Page 29 of Obsessive Love

I freeze in my doorway when I see his tall, bulky stature blocking the hallway as he leans against the wall opposite my room.

He smirks. I frown.

He takes a step forward. I take one back.

"Morning,dolcezza," he says, the nickname he's given me smoothly rolling off of his tongue. I clench my jaw, determined to preserve my anger and not be affected by his flirtatious advances. "I think you have something of mine."

I glare at him and shove the jacket against his chest, managing to slightly push him back.

"Stay the fuck away from me and keep out of my room," I spit before I step back into my room and attempt to slam the door shut in his face, but he shoves his foot in the way, hissing as the door butts against it. Our eyes connect through the sliver of space and he raises his brows.

"You haven't realised yet that that'll be impossible for me to do, have you?" he asks. When I stare dumbfoundedly at him through the small gap that his foot has created, he smirks and winks at me. "I'll be seeing you,dolcezza."

He pulls his foot out of the way and I quickly push the door shut, sighing in relief when I hear the distinct click of the latch.

I stare at the closed door wide-eyed, shocked that I spoke so venomously toward him.

His handsome, smirking face angered me further. I had no composure and completely forgot about my father's warnings to play nice with him. I turn around so that my back is pressed against the cold wood and when I hear his fading footsteps, I slowly slide down to the floor as I stare at the plain, lifeless room ahead of me, wondering if my little outburst will bring repercussions.

A knock sounds at the door, and I scramble away in a panic, worried about who it might be.

"Sophia," Jaylen whispers, knocking again. "Open the door."

I shake my head and lightly chuckle as I imagine what Jaylen would think if he walked into the room and saw me crouched on the floor and staring at the door with a harried-looking expression. I take a deep breath in an attempt to gather myself and quickly smooth my palms across my face before I go and open the door.

He glances down the hallway and then slips into my room, quietly closing the door behind him. I raise a questioning browwhen he turns to face me, wondering why he's acting like a teenager who's trying to sneak out after being grounded.

"What are you doing?"

He lifts his finger to his mouth, silently telling me to be quiet, and grabs my hand, pulling me towards the adjoining bathroom. When he shuts the bathroom door behind us and presses his ear against it, I smash my lips together, trying to contain the laugh that desperately wants to burst out of me.

"Seriously, Jay, what the fuck are you doing?" I ask, chuckling slightly as I speak.

"Shh!" he hisses, pulling away from the door and pacing back and forth across the tiled floor. "I heard Jericho leave this morning so I snuck downstairs and scouted the place out."

"Did you manage to get through the locked door in the hallway?" I ask quietly, no longer finding the situation funny and now fully invested in his sneaky findings.

He shakes his head and my shoulders slump in disappointment.

"I didn't try the door yet. Kaleb was still here and so was Myra. There were also two guys stationed in the foyer, so I pretended I was going out for a run." I look down at the black jumper and denim jeans he's wearing, and I laugh.

"You went for a run in jeans?"

"I had to think on the spot! It was the best excuse I could come up with," he whisper-yells, narrowing his eyes at me. "Anyway, that's not important. I ran around the house a few times and nothing really stood out apart from the fact that there were no windows at the back of the property on the ground level. The upstairs and the front of the right side are identical to the left side of the house, though, so I'm assuming that maybe he has holding cells or something, a bit like what my father had in our old house."

I close the toilet seat and sit down as I watch him continue to pace across the room as he tells me more.

"There's a steel door round the back as well, hidden behind some of the flowers and bushes which I'm assuming were planted there for a reason. It's solid and has a keypad beside it, which makes me think even more that maybe the right side of the house has been converted into a place for him to do his dirty dealings. I tried to inconspicuously look through the windows at the front, but two of the room's windows were covered. I did manage to catch a glimpse of his office through another one of the windows, although that didn't really tell me much. It's quite plain, if I'm honest. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Okay… Are the guards still downstairs in the foyer?" I ask as a plan begins to form in my mind.

"No. When I'd come back from my run, they'd left. I think it's just us and Myra in the house now."

"So, can we go and check out the locked door in the hallway? I'll be the lookout whilst you try and get it open."

He shakes his head and rests his back against the counter.

"I don't think we need to, Soph. I'm pretty sure the guy's not hiding anything detrimental, and I don't think we should snoop around anymore. We were told not to go to the right side of the house for a reason, and although you may want to go against those rules, I don't want to. Your place here is permanent, mine isn't. I'm only here because you and your dad asked for me to be here. If I get caught, they might chuck me out and then you could potentially be in danger without me here, so let's just leave it for now, okay?"

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