Page 67 of The Dark Obsession

A surge of annoyance rushes through me at the sound of her squeaky voice—annoyance that didn’t exist this morning, when she wasn’t the one thing keeping me from Rafael.

Rafael forces his gaze from me, his face pink and chest heaving with each breath. He turns reluctantly to the door and glances at me, biting his lip. “What?” He yanks open the door just enough for her to see his face.

“Can you come here?”

“Not really.” Rafael shifts uncomfortably.

I lean over Rafael’s bed and grab my bag.

He helplessly peers over his shoulder at me.

I go to the bathroom and dress fast, then leave the bathroom whilst still buttoning my shirt.

Rafael is lying on his bed, his face still flushed. “Sorry.”

I shrug. “Just wasn’t a good time, I guess.” I grin, keeping control of my frustration. “C’mon.” I gesture to him and nod towards the door. “I’m hungry.”

He grabs a shirt from the wardrobe and moves behind me, his hand on the small of my back. “What do you want to eat.” He slides into a shirt and leads me from the room.

“Well, now you’re off the menu.” I laugh.

He regards me, as if wounded, a hand raised to his mouth, as if damming his words. “Don’t,” he groans.

I giggle. “Fine. Want to order pizza?”

“Sure. Meet me in the front room. I’ll let Adriel know.”

“But what did Lucy want to show you?”

Rafael shrugs. “Nothing of importance, just a letter.”

We part at the bottom of the stairs. He disappears down the hallway, and I turn into the circular front room.

Chapter 23

Isit on the sofa and retrieve my phone. I should take it off silent mode more often. I have several missed calls from Benjamin and, shock, not even one from my father.

“What is wrong, Rosalie?”a single text from Ben asks.

I stare at the wall, my anger flaring in my ears. My father’s ridiculous warnings, telling me the man who’s hurts me more than once, is only trying to protect me. If I were a cartoon, I’d be sure to have steam coming from my ears.

“Umm, where’s Rafael?” an annoyingly squeaky voice breaks my focus.

“What?” I snap, not caring to be polite anymore.

She enters the front room after looking behind her. “I said, where the hell is Rafael?”

My mouth opens and closes a couple of times, her insolence shocking me into silence.

“Uhh, looking for Adriel.” I manage to say.

“Where though?” she says slowly, as if talking to someone who speaks no English.

I stand angrily at her sour attempt to be rude. “Look, Loo.I. Do. Not. Know.I do not have some deranged problem where I must sneak around after him all day long, like a bad smell.” I say the words before I think them through and automatically regret my insult. My anger at my father, at the day, hell, after the week, is brimming. I take a deep breath and concentrate on my phone.

She stares discourteously at me for a long moment before retreating.

I sit in silence, listening to her heels click across the hard floor. I try to focus on the wall; it doesn’t help. Before I know it, I’ve dialled Dale’s number. I swallow uncomfortably, my throat drying as the seconds tick by.

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