Page 19 of Teach Me How To Fly

Each of the fifteen stairs felt like I had to go through hell, but I made it, and I was fucking proud of myself.

As soon as I reached the secondary hallway of my house, Tyler rushed my way and grabbed my hands.

“I don’t need help!” I yelled. “Prepare the wagon for a long drive. Make sure I don’t have any transmitters on it.”

“Sure will,” he promptly replied and walked in the opposite direction of me.

Every man who worked for me was used to my impulsive reactions and knew how much I hated to be helped. I didn’t need anyone to be worried for me – not even when they saw me covered in my own blood, fighting to stay alive.

My head hurt when I opened my bedroom door, and the moment I reached the bathroom, I became dizzy, the image in front of my eyes becoming blurry. I put my hands on theedge of the sink, breathing in harder and harder until I started hyperventilating.

“One,” I mumbled. “ Two,” I added and a tear rolled down my cheek. “Three. Four. Five.”

When I reached number five, I punched the mirror and broke it into sharp pieces that fell on the ground.

Now I could finally see my true self, as I looked down at my broken reflection.

I wasn’t whole, just as that mirror.

I was shattered, destroyed from inside out, trying to glue my lost pieces of soul back together. The only problem was that I wasn’t even able to find those pieces, even though I kept trying.

The clothes were makingme itch with every step I made because of the wounds I had on my legs. I kept walking until I reached the front door of the Makenova’s house and as soon as one of their bodyguards opened it for me, I stepped inside and inhaled the familiar scent into my lungs.

Everything about their house reminded me of Annalise and no matter how much I tried to not think of her, I always ended up doing so.

It pissed me off that she had to be the center of my entire universe.

“Lukyan and Annalise are having lunch in the backyard. Please, go and have a seat,” Olivia told me as I walked towards the living room.

“Thank you!” I replied and gave her a gentle smile as I turned around and made my way to the backyard.

The smell of freshly cooked food hit my senses as I got closer to the tall glass wall that separated the living room from the paved path of the backyard.

I walked over the threshold of the door and as I raised my glance, I saw her. She was quietly sitting in the chair to her father’s right, taking small bites from the food she had on her plate. She seemed so detached from reality that it made my heart burn with anger and disappointment.

I felt guilty for whatever she felt at that moment, even though I didn’t know what it was.

“Good afternoon, son,” Lukyan spoke as I sat on the other chair.

“Good afternoon,” I quickly replied, trying not to look at Annalise too much.

But I couldn’t fucking resist the urge. I tilted my head, hoping to meet the emerald pair of irises I loved. But I didn’t.

She looked at her plate like it was the most interesting thing in the world. However, I knew she wanted to look at me, feel my gaze on her beautiful face and let her lips stretch into that beautiful smile she gave me every time.

“Please, eat! You need all the energy you can get for what I’ve planned for us.”

I let a false smile sneak on my face. I grabbed a spoon and put some potatoes onto my plate alongside a piece of baked chicken breast. I wasn’t hungry at all, but I knew that it was a sign of disrespect when you were having lunch with your family and you refused any food they had.

We started eating in silence as the tension between the three of us grew even bigger. I wondered where Katya was, but then I thought that she might’ve been in the city, trying to recover from a night full of alcohol and drugs.

Lukyan’s attention was driven to his phone and his eyebrows were almost touching each other into a confused furrow.

“Annalise, you can finish eating in your room. Me and Maksen need to have a talk,” Lukyan said sharply.

She didn’t say a thing but left the plate on the table and walked past her father. I followed her with my gaze and the view she offered made me move in my seat, suddenly aware of the feeling of pleasure growing in my pants. Thank God the table was covering my legs, or any false promise I’ve made to Lukyan was going to go shit.

She was wearing a white dress that became transparent when the sun rays touched its soft material. But as soon as I tried to see more of her, Lukyan cleared his throat and caught my attention immediately.

---