Which is exactly what she should’ve done the moment he set that piece of paper down in front of her with his fucked-up rules.

***

Elsa’s tires squealed loudly, kicking up snow and dirt as she backed out of Victor’s driveway. Furious, he stomped back inside and Mr. Black promptly ripped into Chapter Seven.

She had shown up, uninvited, making demands and asking questions about who the woman in his life was. It had been more than a year and a half since he had ended things with her, and still she fucking couldn’t move on. Upon his return from California, she had sought him out and found his address – stalked him. He didn’t like the tables being turned on him. Elsa had already done that and he didn’t need someone else prying into his personal affairs.

As he gripped her upper arm and dragged her to the door, he mentally kicked himself for selling his secluded home on the outskirts of Richmond. No one ever showed up unannounced there. Well, except for Elsa.

“What the fuck don’t you understand about this being over?” he yelled in her face.

Her eyes grew wild. “Who is she?”

“Listen to me: if you show up here again or call me, I’ll get the authorities involved. Am I making myself clear?” his deep voice boomed throughout the house.

“Do you love her?” she clawed at his chest.

“That’s not important!” he pushed her hands away and shook her by the shoulders. “The point is, I don’t love you! Jesus Christ, you don’t even love me. This is just an obsession!”

He should know. His obsession with Elsa was bordering on the same kind of lunacy.

When he saw Emily’s lips tremble and tears border her wide blue eyes, he loosened his grip. She hugged her body as if trying to protect herself and he was hit with an epiphany. She wasn’t fucked up; Mr. Black had fucked her up. No… he and Mr. Black had done this. They were both at fault for this broken and fragile girl. He could see that now. Everything he had done to try and help her, had only broken her down. His degradation and cruelty had made her weak and unable to see things clearly.

The way he had Elsa.

They were so much alike, Elsa and Emily, both impetuous and unpredictable, yet so different. Elsa – more headstrong, more determined, more dutiful. Everything that Emily and all the other chapters failed at and lacked, Elsa excelled in and possessed.

“Em…” he swept a loose strand of hair off her forehead. “You can’t do this again. I mean it. If you want me to get you help, counseling or something, I can make a few calls for you… call in a few favors.”

“I’d like that,” her delicate voice broke into a whisper.

Mr. Black roiled within him for offering Emily help, but he didn’t give a shit. He was accountable for this woman. And all the others.

14: Deliberate

After contacting a work colleague regarding Emily and dropping her off at his office, Victor drove home to put his frustrated thoughts onto paper before seeking Elsa out. He should’ve been worried about what Emily might tell the fellow psychologist about his unethical activities, but his thoughts were elsewhere. In fact, they were everywhere. Emily’s sudden appearance, his sudden realization, and Elsa’s reaction had his insides twisted into knots.

My impulsive lover… Like a storm, you’ve whipped back in to my life, both cleansing and contaminating me. I have no one to blame but myself. I invited you back . No. I forced you back. Threatened you and made promises to get you back. Your avalanche affect on my life has obscured my vision and ability to see things clearly. I don’t believe in fairytales but if I did, you would be it. My dark fairytale in the dead of night, stealing my breath and chipping away at my soul.

Where has my resolve gone? Have the few confessions I made to you ruined me so much so that I have no more strength? No more willpower to hold my ground and play this game the way it was meant to be played?

I made a life changing decision tonight by helping someone who, a day ago, I felt wasn’t worthy of my time. You should be proud for having brought on that change of mentality in me. If not for your unremitting determination, it never would have happened.

I should be proud of myself for having made that leap, but I’m not. I should be afraid that my extracurricular activities will be found out, but I’m not. I’m too exhausted to feel anything except irritated as fuck at my weaknesses and inability to stay on track.

I suppose that’s Mr. Black trying to work his way out. I’ve suppressed him as best I can, but he lies in wait, preparing for that moment when he can lash out at you and make you hate him more than you already do. You bring out both the best and worst in me, Peach. I want the best part of me to win out, but I no longer hold out hope for the impossible and simply wait for the inevitable.

***

Seated in the movie theater, Elsa tried to clear her mind of any and everything related to men, including but not limited to Victor and Nate. All of them; all the memories of the men who had been in her life were told to take a backseat and shut the hell up while she enjoyed some alone time.

She had purposely picked a movie that had nothing to do with romance; a dick flick; something with loads of action and little-to-no plot.

It wasn’t helping. Every minute that passed in that darkened room, alone, only solidified her irritation with herself.

It didn’t matter who that woman was. It made no difference that she was beautiful and had the most hauntingly blue eyes she had ever seen. It wasn’t any of her business that Victor was probably fucking, or had already fucked her, on her off days.

Nate was already starting to move on and now Victor was, too. Apparently, her rules were too much for him. She smiled. Good. She was glad she had proven to be too much woman for Victor and too much chapter for Mr. Black.

Unable to sit still any longer, she exited the building when an acute sense of alarm gripped her. She whirled around and tried to focus her eyes against the blinding snow whipping all around. She knew the feeling of being watched well, but this felt different. She picked up her pace to stand underneath a streetlamp as her eyes searched the street for her car. Where the hell had she parked? In her haste to get as far away from Victor as fast as she could, she had forgotten.

A quick look across the street revealed only a handful of people milling around outside the theatre – a couple holding hands and clinging to each other for warmth, a few teenagers in puffy overcoats, and a tall, sinewy man wearing all black. Something about his behavior and attire struck her as odd. It was the way his eyes kept darting toward her and then nervously away and the fact that he wasn’t wearing nearly enough for the frigid weather.

She moved to the next streetlamp. When he casually crossed the street to the same side, a fine edge of terror sharpened her perceptions. His prowling movements and lanky frame set her nerves on edge and she frantically searched the street again. She plunged her icy fingers into the pocket of her coat. When she found her key fob, she hit the panic alarm and mentally berated herself for not having thought of it sooner. When she saw the lights of her car and heard the horn blaring, she made a mad dash toward it.

Another forceful, glacial gust of air slammed against her, throwing her off balance and momentarily blurring her vision. Just as she reached for the door handle, she felt strong hands around her neck and hair, tipping her backward and dragging her toward the darkened alley several feet away. She shrieked and kicked, but her voice was lost in the howling wind. When she was violently thrown to the ground she whipped her head around to see a man whose face bore the wrath of hell, looming over her.