She Belongs to Me (Rewritten Version)

Chapter Sixteen

Vincent:

After a long night of making a soundproof room in my basement, I fell in the bed next to Emily around four in the morning. She was sleeping soundly, which was a relief. I figured she would wake up and start screaming at me to let her go. I couldn't handle that shit now. I needed sleep before I was forced to deal with her parents and the police.

My story had to be straight, and my nerves needed to remain in tact. If I couldn't convince them that I was as worried about Emily as they were, my entire story would unravel, and I would be sent to prison.

The thought of being trapped in a place without my love turned my sweet dreams into nightmares.  I tossed and turned for about two hours, then I felt the sensation of a tongue running over my face.  My lips curled into a smile.  "I knew you would come around eventually, Emily."  I said, ignoring the rough feeling of her warm tongue. It felt like sandpaper.  Was her mouth still that damn dry?

My eyes shot open when I heard the soft meowing beside my face. Captain Harold was sitting on top of Emily's chest, licking my face with contentment.

"Shoo!  Go away, you silly cat."  I watched with a grin as he scurried off of the bed, then turned my gaze over to Emily.  She was staring at the ceiling, her face void of any emotion.  I wrapped my arm around her and gave her a tender kiss on the cheek.  "Good morning, love.  Did you sleep well?"

She didn't answer me. Her eyes remained fixed on the ceiling, even as I scoot myself closer to her.

"You don't have to be like this, Emily. I promise the day will come when you are happy to be here."

"You mean when Hell freezes over?"

That wasn't what I wanted to hear, but at least she was speaking to me. I stood up and went into the kitchen to get a knife, cutting her hands free with a smile on my face. "Does that feel better?"

"Leave me alone."

My smile vanished, and I grabbed her face.  "Stop being so cold towards me, Emily.  You are making this much more difficult than it has to be."

"Oh, I'm sorry," She put her hand to her chest, "Am I making this fucking awful situation awkward for you?  How terribly rude of me. I won't do it again."

My teeth sank into the insides of my cheeks. I could not believe she was still acting this way. My hand trembled as it squished her cheeks together, causing her lips to purse out. That was something my father did to me when I spoke out of turn.

"You need to watch how you talk to me, Emily. You know I have no problem taping your mouth shut."

"Yeah, I noticed."  She pulled her face away from me, running her fingers over her severely chapped lips. "And I don't care. I would rather be forced to stay quiet than to exchange pleasantries with an asshole like you. You're a sorry excuse for a man."

I picked up the roll of duct tape and started to tear off a piece, but I decided against it.  There was no point in resorting to speech deprivation every time she said something that pissed me off.  That was something my father did, and I wasn't about to let myself use any of his tactics to win over a woman.

"You're still mad at me, I get that. But can't we try to have a nice morning? I can fix us breakfast before I have to-"

The words perished in my throat.

Her eyes narrowed. "Before you have to what?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Before you have to what!?"  She started beating her fists on my arm, her hits weak and pointless.  I was easily able to restrain her.  "Before you lie to my parents and tell them you're innocent in this shit. Is that what you're going to do!?"