He Stares Back

Chap. 25: I Wasn't

The flat screen TV shines bright into the dim lit living room. The 9 o'clock news is on. Christian listens to every word the reporter says, his mind loud. Emily cuddles his side as his arms lays on the head of the couch. The brunette's head leans on his tight pecs. She remains silent, still shook up from the shooting aftermath.

"The actual shooter was not seen but gunfire was heard, sending the crowd running for their lives. Much like the Drysdale Mall Shooting that took place two days ago." The woman reporter says, a picture of Christian appears on the screen. "Billionaire Christian Taylor, of Taylor Enterprises, is rumored to have been involved but there is no further evidence."

Emily feels Christian tense up underneath her. The sound of his booming voice named her jump, flashbacks of the shooting running through her mind.

"BECAUSE NOT FRICKING BEHIND THIS SHIT YOU BITCH!!!!" Christian screams angrily, his face turning red. "SOMEONE IS TRYING TO FRAME ME!!!"

As the reporter continues on with the news, Emily quickly flips the tv off. She stands and paces the floor, running her face as anxiety eats her alive. Christian remains silent as he watches her frame go back and forth in the dark.

"Can we please talk about something else? Just for right now?" Emily pleads, "I can't get it out of my head! I need to focus on something else cause I'm losing my fricking mind!"

Christian pulls her into him, hold of her tightly against him and rubbing her arms soothingly. She cries into him, hating how helpless she feels. The billionaire shushes her as he cradles her body close to his.

"I want you to go with me to work from now on." Christian says to Emily, rubbing her back. "I don't feel safe to leave you alone in the house anymore."

Emily shakes her head. "I'd rather never see the light of day again!"

Christian's arm slips under her legs and pulls her completely in his lap. He rocks her slowly as she trembles, shushing her.

"Don't talk like that." Christian tries to control his temper, considering last time it nearly costed him everything. "I'm sorry that this is happening to us, Baby. Happening to you. I'm going to find out who this son of a bitch is and what his motive is."

Emily sniffs. "I hope Kaley made it out okay."

Christian's face scrunches up in confusion. "You saw Kaley tonight?"

"Yeah, but she acted so...strange." Emily says softly, "But I don't wanna talk about Kaley or anything to do with the shooting."

"Go pick out an outfit for tomorrow." Christian says against the side of her head, "I'll make us dinner."

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Christian had cooked filleted scallops with lemon, butter, black beans, and large particles of parsley. They both eat slowly in silence. Emily tries to block the traumatic memories from her thoughts but it replays in her mind. The screams. Her losing her hearing in her left ear for a few hours. The panic. The shoving. Christian's arms hurriedly rushing her out of the building. The blood gushing from the man's gunshot wound. The horrifying memories leave suddenly leave Emily gasping for air, overwhelming her once again.

Christian gives the brunette a confused, concerned look. "Baby, are you okay?"

Emily looks to him, tears rolling down her face. "What?"

The billionaire wipes his lips, rises from his seat at the dining room table, and walks over to Emily. He wipes her tears away with his thumbs as he holds her face up. He shushes her as he stares deep into her eyes.

"Stop crying." Christian says to her, "Is it the scallops? Did you burn your tongue?"

Emily shakes her head. "I can't get it out of my mind! The blood...the panic...the chaos.... How can you handle that without going into a fricking heart attack?!"

Christian nods. "I'm not a good man, Emily. I've seen and done things throughout my lifetime that would make you look at me different if you only knew."

"Did you have Mr. Hardon killed?" Emily's face scrunches up, hot tears begin to roll down her cheeks as guilt fills her.

Christian stares at her for a long time in silence. "No."

"Don't lie to me!" The brunette's voice drops to a whisper mid-sentence.

Christian shakes his head at her, looking deep into her eyes. His brow arches at her as his eyes slightly squint.

"Emily, who told you that I killed Mr. Hardon?" Christian says curiously.

Emily wipes her tearful eyes with the back of her hand. "Kaley."

"Kaley told you that I killed Mr. Hardon?" The billionaire's eyes are cold, icy.

"She briefly told me that Mr. Hardon was stabbed fifty-two times and his body was thrown into the ocean. I figured it was you who got rid of him." Emily covers her face with her hands, "I feel so guilty! I told you what I told you and now he's dead!"

Christian rises to his feet, holding his beloveds head close to his abdomen. He remains silent as she cries.

"It should be me instead of Mr. Hardon." Christian pulls her into him harder, "Oh I feel so guilty! Please tell me truthfully that you weren't behind his death!"

The billionaire lets out a shakeup sigh. "I wasn't."

So readers, I had to delete my chapter that I had because I decided that I didn't want Christian to force Emily to "break" him. I decided that her running away and him thinking he'll never see her again broke a small part of him but not completely yet. So I apologize for the confusion. I'm trying to improve on Christian's character to make him less of a cruel monster and more of the man he needs to be in order to compliment Emily's character. So tell me what you think! Was it good, bad, needs improving? More to come!