His Sweet Revenge

Chapter 17.

(Trigger warning for this chapter.)

I had to blow off Iris again because I forgot I needed to house-sit. She'll give me the silent treatment for a few days now. Total diva.

The house is empty when I get there, and after the other night, I'm glad James isn't here.

After watering all the plants, I sit at the Elliot's kitchen table and listen to the voicemails, jotting down notes for the important stuff.

As I start writing up an email to Ruth, all the lights in the house shut off.

"What the hell?" I say out loud, pushing out of the table. It's pitch black, and I can't see anything. The power may have gone out.

I walk around aimlessly in the dark, trying to grab my phone from where I left it on the counter, but I bang my knee on something hard. My vision goes black briefly, and I think I see stars.

"Fuck," I groan, falling to the floor.

The lights suddenly turn back on as I'm sitting on the cold floor, rubbing my pained knee. When I look up, James is standing right in front of me.

"You okay?" He asks, watching me.

I clear my throat, pushing up off the ground, slightly started by his sudden appearance. "Yeah, fine. I didn't know you were home. I think something happened to the power."

James nods. "I was in my room, but then the lights went out, so I came downstairs to check." He crosses his arms. "Sit down. I'll get you some ice for your knee."

A chill passes through me. He's so quiet. I didn't even hear him come down. Then another thought flashes through my mind. Was he always down here?

I sit at the table as James walks over to the fridge. Pain shoots through my knee with every step I take.

He pulls a bag of ice from the freezer and sits beside me. His fingers brush my calf as he pulls my leg to inspect my knee. I almost want to push his hand away.

"Looks fine," James says before putting the ice on it. "It'll probably hurt, though."

No shit. "Yeah," I nod, but his hand is still on my calf, and I'm uncomfortable with it there. I look at it, and he notices.

"What? You don't like to be touched?" He asks. I notice the slight change in his voice.

"Get your hand off of me, James," I demand.

He pulls his hand away, and I bring my leg back down.

"Sorry," he says into the silence.

"I should get going." I get up and set the ice down on the table. James gets up too.

I try to move past him, but he stops me, stepping closer so he's in my personal space.

"What are you doing, James? I need to go home."

I don't even have a ride home yet, but my gut instinct tells me to get out of this house. Right now.

"You're so fucking beautiful. I bet Grayson has no idea what to do with you."

Yeah, I need to leave. Like now.

Instead of moving past him, I start taking slow steps backward. He just watches me with an odd smile on his face.

"Oh, no. Don't be scared," he says, still smiling. "We just wanna have some fun with you, Layla."

My heart starts to race, but I try to remain calm and collected. "We?" That's when my back collides into someone. Their arms wrap around my stomach, and their face comes down into the crook of my neck.