Metamorphosis

Chapter 7: Golden Arrows and Jealously

I never knew my birth father, and my mother wasn't even my real mother. Great lies built my whole life.

"Whose, my father?" I asked Eros, who looked away from me. I was so sick and tired of not knowing anything. I felt like I was in the middle of a vast ocean of lies.

"I know him; that's all I can tell you...I'm sorry," he says.

I ground my teeth, "Are you kidding me? You tell me you know my father, and you leave me with 'you know him?' You're as much of a liar as my family."

Eros clenched his jaw, "You are fragile right now; everything around you is crumbling. You feel like you don't belong anywhere, and it leads you to mistrust the people around you," Eros looked back at me; his eyes showed warmth.

I covered myself, suddenly feeling vulnerable. It felt like Eros had read me from the inside out.

"You don't know me, don't pretend to understand my pain," I said under my breath. Eros stood up; I realized he was a whole head taller than me, but that didn't stop me from staring right into his eyes.

"You still haven't told me why you're following me..." as moments felt like the most prolonged hours of my life, Eros gently caressed my cheek; his hands were like fire now.

"I'm not going to kill you," he said so seriously it was like he was talking to someone other than me; I furrowed my brows in confusion.

Eros slowly backed away from me; he slightly bowed to me, "Until next time love, " he gave me a little wink, then disappeared.

I forgot where I was for a moment; then I realized Annie was probably going nuts trying to look for me. I rushed downstairs and found Annie pushing her guesses out the door,

"Out! Out! Out! Don't care; you can keep the cups!" She said as he slammed the door and locked it. She turned around, huffing and puffing her brows scrunched in when she saw me.

"Hey! I've been looking for you! Brad came rushing in on my party like an ape on steroids! What is his problem?!" her hands went on her hips, her signature sign of "I'm pissed."

"I'm so sorry, Annie; I have no idea what's gotten into him; I'll talk to him."

"Great! Talk to him now because he is outside pouting in his car!"

My brows lifted in shock; he still didn't leave? 'What in the world?' I thought as I marched outside to confront him.

Brad got out of the car and opened the passager door, "Get in." He demanded.

"What? No, what is wrong with you?" I asked, but Brad grabbed me by the shoulder and pushed me into the car, "Hey-" I started to say before he shut the door on me.

He got in the car and automatically locked the doors. My heart started to pound, 'what had I done to make him so angry?' I thought to myself as we drove home in complete silence. The type of silence before a storm hits...

As we got home, Brad angrily took off his seat belt and opened my side. I cautiously got out, and he pushed me inside.

"Hey! What the hell is your problem?!" I shouted, then Brad slammed his keys down on the table.

"After everything I've done for you, you want to lie to me?!" He yelled. I looked at him, confused. "Who were you with at that party, huh?!"

"What? Are you serious right now?! I was with Annie!"

"Oh, bullshit! You were meeting another guy, admit it!" He yelled; I had no idea where he got his info, but he was acting stupid.

"No, because I didn't do anything! Unlike you! If I didn't know any better, I would think that you're projecting your wrongdoings onto me!"

Brad's jaw twitched; he marched up to me and slammed me against the wall. Pain radiated up my spine.

"Don't you f*****g dare. You made me cheat on you, remember!?"

I closed my eyes as he yelled at me; tears started to flow down my cheeks. "You said you would change..." I said in a bit of voice.

Brad got in my face, "I'm not the one who needs to change! You do, you f****d everything up, and that's all you ever do!" he yelled before leaving me to go upstairs. My hands shook as I slid down the wall to the floor; I rubbed my shoulders. Finally, I started to sob; why did I always come back here? I must be stupid...maybe I am the one that needs to change.

For a while, I sat there; Brad never came down to check on me or apologize to me, but I wanted to make this work. Finally, I slowly got back up, ignoring the pain; as I got upstairs to our room, I knocked.

"Hey...can I come in? I'm sorry," I said even though somehow it felt wrong; I forced the apology.

Brad unlocked the door; I slowly opened it. Hot, humid air greeted me as I went into the room. Brad combed back his hair in the mirror; he had taken a shower.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I was getting ready for our date night, but I'm not so sure I want to go now."

My heart ached; how had this turned around on me? I wanted to go out and have a good night; I didn't want to fight anymore, so I pushed down my feelings and just gave in to what he wanted.

"I still want to go, please?"

Brad sighed heavily, then looked at me, "You need to stop lying to me."

"But I wasn't-" but before I could say anything more, Brad turned his back on me. A sick feeling settled in the pit of my stomach, "Okay, I'm sorry."

Brad turned around to look at me again, "For?"

My eye twitched, "for lying to you..." I forced out.

Brad smiled; he had won. "Good, now was that so hard?"

A bitter taste sat in my mouth; I wanted to throw up; I smiled meekly.

"Go get dressed; I'll take you out tonight-" Brad said as he walked over to hug me; he pushed my hair behind my ear, "And maybe when we get back, you can give me a proper apology."

My skin crawled, I forced a smile. I hoped tonight would be different; maybe this was the last time he would act like this; my stomach turned, my gut seemed to think otherwise...