The Inferno's Indulgence

Chapt 05

Celeste

My eyebrow knit together as I face him. I'm only in a small gown and he's dressed in something similar to what he wore the night before. His pants are dark grey, and he is naked on the chest, again. Besides that, all he wears is the jewelry around his neck and that single silver ring around his finger.

I keep my right hand clasped around the door handle as I stand there in shock, my body completely paralyzed. I'm unsure of what to do, I'm practically naked in front of him. He doesn't look down, his eyes stay on mine, his face scowling and lip touted up. It's like a rush of adrenaline pumps through me.

Quickly, I pull away, shielding my entire body. "I didn't think you'd be out here, everyone should be asleep now" I say. It's been at least one hour since I've last spoken to my father and he's older so he doesn't stay up late. The same goes for Caliver.

He clears his throat, his eyes still on mine, not tracing any part of my body I didn't consent to. "I've seen women in far less clothing. Things more skimpier" he speaks as if it's nothing, not caring about my choice of clothing but he sounds very demeaning. I can wear whatever I want to bed, it's not for his eyes anyways.

"Just—turn around. I don't even know why you're here" I say, still covering my entire body. Why is he here? He inward sighs before moving his large feet to turn himself around. The sight of his tender but firm back gives me goosebumps all over. The way his chest looks, I can tell he works out a lot, but his back profile was a different story. It was highly attractive.

I could hear him swallow loudly as he leaned his left shoulder onto the the edge of the arch in the wall. His body slanted, leant against the wall. "I don't want you to think I'm a bad person for the way I reacted during dinner" he says as I begin to pick myself up off of the floor. I stand up straight as heavy confusion takes over me.

"Since when do you care about what people think of you?" I ask, my eyes now searching the room for my suitcase that has never been unpacked. We're leaving tomorrow morning and going our separate ways, and then I'm off to move further away from home, although it'll only be a drive away. This is the last time he will ever be in the same house as me, maybe in the same room. He's had all of my life to care, and he chooses now? It doesn't add up. Maybe it's one of his tactics.

He lets out a very displeased breath, pulling his head back a bit to show his exaggeration. "Who says I care?" He asks. I move towards my suit case and undo the zipper before I pull out a pair of long pajama pants.

I gesture towards him even though he can't see my actions.

"Clearly you do. Otherwise you wouldn't have come to my room to say this". I hold the pants low so that I am able to step inside of them. I pull them up my legs and let the waistband dig into the skin on my waist. It hugs me tightly.

I look down at myself before pulling the short dress over what my pajama pants could cover, which is barely anything. I walk closer to him and as if he had eyes in the back of his head and could see that I was done, he turned himself around, placing his shoulder back onto the arch in the wall.

"I'm on a path to redemption" he says and my mind treats it like acid. Path to redemption? Yeah, right. All of a sudden.

I look at him with a face that shows little to no expression. I'm not sure if he thinks I'm still the same naive girl I was years ago when I was younger, but I am not. I am far smarter, have gone through much more than my head can wrap around, and can see directly through people's bullshit.

"It's true, Celeste. I'm on a path to redemption" he repeats himself and I don't react, giving him the same look as before.

His lips part and a small breath escapes. He closes his eyes. He inhales again and finally opens his eyes. "You're making this harder than it has to be. All I wanted to do was be sure that you didn't feel sorry for that son of a bitch" he tells me, talking about his father.