The Bully's Possession

Chapter Six

            Frightened wasn’t even the word I would use to describe how I felt right now. It was more like petrified. Cole was so scary when he was like this, when he was angry. I didn’t know what I should do or how I should respond to him without making him more upset. Should I care that I angered him? Not really, but I did. A pang of guilt pierced through my chest and landed swiftly inside my stomach, making it churn in disgust.

           Cole was sitting beside me, waiting for me to answer, but I couldn’t find the words I wanted to say. Staying quiet and choosing not to answer him was also a bad idea, but it was the only option I had right now. My body began shaking, probably even worse than when I collided with him in the hall, which was not that long ago. It gave me a sense that it probably wouldn’t be the last time that he had me in this state, a state to which I was afraid to even be near him. The way he glowered at me made me want to vomit.

           When he let out a low, humming growl, my body tensed, even more, causing my bones to hurt. “Answer me, Mia! What the f**k was that? You are mine! Do you understand that? Mine to do with whenever I want and how I want. That means that this thing that you have going on with Gavin ends here.”

           Now I was the angry one. No way was I about to let a guy, even if it was one as cold as Cole Parker, tell me who I could and could not hang out with. Not just that, but no one owned me. I was no one’s property, and he wouldn’t treat me as such. I stood up and swung my body out from the other side of the booth. Cole had his jaw tensed and staring me down like a rabid wolf, but I didn’t care. I needed to get as far away from him as I could. 

           I stopped when I could stand fully out from the booth where Cole was still sitting. “I am not your property, Cole Parker,” I said with false confidence. He could probably hear me swallowing my fear, but I had to stand my ground regardless of how he made me feel. “Leave me alone! I don’t want to see you or hear your name, for that matter, ever again.” 

           When I stormed out of the pizzeria, rain began pouring over my head. It offered some relief, allowing me to breathe again, but that was short-lived. Cole, of course, followed me outside, grabbing onto my arm to stop me. 

           What was even more surprising was that he was laughing. It wasn’t a something is funny laugh, but a sinister laugh like what I just did was so out of the norm for him, and he wasn’t about to stand for it. “If you ever,” he spat ruthlessly at me. “Do that publicly again. I will make sure that you suffer for it. No one talks to me that way, but one person and even he knows the extent to which he can push me. Another thing, don’t ever walk away from me unless I excuse you. One thing that you need to know about me, Mia, is that I am not a patient guy. I am a guy who is always dominant and likes control. Try to take that control away from me again, and I will see it to that you pay for it.”

           He didn’t have a care in the world that he was hurting my arm or the fresh tears streaming down my face. Cole Parker was far worse than I realized, and here I was trying to find something redeemable about him. There was nothing redeemable about him at all. He was as cold as anyone could be and heartless at that.

           Against what he just said, I still had my dignity and would not let him walk all over me. Consequences? What could he do that was worse than what he was already doing to me? Sure, I bet it could get a lot worse, but right now, I didn’t care about worse. I really wanted to kick him in between his legs and run away, but I was nothing but a big coward, so I settled with words instead. “Control? Well, I am not some mat for you to walk all over, Cole. If you want someone that is going to listen to you and obey every command, please, by all means, go for them instead. You don’t own me, will never own me, and you most certainly do not scare me,” I lied on that last part, and I was pretty sure he could see that.

           Cole pulled me around to the side of the building, pressing me firmly against the rough exterior brick wall. He placed both his hands on either side of my face with his body only inches from mine. I could feel his breath fanning my cheeks, heating them up from the cold weather. “I think that I do scare you. I think that I terrify you so much that you don’t know how to act around me. What you will do is submit to me and only me. If I see Gavin as so much within your vicinity, he will become my next target. Keep that smart-ass mouth of yours closed, or it is going to get you in trouble.” His fingers grazed the side of my cheek, and I turned away from him, feeling suddenly nauseous. Cole smirked, pulling away from me a little bit. “Even though I like my women to be submissive, I have to say that you talking back is a huge turn-on.” He got close to me once again, grabbing onto my chin and forcing me to look at him. Cole’s nose was practically touching mine. “Do you know how much of a struggle it is to not f**k you right now up against this wall?”

           I gulped, and I mean loud! What he said didn’t turn me on or make me go crazy with want but repulsed me. It got harder to hold back the urge to throw up. Before, when he got close to me like this, I fantasized about him in ways that should be illegal. Now, I just wanted him to let me go.

           He sensed my restraint, clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth. Maybe it was a tick. You know, like some people had when they were nervous, scared, or mad? I didn’t have one, yet again I wouldn’t be surprised if I somehow developed one overnight after the pressure of dealing with Cole today.

           As he let me go, I immediately put some distance between us. It was in my best interest just to go home. Coming out was a mistake. When I turned around, ready to go, something I had forgotten seeped back into my mind. He was with that girl. Possibly she was his date or just another girl that fell under his spell. Whoever she was, I wanted to make a point that I noticed her and didn’t appreciate that he could be with whoever he wanted, while I couldn’t so much as talk to another guy without him freaking out.

           “You should go back inside to your date,” I said, swaying my body left to right, then spun around to walk away. 

           “She isn’t my date, not that you even asked me before making assumptions. Jealous, Mia?”

           The small laugh that escaped me got Cole all riled up again. He began stalking toward me, but I took off running. I was out of breath when I finally stopped to turn around. Cole wasn’t following me. Thank goodness for that. The cold rain poured over my body, making me shiver, feeling like my bones were turning to ice. Even if the town was close by, I needed to be better prepared, especially this time of year when the weather was so unpredictable.

           When I got home, I instantly shredded my soaked clothes and ran me a warm bath. After my bath, I went down to the kitchen to finally grab myself a bite to eat. After all, that was the entire reason for me going out in the first place. My stomach agreed with me, growling loud enough to echo through the kitchen walls. I decided on something quick to eat, wanting to dive into a book more than ever. I ate my noodles in silence at the kitchen table, thinking about everything that happened today. I was ashamed of the way that I behaved today. Cole got to me, creeping inside of me like a parasite. I let my guard down and let my emotions soar out, crying in front of him. How could I let him see me like that to give him the satisfaction of seeing me crumble? If I were to live in a world where I was forced to know Cole Parker, I would have to grow a freaking backbone. I would have to leave my emotions at the door because no way would I ever let him see me so broken again.

           My book rested on my bed, begging me to dive deep into the worn pages. Reading had always been my escape from life. I sat down on my bed, opening the page that I had left off on, and tears immediately fell down my eyes. Cole had gotten to me so much that I couldn’t enjoy the one thing I have always enjoyed. I found myself hugging my knees tightly to my chest, rocking on my bed, and just letting all the emotions from today drip down my face. What did I do to deserve this punishment? It wasn’t as if I asked to have a more exciting life, no. I was quite content with my dull life. I was lonely, sure, but I would take being lonely over feeling this kind of despair any day. One thing I couldn’t do was let Cole ever see me like this. I would never allow him to know how much misery he brought me ever again.

           I awoke in the middle of the night, realizing I must have fallen asleep as I cried. My throat was killing me, so I got up and went downstairs to get a glass of water. It was pitch black outside, but I could see the small white specks falling from the sky out of my kitchen window. Hopefully, there would be a blanket of snow covering the ground by morning, and we would get to enjoy our first snow day of the season. I would gladly take being cooped up in my house for another day than to have to face Cole at school tomorrow. 

           When I got back to my room, my phone was vibrating on my nightstand. Who could be texting me at this hour? I picked up my phone, seeing a text from Cole.

           Sweet dreams. That is all he said as if he were some white knight. I had no idea what this text meant or what he intended for it to be, but I saw right through him. White knight, I huffed, more like a dark knight.

           I didn’t bother to respond to him but wondered what he was doing up so late in the night. No! I refuse to get sucked back in like before. ‘Screw Cole,’ I thought. He wasn’t worth my time nor energy. Before I sat my phone back down on the nightstand, I smiled, knowing exactly how I would take care of the problem. Scrolling through my contacts, I pressed his name, hovering over the block button. Before I could somehow find a reason not to do it, I pressed the button. Hitting that button brought me pure satisfaction, the first great feeling I have had since meeting Cole. If that didn’t show him that I wasn’t messing around, I had no idea what would.