Haven And Chaos

22) Hurtful words

It hurt so bad.
My body. My heart. My soul. They all pounded with a familiar rhythm. One that made me want to a corner and cry out my eyes until there was nothing but blood. Maybe then, life would cease trying to fuck me and give me a break.
I deserved a break.
I had done nothing wrong.
Yes I was a little drunk that night, but not too much that I couldn't see the road clearly. And the sudden brake failure had happened out of the blue.

So why hadn't Gale believed me when I told him that the car was fine when we drove to the hotel for the party?

"Shit!" His angry voice groaned from behind me. "You always cause a fucking mess wherever you go and whatever you touch. Now look at my documents! Move!"
A hand pulled me off the wet desk and made me face the devil of a man.
"Are you cr- gawd!" He exhaled pinching the bridge of his nose as if the sight of my tears was too unbearable.

"Maya?" He called, sounding partially calmer. "Tell me right now so I'll keep it in mind, are there more such photos anywhere else? I had your phone cleaned and destroyed. All your social media accounts are gone as well. So tell me if there is someone out there who has photos of you like this one. I'll find them all and dispose of them."

Did he mean he'd dispose of the photos or the people who had them?
It was difficult reading Gale's stone-cold face and his gray eyes were even harder to see through.
But wait... Had he just said that he had removed me from the face of the internet?

I stumbled backward staring wide-eyed at him. His calm demeanor. His sharp gaze. His relaxed body in that blue suit.
Gale was acting as if he hadn't just said that I now only existed in person.
My Instagram account was...gone?
I had worked so hard to grow my following over the years. And he was telling me with a straight face that he had erased everything?
All for what? For his own benefit. Just because he was afraid I'd taint his image.

"I hate you," I yelled throwing daggers at him with my scowl. "You're the worst man to walk this eart-"

His right hand shot forward and came covering my mouth while grabbing my cheeks. I didn't want to feel his touch or my body would melt from the anger whirling in me. I had no idea what to do with it since I couldn't vent it on Gale.
"Hate? Are you making a joke right now?"

The murderous glimmer in those eyes... terrifying.
"I take away some useless accounts and you look ready to slice me open. Then what do you think I felt after you took away my daughter? Answer me!" Gale bellowed.
His hand tightened on my face, letting me know of the dense rage burning through his body. "Do you know the kind of torture I had to go through before pulling myself together? No you don't! Cause all your little brain cares about is how to flaunt your ass out there for fucking attention like a goddamn whore!"

Tears. Guilt. Pain. Anger. Hatred. Adrenaline. Grief. These were the things connecting us at that specific moment as Gale finally let loose a little. Just enough to pry open his heart and let me see the revulsion he bore for me.

I shut my eyes, hot stinging tears racing down my face to slip between Gale's hand and my skin while I apologized over and over in my mind. If blaming me would help him cope with his loss, then, I was willing to do it for Cindy's sake. I knew I had my part in her death, but I still couldn't help but think that the brake failure wasn't some mechanical fault. Not when Cindy's car was always in excellent shape.

"Shedding tears will not bring back the dead, little girl!" He hissed close to my face. "If a trade between the living and the dead was possible, I'd have given you up for Cindy because you're nothing but trouble."

He was too harsh today. Was it all because of that cursed photo? Or was he taking out his work's stress on my poor heart?
It was just so hard to stay on my feet when my entire body felt like it would shut down any second now.
"Get out of my sight!"
The hand on my face pushed me from his front carelessly as the office fell into a dead silence other than my low sniffles.

Holding myself together like fixing a broken glass with tape, I made my way for the door. While I wasn't harmed physically, my mental state would sure take a blow from Gale's words and actions. His hatred run deeper than I imagine, creating a different person from the man who had moaned and cummed in my hand in the morning.

"Don't come tonight. I'll be sleeping by myself!" He informed with a hint of fury.

A piece of my soul felt instant relief but my body was too drained to show. "Okay."

Once I was out of his office, my stagger became noticeable while all the emotions I had been hiding came bursting out.
"Miss Maya! Are you okay?" One of Gale's bodyguards asked rushing to aid me from their position a door from Gale's.

He gently slipped his hand on my waist from the back and flung my arm over his shoulder for firm support. "Are you sick?"
I shook my head, lying even to myself.

"You look so pale. Maybe you sho-"

"I'm fine, honestly," I assured flashing him a fake smile.

With him still aiding me walking along the hallway, Gale's voice suddenly called out my name. He didn't sound too pleased, but that was a mood I'd have to get used to when I was involved.
"Come here!" He ordered standing at the doorway. His harsh glower shifted from my face and up to the man helping me. "Do I have to tell you to let her go? Or are you two-"

"N-no Sir! It's just that... she's weak. I was informed that she hadn't eaten her lunch yet and was asked by the maid caring for her to escort her to the cafeteria."

Reacting to his words, Gale's expression hardened even further. "Do you now play the role of the babysitter? What a shame really." The terrifying yet attractive pair of gray eyes fell on me once again. "You can eat from my office. Let her walk by herself. I'm sure she won't die from a few steps by herself, hm?"

The man helping me was about to talk back when I pulled myself from him to protect him. If he lost his job for a pitiful girl like myself, I wouldn't want to live further. My life was horrible enough already.

My hands moved along the left wall, using it as the support I so much needed. But as I walked past Gale, my knees buckled.
'Shit! Is this how I die? Smacking my head on the floor and dying from profuse bleeding?' I wondered as my body aimed for the hard surface.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd faint over there," Gale whispered catching me in time and yanking my wasted body against him as if embracing me. "Get her something!" He ordered loudly before disappearing back into the office with me still in his arms.