Stray Scars (Book 2)

Chapter 18

Pov: Isabelle Snow

Calvin dashed towards me, steps wide and rapid as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me with him to the nearest conference room, shutting the door with colossal impact. It took one demand from him and every single person in there scurried out.

"Cal- Ow!" He slammed me against the wall,  hands on both my wrists as he glared at me with his lips in a thin line. "What are you doing?! Are you mad at your dad aga-"

"Go for them?!" he yelled, the pressure on my wrists increasing, "Did you just tell them to go for me?"

"You're hurting me!" I screamed, wiggling my arms as he held them a little less firmly but didn't let go, "Calvin, get back to your senses! I merely said that because I knew you wouldn't agree to get with them! And it's not like I lied! You're not my boyfriend. You made it more than clear that you di-"

My words seemed to blurr into the background as he found it hard to control his erratic breathing. Everything I said pissed him off even more and his grip tightened around my skin. "So I wasn't mistaken," he voiced, a disbelieving laugh rumbling deep through his throat, "You were avoiding me. So you've moved on, Isabelle?" He raised his voice even more, the anger only growing. "I heard you were alone in Liam's office right after you left mine. No wonder people make up these kinds of rumors when you go around doing whatever the hell you want!"

He's even jealous of his best friend now?

This is actually as good a time as any to bring this up..

"Listen to me," I said, trying to free myself again but realizing he was still too irritated for that to work, "Have some more trust in your best friend even if you don't trust me, alright?" My squirming was useless, so I gave up and looked at him daringly. "You specifically cleared up that you didn't want any labels. I finally agree with you. We were never a couple. We can put it all behind us, and g-"

"No," he cut in. One simple word, but clear and demanding. "You're mine, sweetheart."

"Calvin, you don't love me! We both don't know how to love," I said, my voice becoming softer.

Even though he'd hurt me a million times, I knew it wasn't always voluntary. He was never given affection, so he had no clue how it worked. If anything, he was actually trying a little. He had grown up with that man as his father, tales of a sick mother who'd died when he was still a toddler, and an agency to rule on. No wonder he ran away to America as soon as he could. If I had started training at ten, then he'd started right when he could walk. Calvin was psychologically messed up and constantly searching for a sense of control in his life.

People with ordinary lives would never understand him. It took someone like me to know exactly how hard it was to be gentle and loving when it wasn't in your nature. We had more in common than anyone could begin to think. Not even he knew how similar our stories actually were.

"Love, like, crush, infatuation, obsession, fake feelings.. I don't care what the hell you call them," he laughed, looking up as if it was the most amusing thing he'd heard me say, "You can't get rid of me."

"I thought you didn't care about relationships and dating," I spoke, still trying to get through to him.

"If a label is what you want, take it," he grunted, swiftly sweeping my wrists away while pushing himself off the wall. He walked to the end of the room, his hand on his waist and the other in his hair, brushing the curls away as he leaned on the shelf behind him. The bold eyes I'd grown too used to found mine, and his lips elongated into a smirk. "Be my girlfriend."

"Wow, I'm so touched. Didn't know you could be so romantic," I recited flatly, my eyes half closed and mouth in a straight line as I rubbed my aching wrists.