Page 16 of Wings of a Butterfly

“They were planted around the house by my mother, and they just keep coming back every year. I thought you’d love them.”

“I do. They’re beautiful. I’ll have to put them in a vase on the table later.”

We lay in bed eating, laughing, and just talking. Once the food settles, we just lay there cuddling.

My hand itches. I look down and there’s a red rash forming.

“What’s the matter, baby?”

“Ah. It’s nothing. I think I’m allergic to the flowers.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. They were so sweet though.”

He kisses my forehead. We lay on the bed, limbs tangled all together. This is the first time I’ve felt like I could fall for him, but I need to know more first. My curiosity won’t let me stop.

“Will you ever tell me what goes on in that head of yours?” I turn over to look him in the eyes. I’m searching them to find the answers I’m looking for.Just open up to me.

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Why? I’d never judge you. I mean after everything you could give me something.” I’m searching his eyes, pleading for him to give me something. He looks like he’s waging a war behind those eyes. I need to know what it is he’s hiding.

“I just can’t, Sky. Please don’t ask me again.”

He untangles himself from my limbs and gets out of bed. He looks defeated. I’m torn between giving into him and running away. Alex is beautifully broken with that scar on his face. I wish he would open up more. Tell me more of his story or about who he talks to in the middle of the night. He tugs at my heartstrings when he’s sweet, but him keeping secrets may be too much for me to bear.

I hear his footsteps leading down the stairs, and I take this opportunity to see what he’s hiding in his office under the stairs. I ease out of the room and into the hallway and look to see if he’s made it fully downstairs. He’s probably off to talk to his inner demons again at the bottom of a whiskey bottle. That being said, he’ll be busy for a little bit. Enough time for me to see what’s in his office.

I ease my way toward the stairs. My skin’s prickling and my senses are heightened to every noise he’s making downstairs.I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.I have to know what he’s hiding before I can decide whether I can live with this man, locked in this prison forever. I just need to settle this need I have in my brain.

I inch past the stairs one at a time very slowly. I’m holding my breath in anticipation of what I’ll find and hoping I won’t get caught in the process. I don’t know what he’ll do to me if he catches me snooping because my punishment may be even worse than it was when I tried to run away.

When I get past the set of stairs, it’s only a couple more feet to his office door, and I’m home free. Then I hear a loud crash which makes me freeze. Alex is cursing, and I’m guessing he dropped a whiskey glass or something. It’s good news for me because that means he’ll be down there a bit longer than originally planned.

I easily open the door to his office and step inside. Seems pretty generic: a couple of old filing boxes off to the side, a desk, and a computer. My eyes are set on the computer, and I go for it.

Jiggling the mouse a little, the computer screen wakes up to a password protected screen. Well, that blows. I try a few passwords knowing they won’t work, but I have to at least try. Trying and failing, I move over to the boxes. Maybe they can give me something.

I dig through them. Some old newspaper clips such as something a grandma would keep, not anything of interest, so I move to the next box.

Bingo, a box full of Alex memorabilia. Some old school pictures, a trophy from baseball, and important documents. I sift through those for a bit, and I’m about to give up when I find his birth certificate.

Alexander Viceroy.I read it over and over. That’s my last name. I look at his parents listed.Son of Mae and Steven Viceroy.My heart sinks.

“Did you really have to keep looking, little butterfly?”

I jump out of my skin at the sound of his voice. I have no words and just keep holding the piece of paper in my hand. I turn to look at him and his eyes are vacant. I can’t read them.

CHAPTER 11

ALEXANDER

I grabher by her cheeks, making her lips pucker. I can’t help but fall for how cute she looks. I’m so angry with her that I feel like I could break her face with how tightly I’m holding her. She lets out a whimper. Music to my ears. Those sounds she makes do something to me, and I can’t get enough.

“Come on, my curious pet.” I grab her by the arm and drag her out of the room. I swear her arms are going to be covered in my handprints from how many times I have to grab her out of places she doesn’t belong.

“I just wanted more of you. Please, you’re hurting me.” She’s pulling her arm, trying to escape my hold on her. I don’t let up and keep dragging her out of the room and shut the door closed with my free hand.

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