Promise

Chapter Eight

Calypso

"Please hurry back soon and be safe. I don't want to decorate the entire tree by myself, darling."

I offer my lips to Nero in a quick kiss as he smiles against my lips, squeezing me into a hug. He is quick to pull away before giving me a two finger salute, chuckling with his mannerism.

"Of course, beautiful. I'll be back in a flash."

And like that, he is out of the house. I laugh to myself, watching his motorcycle take off onto the road through the living room window. I pray for his safe return as I turn back to the box of decorations we bought recently for our white huge Christmas tree. I'm excited to get our home decorated with all the fun ornaments Christmas time brings.

It's been a few months since we started dating and I recently just moved in with him into his house since I spend a majority of the time here anyway. My parents absolutely love Nero, as we spent Thanksgiving with my parents back home, and my father could appreciate his sarcastic personality. My mother complimented how well we look together, insisting on snapping some photos of us cuddled together so we could have the good memory of being with one another. I currently have one of those very pictures hung up as a portrait canvas on the wall; I sit on his lap, lovingly holding his face as I look forward, smiling a bright teeth flashing smile where he is looking at me with this serious, but loving expression in his eyes.

These months that have come to pass have felt like a complete dream. I am glad I get to spend these moments with him at my side. We help one another grow and continue to lift one another to be the best versions of ourselves. It couldn't get any better. 

As I grab one of the many ornaments for the tree. I start to plug away at the bottom of the tree so we can hopefully do the top together. I hum a light Christmas tune as I work, thinking about baking gingerbread cookies this afternoon after looking over some homework. As I hear the front door open and close, I call out sweetly to Nero.

"Come on darling! I want to do the top of the tree together."

I toss my thick braid over my shoulder and I feel hands wrap around my waist. As I glance down, my blood runs cold because these hands, these arms, are not Nero's. He did not leave the house in a black long sleeve shirt. Come to think of it, I didn't hear the motorcycle pull in either. I bite my lip as I feel my heart rate increase to the max, my anxiety breaking through the sky as a lighting cracks through clouds; powerful, intense, and blinding. I feel frozen as I hear the deep voice speaking in my ear, one that I have not heard in months.

"You look absolutely delectable, Calypso. Good enough to eat."

My hands are trembling as I clutch the ornament I was holding, praying that this is a bad dream. That I somehow fell asleep and this is just a nightmare I will wake up from when Nero comes home. I feel the massive hands around me turn me to face the owner of the voice and lock eyes with Dorian's sapphiric gaze, his eyes tinted with a look of madness. He has dark circles under his eyes, indicating he has seldom been sleeping by the guess of it, and his face looks a little more sunken in. He is still quite handsome but his overall demeanor is the stark contrast of the once confident, cocky, asshole I dated. He looks desperate.

He gently plucks the ornament from my hand, analyzing it as if it is something deep to ponder, and smiles almost in a crazed fashion.

"What a cute ornament for the tree, babe. It's a really nice choice."

I don't know what to do or say. I don't want to try to run or break away because his grip is so tight I know he'll just crush me under his vice grip. I don't want to agitate him by antagonizing him, but I need to try to keep him as calm as possible until Nero can get home or I can get to my phone to call the police. I'm kicking myself for leaving my cell on the kitchen counter.