Page 72 of Save Me
“Good evening, Beth,” he smiles, pulling me in to plant a kiss on my cheek, “good day?”
“It was ok, you?” I reply with manners my parents would be proud of, even with someone tall, dark, and terrifying.
“Extremely good, thank you, Beth.”
He pulls me inside of my own house before closing the door. In the peripheries of my vision, I spy Mum cutting vegetables with angry, exaggerated strokes, no doubt picturing Oliver’s head beneath the blade instead of the carrot she’s hacking to bits.
“I bet you’re wondering why I am here?”
“Well, yes, to be honest,” I reply with a nervous shrug, “but then again, nothing surprises me with you anymore.”
“I’m taking you on a date, darling,” he laughs jovially, while I wince over the pet name that he’s just given to me. It’s so formal and grown-up. Something Xander, my real boyfriend as far as I’m concerned, would never use with me. “Dinner and a movie!”
“Oh,” I reply, not knowing quite how to respond to this. Instead, I simply nod and wait for further instruction. He lifts my chin with his finger before placing a chaste kiss upon my lips.
“Go and get changed,” he orders, though with a softness to it, as if he’s trying to make it sound romantic. A notion I may have appreciated had he not tried to squeeze the life out of me last weekend. Of course, I do not voice this thought process, just smile, blush, and nod. “Oh, you forgot this on Sunday,” he says and pulls out the large engagement ring he had given to me and places it onto my finger. It feels like he’s putting a collar on his pet dog before taking it out. “I want you wearing this always, so people know you are taken.”
The giant rock on my finger feels like it’s weighing me down, but I smile obediently and climb the staircase while he watches my every move.
Oliver looks completely out of place in the small-town movie theater, but doesn’t seem to notice the contrast between his priceless apparel and the neon flashing lights highlighting the latest releases. He chooses the film, for of course, he would. Giving me any kind of choice might give me ideas above my station as his little wife. It’s a Marvel movie, full of superheroes and villains, causing me to wonder where Oliver would cast himself in such a reality, or even which side he’s rooting for. Mr Dalton would have a field day debating such a topic.
Throughout the nearly three hours of film, his hand remains firmly planted on my thigh, only moving to kiss my cheek, my hand, or my neck. Sometimes he sniffs my hair and hisses through his teeth as though the aroma is a natural aphrodisiac. However, he never wanders further from these areas, for which I’m grateful. He could have easily taken advantage of the darkness all around us.
When the movie finally finishes, he possessively grips hold of my hand and guides me out into the lobby, with his bodyguards leading the way to ensure the general public doesn’t get too close. Once there, he suddenly pulls me into his embrace, snaking his hands around my waist and attacking my mouth with his. It makes me feel so uncomfortable, I desperately want to push away. However, last weekend taught me not to even try, to do as I’m told, and to reciprocate the aggressive kiss. I hate myself for it.
He eventually pulls back and appears to be grinning at someone behind me, but I don’t dare look for fear of incurring his wrath. My bruises have only just faded from the last set he gifted me.
“Mr Fenton!” he calls over to the figure who he’s been grinning at all this time. “Darling, look it’s your little friend from school.”
He physically turns me to face Xander who is now sporting a murderous scowl at Oliver. I brace myself for when his hurt eyes finally fall onto mine. If this wasn’t bad enough, Casey and Kyle are standing right beside him, both looking equally as shocked as one another. They’re probably wondering why this much older man with far too much money to comprehend, is groping me in public. All three sets of eyes fall to the shimmering rock that sits with glaring obviousness on my left hand, seemingly flashing its blinding, sparkling light into Xander’s eyes with its sheer cut and size.
I try to give Xander my most reassuring expression, but it does little to calm him. His hands are balled into fists, his complexion now a deep crimson, and his jaw ticking with rage.
“What the hell is that on your finger?!” Casey gasps as she steps forward and grabs my hand to eyeball the ring. “Holy shit, that must have cost a small fortune!”
“Is she engaged?!” Kyle slaps Xander’s chest and grins like a puppy with far too much enthusiasm. “The girl you’ve been obsessing over is engaged to some other dude! Oh, my fuck, that’s just too fucking sweet!” he chuckles. “Brit girl, you dark, little slut!”
Xander instantly turns his rage-filled glare toward Kyle who appears to only have the brain capacity for basic survival. However, it’s actually Oliver who grips hold of Kyle’s shirt. He slams him up against the Perspex casing for a poster advertising an upcoming blockbuster and gets his fists ready to beat the living shit out of him. Casey screams theatrically when Oliver throws one of them into Kyle’s face, cracking his nose and causing a trickle of blood to flow steadily down his chin. I turn to look at Xander in shock, but he’s already stomping away in fury. My heart sinks as I watch his back get further and further away from me, seemingly hating me with his every step.
“Are you fucking nuts?!” Kyle spits at Oliver, all the while Casey is trying, with little to no success, to pull my fiancé away from him. “I’m gonna get you for this, man, I’m gonna get you-”
“Kyle,” I beg when I eventually pull my eyes away from the now absent Xander, “please shut up if you know what’s good for you!”
“You shut up, bitch!” Casey growls in a low, menacing tone of voice.
Looking like the Terminator, in that he robotically turns his head with a steely-eyed expression that turns your blood to ice, Oliver glares at her, causing her to wither and fall back. All I can do is watch on as she stares at him in abject fear.
“If either of you dares to utter one more derogatory word against my fiancé, I swear it will be your last!”
“Oliver…please!” I beg him, using the only means I have at my disposal to try and break up this hellish experience.
My hand softly lies across Oliver’s tense bicep, the same one that still has Kyle held up against the wall in a death grip. I stare into his eyes with what I hope looks like affection. He notices my hand before moving his eyes up to gaze upon my face, which appears to loosen his clenched jaw. Slowly after, his expression softens. I take the opportunity to cup his face between my hands and look at him with the same intensity with which I usually give Xander before I kiss him. With Xander in mind, I softly press my lips against his and lean my forehead onto his furrowed brow, closing my eyes for a moment before opening them to look deeply into his. All the while, his confused ones continue to move at a rapid pace across my face.
Oliver drops Kyle into a heap on the floor just as security comes running out to see what the hell is going on. Oliver doesn’t take his eyes away from mine, and I find my relief soon turning to anxiety from the way he is now looking at me.
“Mr Lawrence, my apologies, is everything alright?” a man in a suit and a name badge calls out to Oliver from the side of us. “We’ll see these two out immediately!”
“What?!” Casey shouts. “Look at my boyfriend! Not to mention what that animal just threatened us with!”