Page 29 of His Obsession
“Baby, I need you to tell me what’s going on,” he says to me before whispering to someone. “Something is going on at Elise’s house.”
“I was in my office all day. I came out to get dinner and h-heard the door shut. I called, but you didn’t answer. Then doors were slammed upstairs and footsteps. Please tell me it’s you. I won’t be mad. Please, just tell me it’s you,” I cry.
“Where are you in the house?” he asks calmly.
“I’m in my office. I’m sitting on the floor against the wall,” I say quietly. I hear more footsteps, only this time they’re in the hallway. I slam my hand over my mouth to muffle my sudden burst of sobs as I move to sit under my desk.
“What’s that? What’s happening?” he asks.
“Someone’s in the hallway,” I whisper.
“We need to go,” Lucian says to someone. “Elise, hide and we will be there in just a second, okay?” I pull my knees to my chest and hug my legs.
“They’re here,” I say almost inaudibly when I hear the knob turn. I set the phone down and cover my mouth so I can bury my face. My whole body is vibrating, and time seems to be passing slowly. I hear soft footsteps on the other side of my desk, and then silence. I stay as quiet and still as I can.
I feel like I’m a little kid again, hiding from my foster parents to avoid being whipped. I don’t know how long I’ve been here for, but when a hand touches my shoulder, I scream and try to get further under the desk.
“Woah. Hey. It’s me. It’s Luci,” he says as he pulls me out from under the desk. I am shaking so badly that I can’t talk or move, so he pulls me into his lap and holds me tightly. Memories of my trauma are flashing in my mind, and I can’t make them quiet. These flashes of memories I haven’t experienced outside of my nightmares and it only further drags me down into the depths of my panic.
“Breathe, Elise. It’s okay,” he whispers.
“Whoever it is, they’re gone,” I hear Bradley say. “Did you see anyone, Elise?”
“It can wait a…”
“No,” I sniffle and sit up. “I heard them come in, and then it was silent until Luci got to me.”
“Stand up here and talk to me,” he says. I get myself up and instead of talking, he just hugs me.
“You tricked me,” I say as I hug him back.
“Calmed you down though, didn’t it?” he chuckles.
“Thank you,” I say.
“Let’s go walk through the house to make sure nothing was messed with,” Lucian says, nudging me. I nod and we start downstairs. When everything looks to be in order, we move upstairs. I save my room for last, because that is the door I heard the door slamming.
When I open the door, I look around for a moment but freeze when my eyes fall on my bed. “What the fuck is that?” I ask, pointing to a single black rose on my pillow. I go to step closer, but Lucian pulls me out of the room.
“Call a meeting,” Lucian says to Bradley. “Now.”
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“Someone else is asking you to consent to the games,” he says with anger in his tone. “Two people cannot ask the same person because it leads to confusion for the prey.”
“Who… Why?” I ask. “Why would someone else want me to consent? Wouldn’t that just be going against you?”
“Yes,” Lucian says as he leads me out of the house. When we get outside, there are already a lot of people out on the sidewalks.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“To the community center,” he says. I stop walking and he turns to me.
“Have I done something wrong?” I ask hesitantly.
“No, love. You haven’t done anything wrong,” he says. “I apologize if I am scaring you. This is just concerning because if someone left you that, then chances are they’ve been close to you for weeks now. Have you noticed anything peculiar?”
“I mean… the night you had that end of summer thing, The front gates were open when I got home,” I say and he sighs.