifted to mine. We were so close I could smell his sweat. It was like cedar and eucalyptus. I inhaled deeply as he continued. "Sort of?" he asked.
"Well, my boyfriend—ex-boyfriend—Colin, has had a lot better luck at it than I have."
"Oh? And how much luck have you had?" he asked, dropping another piece of glass onto the table.
"None," I tried to smile but my lips turned down instead of up.
Brett's hand reached out, caressing the back of my leg. His eyes were soft and seemed to reach to the very core of me. "It takes time," he said. "What about Colin? Where is he now?"
"In our old apartment, probably banging some skank he picked up at a bar. That was his favorite pastime while we were together, no reason it would’ve stopped now that we're apart."
Brett's eyes darkened. "He cheated on you?"
I laughed. "Constantly. Then again..." I paused. "Can it really be called cheating if I knew and didn’t stop it?" I blushed, embarrassed.
Brett's eyes started to twitch. "You knew he was cheating on you yet you said nothing?" I nodded, feeling my throat dry up. "So, you prefer men with a callous disregard for your wellbeing who would treat you with no respect rather than those who would love you unconditionally?" he asked, finally setting the tweezers down. His eyes burned with an angry fire. I felt my defenses kick in.
"No, I just... I don't have a lot of friends."
"There's a reason for that."
I yanked my arm out of his grip. "What is that supposed to mean?” Brett's muscles flexed and he looked at me with eyes that were hard and dark.
“Go on, Brett, answer. What is the reason I have no friends? I’m fat, ugly, stupid? Lay it on me, I can take it. Trust me, I’ve heard worse than anything you can dish up.” I knew my temper was flying off the handle a little bit, but I was livid.
"Because you have no self-confidence,” he spat the words at me. “You put yourself down too much.” He didn’t meet my eyes when he muttered, “Why are you women always putting yourselves down?"
I knew Brett was in a bad mood when he’d walked into the kitchen this morning, but after being burned and having shards of glass removed from my arm, I wasn’t exactly Little Mary Sunshine either. Something about the way he said “you women” or maybe it was the words he chose that spiked my bitch-o-meter.
"I don't know," I snapped back, "Maybe it’s the same reason men like you are always keeping secrets from us."
"Oh really?" he snarled, trying unsuccessfully to control his temper. "It would seem you know much more about men than I'd initially given you credit for."
"Are you calling me a slut now?" I stormed towards the front door.
"Where are you going?" he demanded, his booming voice stopping me short.
"Out."
"You can't. It's against your contract. I forbid it."
I turned on my heels. "You forbid it?"
Brett squared his shoulders. "That's right."
It was just then that my phone rang. It wasn’t a number that I recognized and I only answered it to piss Brett off. I was a little confused by how we'd gone from his caressing my leg to the all-out war we were in the middle of. "Hello?" I snapped into the receiver.
"Kaitlyn?"
My face turned pale. "Colin?"
"Yeah."
"What the hell do you—" Then I saw Brett's face. His eyes were narrowed in jealousy, his lips pursed tightly. "Colin, hey, what's up? I was just thinking about you actually."
"You were?"
"Yeah."
I heard Colin take a deep breath before launching into a prepared speech. "I called because I wanted to say I was sorry for the way I treated you."
I was so shocked at his words that I forgot to breathe. "You are?"
"Of course I am! I was a complete idiot. I was hoping you'd let me take you to dinner tonight. I'd like to talk to you. To explain why I treated you like that when you deserved so much better."
"Well..." I should have told him to fall in shit and roll around. That was my first instinct. But, Brett was watching me, his face still scrunched in a scowl. Besides, after three weeks cooped up with a narcissistic crazy person, it was nice to hear an outside voice.
"I can't really meet you for dinner. I... I'm stuck at work all day today." Then an idea struck me. "Would you like to meet me here? Where I'm living now?" I held the phone away from my mouth and tried to make my eyes look wide and innocent as I turned to Brett, " I am allowed to have friends over, aren't I?" He nodded stiffly. I could tell he hated the idea, but he wasn't about to let me think I'd gotten the best of him.
I was thinking of the movie room. Colin and I could watch something in there after I got Brett locked down for the night. We would never be a couple again, but maybe we could at least work towards a civil friendship. It would be nice to have a friend.
I gave Colin directions and he promised to meet me here at 9:30 tonight.
Chapter 9
I don't know why I'd gotten dressed up for Colin. No, that's a lie. I wanted to look good so Colin would know exactly what he was missing, and Brett would be jealous for keeping me at arm’s length. Little did I know at the time that I was playing with fire.
I opened the door at 9:30, and Colin stood there with his jaw open and his hands trembling. I smiled.
"Hey," I said, trying my best to sound casual. Inside, I was shouting with glee.
"Hey. Uh... you look nice."
"Thanks. Come on in." I swung the door open wider, and he stepped over the threshold. He gave a low whistle and looked at me with a new respect.
"You live here?" he asked.
My smile widened as I led Colin down the hall towards the theatre. "Yeah. I mean, it's my boss's place. The room came with the job."
"Wow," he said, eyeing the treasures around the house. It was hard not to. The paintings on the walls alone were probably worth millions. "Where's your room? Can I see it?" he asked.
I hesitated. I was okay with Colin being in the house and us hanging in the theater, but having him step foot in my bedroom was another thing altogether. I had no intention of sleeping with him and didn't want him to get the wrong idea.
"It's upstairs," I said, "Maybe later," then steered him down another hallway. Finally we got to the theater and I showed him in. "Wow," he said again. He seemed in awe of everything about the place. I'd known he would be and the show-off in me was glad.
"Got any snacks?" he asked.
"I can check the kitchen for popcorn and stuff."
"I was thinking more like wine. Maybe some strawberries?"
Alarm bells went off in my head, "Um... I'll check. Colin..." I hesitated. I didn't want Colin thinking of this as a date—the kind that would end with us in bed and me regretting it all the next day. "I don't think that... I think we should just be friends." I held my breath, waiting for his reaction. Colin didn't have friends who were girls.
"Sure," he said. "That's fine. That's great, actually. Who couldn't use a friend?" I blew out the breath I'd been holding.
"Great," I said. I checked the clock on the wall. It was almost ten. "Look, I have to run and take care of something for my boss. I'll be back in like ten minutes. Make yourself at home. There's a huge movie selection over there," I pointed towards the far wall. "Pick out whatever you'd like and I'll be back."
I ran to Brett's room, happy that I'd invited Colin over after all. We'd been together for six years—since high school—you didn't just give that up overnight. There was no reason we couldn't be friends.
Brett was waiting f
or me on his bed, the cuffs spread out before him. "Hi," I said. Things had been awkward between us all day. He looked at me but said nothing as I strapped his cuffs around his wrist. His arms were a mass of golden-bronze muscles. It seemed wrong to be locking him in steel cuffs.
"So, your boyfriend is here?" Brett finally asked gruffly.
“Ex,” I replied
"You'd let someone who hurt you as he did back into your life?"
I hesitated. I didn’t like his derogatory tone. "What I do with my private life is none of your business." I felt his eyes glued to me as I walked around his room, checking things. "Besides, I don't have any other friends."
"You have me," Brett said. His voice was hoarse and he stared at me with calculating eyes.
"No, I don't," I snapped. "I don't even have your friendship Brett."
He looked stunned. His eyes softened. "The last few weeks... I've come to appreciate you more than I could have thought possible."
There was a long pause of awkward silence. The air felt heavy around us.
"Yeah, well..." I didn't know what to say. I was flattered by his words, but I was still an outsider in his world. "You have too many secrets. I don’t even know you—the real you. You shut me out."
Brett opened his mouth to respond then closed it again without saying anything further. "I'll be back at six," I told him, then shut the door.
In the kitchen, I grabbed a bottle of wine from the small wine cooler. Colin had picked out a movie and it was already playing it when I walked in. "You started it already?" I asked.
"Yeah. I was bored. Do you mind?"
"Er... no. I guess not. I got us some wine." I didn't know anything about wine, I'd just grabbed the first bottle I saw, but Colin whistled when he saw the year.
"Nice," he said. I smiled, glad I'd selected something appropriate.
We sat sipping wine and watching some old western that I didn't recognize but Colin seemed to really be enjoying. Halfway through I went to refill my glass and realized the bottle was empty. Colin had drunk almost all of it himself. I should have known better, Colin had always been a heavy drinker. I decided it wasn't a good idea to get another bottle. I didn't want him spending the night because he was too drunk to drive.
My mind kept drifting back to what Brett had said. Colin had treated me like crap the entire time we were together. Why would I let him back into my life now that I'd made a fresh start? Was I really so desperate for friends?
It was while I was pondering this that I felt Colin's hand creeping up my thigh. I looked at him and pushed it away. "Stop," I said.
He shrugged and returned to watching the movie. A minute later, his hand was back. Only this time, I didn't push it away so easily. He wouldn't let me. "Colin," I said, hoping I sounded forceful. His hand was on my waist now, trying to draw me to him. "Colin, stop it. I thought we decided we'd just be friends."
"Yeah," he whispered, forcing himself closer to me. I struggled in his arms. "Friends with benefits."
"No, Colin. I'm not interested in those types of benefits." He pressed his lips against mine. They tasted like sour wine. I slapped him, surprised at myself. Colin looked shocked too, for a half-second, then his face grew dark and angry. I jumped off the couch and Colin stood up.
"So, you'll bang Brett Randolph Elliot but not me? Is that it?"
"What are you talking about? How did you know this is Brett Elliot's place?"
"Your mom told me. I didn't believe her at first, but when I saw this house tonight... You've gotta be fucking him. Why else would he hire you? He must have a thing for fat chicks."
I cursed my mother for opening her big mouth. "Okay, you need to leave." I put a hand on his back to usher him towards the door. He reached out and grabbed my wrist, twisting it behind my back painfully. "Ow," I screamed. Things went from bad to worse, fast. With my wrist locked in his grip Colin forced me back onto the couch and pinned me there.
"Colin, stop it!" I screamed. His hands ran roughly over my breasts, fingers stabbing into my flesh like ice picks. His breath was hot and stunk as he kissed me, pushing his body against mine. I felt his erection through his pants and freed my hand just enough to slap him again. He punched me back, and I tasted blood in my mouth. It mixed with the tears flowing down my cheeks. "Colin, stop it!" I whimpered. "Heeelp!"
Colin ripped my shirt open and had just gotten my pants unzipped when the room suddenly filled with heat. There was a loud sound, like a cross between a roar and a hiss, and Colin was knocked off me. I grasped the ends of my shirt together and stood, trembling, trying to stop the flow of tears. A massive- thing stood in the center of the room. It looked like a… a… dragon. It picked Colin's body up—he was thrashing and screaming—and threw him against the wall. I heard a crack and Colin's body went limp.
Then, the dragon turned toward me.
Chapter 10
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Was my mind was playing tricks on me? It had to be. No, it was a dragon. Wasn’t it? Was I was having some sort of breakdown? I screamed and knocked the wine bottle off the table. A dragon. A real dragon. I wanted to reach out and touch it, but didn't dare. I pinched my skin, thinking maybe I was dreaming, but I didn't wake up.
"Go away!" I hissed, feeling ridiculous. As if it could understand me. Then again, what the hell did I know about dragons? For all I knew they could read and write and line dance. As scared as I was, there was an almost overpowering feeling enveloping my body, drawing me to the creature. It was like some deep cavern within my soul had suddenly opened and I needed only to follow the shining light towards salvation, only this light breathed fire and was supposed to be tucked away in the realms of fantasy books.
The dragon's body filled the room from floor to ceiling. Its skin was gray green. Scales ran the length of its body. I even noticed puffs of smoke coming out of its nostrils. I'm hallucinating. I had to be, but that didn't stop my body from trembling.
Colin's body was crumpled on the floor, limp. He wasn't breathing. I remembered the way his fist had felt as it slammed into my face. The way his hands hadn't paused for even a second when he'd ripped my shirt. I looked again at his body, a rag doll lying on the floor, and was surprised to find that I didn't feel sorry for him. My eyes moved from Colin to the dragon. Whatever this thing in front of me was, it had saved me.
It stepped closer to me, tilting its head to one side like it was examining me, and I backed towards the wall. "It's okay," I said in a soft voice, the kind you'd use when talking to a rabid dog. "Good… dragon." The words sounded ridiculous coming out of my mouth, but I didn't have anything better. How to deal with mythological creatures was not something in my repertoire.
It continued moving towards me until I was flush against the wall. Then it reached out one clawed... paw... I had no idea what to call the flesh that the six-inch claws were attached to... and I realized that there were chains dangling from around its wrists. Heavy, thick chains with matching steel cuffs that were pulled taught around its wrists.
My first semi-coherent thought was that this dragon had eaten Brett. That was the only logical explanation. Then I realized how completely illogical it actually was. Why would Brett's handcuffs be glued to its wrists if it had eaten him? Wouldn't the chains be in its stomach right now, getting digested? I pushed aside an image of Brett's body being eaten away by this creature's stomach acid.
My brain refused to accept the next obvious solution, that this dragon actually was Brett. Even so, I couldn't stop my eyes from searching the dragon's features. My eyes snapped open wide and I stared at its face. Blue eyes stared back at me.
Oh. My. God," I whispered. "Brett?"
It was then that Jeremy burst into the room, a sword in his hand, a gun at his side. He saw Brett and me by the wall, Colin's body dead on the floor, and quickly jumped to conclusions.
"It's alright," he called to me, taking big, slow steps towards us, the sword out and ready. I was sort of shocked to see how un-shocked Jeremy was about the situation.
I mean, a giant dragon was in the room with us and Jeremy was looking at it like it was a pet dog. Brett watched Jeremy with wary eyes. I reached out a protective hand. Whatever Brett was, he had saved me.
"Don't hurt him!" I shouted. "He didn't do anything."
Jeremy scoffed, his eyes darting to Colin's body. "He's killed a man."
I searched for the right words to save Brett from the sharp blade that Jeremy held tightly in his hand, and settled on the truth. "That man was attacking me. He... he tried to..." I couldn't finish the thought. Jeremy finally seemed to notice me—really notice me, not just observe my presence in the room. I saw his eyes roll over my body, taking in my bloody lip, the bruising and swelling on my cheek that was becoming more pronounced by the second, and my torn shirt.
"Are you alright?" Jeremy asked, his eyes and voice softening. The dragon—I mean Brett—shuffled his feet and let out a monstrous sound that reminded me of a train whistle. Jeremy continued to move closer to us, and now withdrew something from his pocket that looked like a Taser gun.
"What is that?" I asked. "What the hell is going on here anyways?" I felt like I was insane. I desperately wanted answers to the millions of questions swarming my head. The dragon flashed a claw at Jeremy when he got close and I saw Jeremy hesitate before moving in again.
"Don't hurt him!" I shouted. Even as a dragon, I still felt drawn to Brett like a magnet. Actually, the pull was even stronger now than it had been since my arrival. I didn't know whether it was because Brett had just saved me, or if the weirdness in me was just enamored with the idea that he was a dragon, but something about him made my body ache for him even more.
"I'm not going to hurt him," Jeremy snapped. "I just have to get him back to his room." Maybe I was being too hard on Jeremy. I'd never liked him, but now, watching the fearlessness with which he wielded his sword in a dangerous situation, I had a newfound respect for him.
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