CHAPTER XLI
~~~
Ever since that time, she hadn’t been the same. Her nightmares had changed from that of her parents to similar ones she had earlier. Her cheeks were hollow, and she had thinned down. She abruptly stopped attending college. She preferred the safe confines of her room and her food was always taken to her in there. The only thing she was grateful for and happy about was that Chase hadn’t showed up in front of her after that terrifying and traumatising night. Once when Valerie had gone to check up on her, she had told her that Chase flew out of the country for work and still wasn’t back yet and Sometimes, Sophia even prayed for him to just die and never return.
As Sophia’s eyes landed on the covered skin below her shoulder blade, a loud voice at the back of her mind screamed at her to leave her hands at her sides and not uncover the skin to look at the scar, but her hands happened to develop a mind of their own.
Sophia’s hands reached up and one pulled down the shirt she was wearing while the other caressed the scar on her skin.
C H A S E
It didn’t hurt again. No, it didn’t. In fact, it was completely healed, surely leaving behind its main purpose; a scar, but every time she remembered that night, Sophia could still feel the pain of a scalding hot knife tearing at her skin in form of those five letters. It mentally stung her more and the need to claw on the scar and rip it off gnawed at her mind but that was impossible. It was impossible to rip off something that had become a part of her skin.
Warm arms engulfed Sophia in a hug from behind her, before the scent of sandalwood hit her nostrils and she froze in her place. The fingers on the scar froze also. “Do you like it?”
Sophia’s eyes connected with Chase’s dark ones and his own eyes held hers, not letting her break the eye contact. “Ch.-chase,” She tried to break free from him.
“Stop,” He growled and she stopped struggling instantly. Chase placed feathery kisses on her shoulder blade. “Won’t you welcome me home? I’ve been away from you for a month and I’ve missed you so much,” He loved the way she stopped struggling. It was good that way.
Sophia shook her head and tears clouded her vision. “I-I can’t. Please not tonight,”
Chase passed her a boyish smile and Sophia’s heart fluttered in warmth. “It’s okay. I wasn’t talking about sex though,” He turned her so she could face him with his arms still wrapped round her waist and her fists on his chest. “I just need a welcome kiss. I promise it won’t be more than that,” He sounded like a teenager asking his girlfriend for permission to kiss her.
Sophia peeked at him through her lashes before looking down at her fists on his chest. He was a man who always kept his promises so he wouldn’t do anything more than kissing her. But what if his desires got the best of him? “I-,”
“Don’t you want to kiss me, Gattina?” His voice was heavy with restraint. He was restraining himself from forcing a kiss on her and having her against that mirror even though it would be a good thing to have her watch him drilling himself in her.
{“Kitten”}
Sophia sighed softly. It was of no use refusing him after all. “O-okay,”
Chase placed two of his fingers underneath her chin and made her look up at him in the eye. “Okay what, Gattina? Tell me what you want,”
{“Kitten”}
“I-,”Sophia tried to look down but changed her mind when she felt his grip on her chin tighten, “I-I-,”
“You what?” He passed her that boyish smile again.
“I-I want you to-I want to-,”Red hue stained her cheeks and neck. “I-Kiss me,” She then looked down in shyness.
Chase chuckled and the sound brought warmth to Sophia heart. She didn’t understand why but those butterflies in her stomach woke up and she no longer felt the gaping hole of loneliness in her heart again. “I should kiss you?” Chase’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. “You should ask well for it,”
Sophia looked up at him again. “I-I want to-,”She shut her eyes tight and pursed her lips.” I want to give you a-I want to give you a welcome kiss,”
Chase knew she was shy. It was obvious and as much as he wanted to make her open her eyes and say those words to him, he let it slide for another time. “Okay then, Gattina. Give it to me. Kiss me,”
{“Kitten”}
Sophia’s eyes widened and she looked up at him. “I-I can’t do it!”
Chase smiled and slammed her back against the wall, as he towered above her, earning a gasp from her. He placed his right hand on the wall above her head and the other one rested on her waist. “Just place your lips on mine. I’ll take over from there,”
“I-I can’t do it,”
“Put both of your hands on my shoulders,” He said. When Sophia only looked up at him, he squeezed her waist lightly. “Do it,”
Sophia obeyed and placed both of her hands on his shoulders.
“Place your lips on mine. Lean in and do that,”
“Okay,” Sophia did as she was told and that was all it took for Chase to take over the kiss in his own way.
~~~
“Haven’t you been eating?” Chase tucked Sophia in her bed and covered her body with the duvet. He had to pull away from that kiss in order to stop himself from doing what he promised her he wouldn’t do. “You look thinner. Are you sick?”Content is property © NôvelDrama.Org.
So he noticed? Sophia thought. “I’m okay. I’m not sick,”
“But you’ll fall sick if you don’t eat. Take a look at how thinner you’ve become,” He resisted the urge to snap and convince her of his point. He clearly couldn’t. He understood the state she was in. She was still broken from what he had done to her a month ago and he couldn’t afford to make her condition worse. She had to be back to normal again.
“I-I’ll be fine if I sleep,” Sophia said with a small sigh.
“I’m not listening to that crap. I’m taking you myself to the hospital tomorrow, got it?”
Sophia nodded. There was no chance for refusal.
“Do you need the lights to be left on?” He asked.
She nodded, not saying a word.
“Okay then,” Chase leaned in and stole a quick kiss before pulling away. “Go to bed,”
Sophia gripped his wrist before he turned to leave. “Chase,”
Chase stopped and stared at her face. She wasn’t staring at him. “Do you need anything?”
“I-,” She sighed. “Can-can I go to the church tomorrow?”