chpt. 13

I'm pressed against the mattress, a hand roughly in my hair, a body on mine. My head is then pulled back roughly and I gasp.

"You'll never escape me, honey." My ex-husband purrs in my ear. His voice makes me cringe.

"Let me go!" I yell at him. He grips my hair even more roughly, pulling my head back even more.

"You do as I say." He sneers.

I try to push myself up, but his weight on me is suffocating, literally. He laughs in my ear, a sinister, cruel sound. I wince.

He grips my hair even tighter and I groan. His laughs become louder and louder and louder, till that's I hear-

I sit up, gasping for air, my hands going to my throat and hair. He's not here... he's not here. I quickly jump up, heading to the bathroom as I feel bile rise in the back of my throat.

I bend over the toilet, my body contracting and recoiling as I vomit what's little in my stomach. I weakly flush the toilet, wiping my mouth.

Ginger meows up at me. I smile, picking him up and kissing behind his ears. "Sorry I woke you, bud." I whisper.

I stand in my bathroom door, the moonlight shining through the floor to ceiling windows. This all still feels so surreal. Being, staying here, in this fancy skyscraper. My ex-husband being, I don't know what.

I sigh, putting Ginger down, as he runs to the bed, curling into a ball. I shake my head, heading to the bed. I then hear a soft knock on the door. I frown, heading to the door and opening it. It's Johnny.

I'm taken aback, "Hi?" I whisper.

I smiles softly at me, "Hi?" He questions back.

I chuckle lightly. I see his hands behind his back. He's holding something. I frown, "What's that?" I question. He takes his hands from behind his back revealing... cereal? I chuckle.

"Cereal?"

"Cereal." He says, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "A good snack," He pops a few in his mouth.

I shake my head, "Uhm, what are you doing here?" I whisper.

"I heard something coming from your room. Wanted to see if you're okay." He whispers.

I nod, "I'm fine...now."

He frowns, "Now?"

I swallow, "I kinda... got sick." I mumble.

His blue eyes go wide, "Oh my-" He clasps his hands over his mouth, closing one eye shut. I suppress a chuckle. He has no volume control.

He then quietly steps into the room, gently pressing the door shut, and let's out an audible sigh. He turns to me, eyes wide, "You think I woke them?" He asks, popping more cereal in his mouth.

I shrug, "I don't know."

"You said you were sick?" He questions.

I nod, "Yeah. I had, uhm, a bad dream."

He nods, clicking his fingers in direction to the bed. I shake my head, sitting down. He sits down next to me, offering the cereal box. I sigh, taking a few, popping them in my mouth.

"Eh? Eh? Good right?" He asks triumphantly.

I squint as I stare at him, "Meh."

He fake gasps, throwing a handful of cereal on me, "How dare you disrespect the mighty cereal?"

I put my hand over my mouth to suppress a laugh, "They're good okay? They're good!" I exclaim lightly as he throws more at me.

"Johnny! Stop!" I exclaim, picking them up, throwing them back at him.

He catches a few in his mouth, "Stawpuh!" He mocks me.

I roll my eyes, "Are you okay now, through?" He asks, chewing.

I shrug, "I guess..."

He frowns, "What do you mean?"

"Well, there hasn't been a day in my marriage where I didn't have bad dreams or puked everyday...so." I let the question hang in the air.

His blue eyes soften as he stares at me, "He's an asshole. You don't deserve any of that." He says.

I take a few more cereal pieces, popping them in my mouth to do something with my hands, "Like I don't deserve any of this..." I murmur.

"What do you mean?" Ginger meows next to us, stirring. Johnny pets him. "Sorry, buddy." He whispers.

"You guys are too good to me. I feel like I should be... I dunno, cleaning or something." I say, running my hand through my hair.

He squints his eyes, putting the cereal box down on the bedside table. He stands up, dusting his hands off on his black sweats. He then stops in front of me, his arms outstretched, palms up.

I frown, "And now?" I question.

He licks cereal crumbs from his lips, "Dance with me."

"Really?" I ask.

"You said you wanted something to do. We're doing something." He smiles.

I giggle, "What?" He questions. "Do I have something in my teeth?" He asks.

"You actually do." I snort.

His eyes go wide in horror as he runs to the bathroom, switching on the light. He opens his mouth in front of the mirror, "Oh, crap, you're right." He murmurs, picking at his teeth.

I laugh as he runs a hand through his hair and 'straightens' his losses t-shirt dramatically. He swaggers over to me, holding his hands out again. He clears his throat, "That wasn't embarrassing at all."

I chuckle, taking his hands, as he pulls me up, "I won't bring it up in casual conversation." I say as he pulls me to a open spot in the room.

"You better not." He warns, a brow raised. I chuckle.

He places my one hand on his shoulder, taking my other in his hand, his other resting on my lower back.

"Uhm, there's no music though." I say as he starts to stay his hips.

He smiles softly, "Put your head on my chest." He instructs.

I frown up at him, "C'mon." He winks.

I do as he says. I start to gently sway my body with him. He starts to hum softly under his breath. I recognize 'This Is A Man's Man's Man's World'.

"This is a man's world." He sings, barely above a whisper.

"But it would be nothing," he then pulls away from me, holding my hands, "nothing," he then twirls me around in a circle.

I giggle as he twirls me, he pulls be back, flush against his chest, "Without a woman or a girl." He sings as he stares down on me. I flush at the look in his blue eyes. A look of being... spellbound.

I look away, being overwhelmed by his piercing eye contact. And swallow. We start to sway again, and he hums again. He then dips me and I gasp.

"This is a man's world." He sings.

He pulls me back up, slowly. Painfully slow. "You see, man made the cars."

I look at him as he pulls me up, before gripping my waist, and picking me up, twirling us in a circle. "To take us over the roads."

He sets me down on the ground, slowly. My body flush against his, sliding down. He has his eyes on me the whole time. His electric gaze makes my knees week.

"Man made the cars," he sings deeply in my ear, "Carry the heavy loads."

He then spins me again, twirling me around so my back is turned to him, before pulling me back in, my back flush against his chest. "This is a man's world." He sings, his hot breath on my ear. I shiver, my stomach rolling.

He twirls me again, pulling me back, so I'm facing him again. He then takes my hand that's in his hand, placing it on his other shoulder. He puts his other hand on my lower back.

Both his hot hands on my lower back, makes me instinctively straighten my back against his chest. I flush as he smirks at me. Sneaky.

"But it would be nothing," he breathes as he stares down at me as we sway. My hands start to fiddle with his blonde hair on the base of his neck.

He rolls his head, closing his eyes, stops singing. He hums as I run my other hand through the side of his scalp. I make sure to use my nails- I hear a deep sound come his throat.

He licks his lips, "Without a woman-" He runs his hot hands up my back, to my shoulders, using his nails as he trails his hands back down. He smirks, eyes still closed.

"Or a girl." His eyes open as he whispers the last part.

I stare at him, breathless. He looks down at me, before taking one of my hands, bringing it to his lips and kissing my knuckles gently.

He lets me go, "Thank you for the dance, Y/n." He winks.

I take a deep breath, "You're welcome." My whole body is on fire and I have to force myself to open the door.

He grabs the cereal box, popping a few in his mouth. Heading out the door. He stops outside, "Goodnight." He whispers.

"Goodnight." I whisper back automatically. He heads down the hall. I close the door and slide to the floor, my whole body hot, my heart beating out of my chest.

I put my hands to my cheeks. I haven't been this flustered in a long while. I let out a shaky, forcing myself up, and crawling into bed.

I curl into a ball, burying my face in the pillow. I fall asleep with his voice echoing in my head, and the feeling of his hands on me.