Black Iris

His control.

Iris

Fuming, I stormed down the block, trying to calm myself down and think of a plan. But only one was coming to mind: get Jackson, and get out.

So, when I had gotten far enough away, I ducked into a small cafe and pulled out my phone to order an Uber. Thankfully, I'd downloaded the app some time ago, for the off chance one of Blake's drives wasn't available and I had to get somewhere.

Except, that was as far as I got.

When I opened the app, nothing would load. For a second, I thought there must be something wrong with my phone, or the app itself. I double checked my mobile data was on – it was – and tried again, but still nothing.

Which led to the next logical conclusion: Blake had cut me off.

Panic immediately flooded my chest, and I struggled to think straight. I glanced around quickly, forcing down my fear. And there, on a blackboard on the wall, my saving grace, were the words 'We have Free WIFI.'

As quickly as I could with my shaking hands, I pulled up their network and thumbed in the password written in chalk below. My heart leapt in my throat as I waited for it to connect, and when it did I almost let out a sigh of relief. I reopened the Uber app and managed to navigate to the point of processing the order of an Uber out to my parents' house when the app froze up and an error popped up.

Your credit card has been deemed invalid. Please update your billing settings.

I swore, feeling the panic rise up again. No, he couldn't have...

Frantic once again, I pulled open my banking app and tears pulled to my eyes. It was all gone. My everyday account was empty. Savings seemingly non existent. And my credit account shut.

He took it all.

"Miss, are you okay?" I heard someone ask, but I could hardly register who was talking, because a text had come through.

We are the city.

Blake and his fucking metaphors. Blake and his flowery words. Sometimes, I wished he would just go straight out and write it, say, you are dependent on me, say, there is nothing you can do that I cannot stop, say, I control you.

Except he wouldn't. Because he knew that there were people watching. He was too smart to raise any red flags. The police probably had access to his phone records, after all.

Another text came through.

Sampson is waiting for you in the Taxi bay outside. I'll see you soon.

I glanced up, looking outside. Sure enough, I could see Samspon's black car waiting in the street outside. One of the cafe staff cleared their throat, looking at me, concerned.

"Are you okay, love? Do you need me to call someone?" They asked, following my gaze outside.

I gathered myself and managed to shake my head. Jackson. I had to protect Jackson.

"No, I'm fine," I said, giving the worker a hopefully reassuring smile. They didn't seem convinced, so I continued. "Sorry, I didn't sleep well last night so I am a little jittery. I didn't mean to scare you."

They still seemed unconvinced, but was faltering. "Are you sure? Do you need a glass of water or anything?"

I shook my head. "No, thank you for worrying though. I'm perfectly fine. My friend's just waiting for me outside, anyway."

They looked like they wanted to press more, to sit me down and make sure I was alright, but the truth is, I wasn't, and if they looked any closer they would see the cracks in my facade. So, I threw them a small smile then turned and left.