Page 19 of Mayhem

“What do you want, Odin?” I ask nervously.

“Oh… nothing. I am just making sure you make it to your car safely.” He nonchalantly replies.

“How chivalrous of you.” Sarcasm coating my words.

“You know me, a knight in shining armor, princess.” He mockingly says while saluting.

I shake my head and chuckle at his words while we continue walking. I peek up at him through my lashes and take him in. He is this tall, imposing guy that everyone around the school fears. I have heard what people say about him. He is a psycho and a killer. He may seem like this happy guy, but he is secretly the most insane person ever. People are cruel and stupid. How could anyone genuinely think he was a killer? Odin is scary, no denying that, but he isn’t a killer or a psychopath. I haven’t spent much time around him, but I have never felt scared of him. I always feel safe and protected.

Odin pulls me closer to him and moves me out of the way of a football whooshing by. It would have hit me in the head if he hadn’t saved me. I look up at him with wide eyes. How did he see that coming? His eyes dart around us, observing every little detail around him. I try to peak and see who threw the ball, but his hold on me is protective, covering as much of me as possible. When he is satisfied that nothing else is coming towards me, he loosens his grip on me and visibly relaxes his body. He looks down at me, taking in every inch of my face and memorizing every detail. His finger brushed against my cheek, causing a small gasp to leave my lips.

His touch is electric.

Hypnotizing.

All consuming.

I push away from him, breaking contact completely. I can’t feel like that when another man touches me. It’s wrong. I should only let Evan touch me like that, even if he has never made me feel like that from any touch before.

“Any plans tonight?” He asks.

I shake my head and continue walking to my car. He keeps up with me but doesn’t say anything else. He grabs my bag from my shoulder and carries it. He opens the door and tosses my bag in the back seat before closing the door. I go to open my door, but Odin slams his hand over it, keeping it shut, and smiles at me. He cages my body against the side of my car.

Having Odin staring at me the way he is like nothing I have ever felt before. His eyes are the most beautiful shade of blue I have ever seen before, and they hold so much desire and hunger. It should feel so wrong. I should tell him to stop and that I’m with someone else- which he already knows- but I don’t want to. I kind of like the attention. It’s not like when Evan gives me attention. When he does it, it’s mostly criticizing what I am wearing or what I am doing. He has these insane standards that I have no choice but to live up to. I am trying, but I never feel like I will. Odin doesn’t make me feel that way. I don’t feel obligated to be something or someone I’m not.

I’ve only known him for a few days, but he gives me a sense of comfort with him that is foreign to me. I have known Evan for what feels like forever, but it has never felt like this. With Evan, I still feel like I am walking on eggshells every day, trying to be what he wants. He has always been so proper and sophisticated and demands that of me.

Odin is the opposite. He is wild and carefree and seems to accept me for me. You never know what you are going to get with Odin. Or any of the Kings. He lowers his head and brushes his nose against the column of my throat. He inhales my scent, and I can feel him hardening against me. A gasp leaves my lips, and a small moan follows. He feels good against me.

“I’ll be seeing you later, princess.” His voice is low and deep with the promise of his words. It sends a shiver down my spine. Before I can respond, he pushes himself off the door and opens it for me. I slide into my seat. Odin grabs the seatbelts and leans into the car to buckle it for me. When Odin is satisfied, he winks at me and closes the car door.

I watch dumbfounded as he walks over to Midas and Zeus- both waiting at their bikes. They speak for a few minutes before Midas nods. I start my car and pull out of the lot, noticing three motorcycles in my rearview.

Mom is home when I get home from school. She finally finished unboxing everything last night. I offered to help, but she told me to go out and have fun with some friends. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I was avoiding the only friends I had made. I didn’t dare tell her about what was going on with Evan. She liked him when we were kids, but as we grew up, she told me on more than one occasion to make new friends. She hated what he was doing to me and who I was becoming. She blames him for a lot.

Deep inside, I know she is right about Evan, but it seemed impossible to leave him. He was the only person in my life. I didn’t have anyone else I could depend on.

I say hi to Mom before walking down the hall to my room. I toss my stuff on my bed and go into the bathroom to turn the shower on. I crank the heat as high as it can go. I strip out of my clothes and turn to look myself in the mirror, methodically examining every inch of my body, like I have done so many times in the past.

I used to be comfortable in my skin until I started dating Evan. That’s when I started seeing the flaws he thought I had. I put my body through so much to make others happy. I hated myself for it, but every time Evan praised me, a sense of pride filled me, and I could not get enough of it. It was such an intoxicating feeling, a high I never wanted to quit. I got so sick, really sick. My mom had to rush me to the hospital one night when I passed out in front of her. That was about two months ago. I started eating a little more and put on some healthy weight. Evan was disgusted with me, telling me I looked better before.

Steam starts filling the room, and I step into the too-hot shower. The scorching hot water splatters across my body, the burn blocking out the pain I already feel. I stay under the hot water until my skin turns red, and I can no longer tolerate it. I turn the temperature down to wash and condition my hair, wash my body, and quickly shave under my arms and legs. I deem myself good enough, I turn the water off and wrap a towel around myself.

I hear a small crack outside my bathroom window, making me jump. I lean over to look out the window but see nothing. I shake my head and turn to the mirror. I quickly blow-dried my hair before brushing and braiding it.

It’s Friday night, and I should be out having fun and being a teenager. Instead, I am already in bed, texting Evan for the millionth time, hoping he responds. I send him a picture of me in bed, letting him know I am staying home tonight. I hold my phone up, staring at the screen until I see that he has read it. He does not respond, so I put the phone on my nightstand and turn the TV on. A rerun of my favorite show is on, so I nestle into my comfy bed and watch it.

A few hours later, my phone dings.

I throw my phone on my bed and curl into a ball. Of course, the first time he texts me back, it is to say something hurtful—another ding. I reluctantly grab my phone.

Serena

A couple of weeks have gone by. The Kings are giving me the space I want, but I can still feel them around me all the time, in the halls at school, at home, and even when I go to get coffee every morning. They have become a weird protective presence in my life that I like.

Evan and I have been speaking more lately. Since the last text he sent me, things have reverted to normal, or as normal as it can be with him. I have been following his rules and making him happy. We talk every day after school. I don’t say much. Instead, I listen to him drone on about everything. The main thing is the wedding. I haven’t worn my engagement ring since he gave it to me. It feels wrong wearing it.

I tried one night asking him if we could have a pro-longed engagement and get married after college, but that ended in him threatening me and then hanging up on me. He called me back twenty minutes later to confess his love and how he never wanted to lose me. That is why we had to get married right away.

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