He Stares Back

Chap. 32: It Would Be Empty

At 5:40 a.m., East Coast is dark, mysterious, but suddenly light bleeds through the darkness. Colors of magnolia yellow, hot pink, blood orange, are purple are painted across the sky. The first thing the morning light of dawn hits is Drysdale's skyscrapers. Christian watches the beautiful sunrise as his SUV makes its way back to Taylor Manor. Heavy, dark bags under his haunting, tired eyes that compliments is pale complexion. Anyone who is to see him would think he was death itself.

         When the SUV stops, Christian's heart nearly stops. Zephyr, his youngest bodyguard next to Felix, opens the back door for his boss. Christian's sore body aches with every inch he moves. He nearly loses his balance when he tries to stand and holds the side of the SUV for support. Zephyr helps him into the mansion before any paparazzi could appear at the gate.

       As they step inside, Felix, Blade, and Happy all turn to see the man's death like appearance. Happy's heart tears in two at the sight, assuming the worst. He suddenly feels hatred for Christian.

          "She's upstairs, sir." Happy says coldly, by being able to hide his emotions. 

           Christian nods and looks up the stairwell, his face twisting at the long flight of stairs. Zephyr nods at Blade, who quickly assist them. They both help Christian up the stairwell to the second floor. Christian motions for them to stay as he tries to walk on his own to his master bedroom. Every inch closer to his grand doors makes his heart beat hard as a drum. He manages to make it to the bedroom door without assistance and slips inside.

       Christian slowly turns to see Emily laying in a very odd position on his bed. The top half of her body is facedown on the bed while her other half is twisted sideways, nearly on her bottom. She still wears the outfit she had wore after she changed from her cocktail dress. Tissues are scattered all around, indicating Emily has cried over half the night. Christian goes to gently hold her toes that are freshly painted baby blue but he doesn't. In fear he'll disturb her if her sleep.

         The heart wrenching sight makes Christian turn from her. He stumbles to his closet and undresses from his messy suit. He smells the cigar stained smell on his clothes, knowing he'll have to shower before he lays down with Emily.

              As he undresses from his dress shirt, he sees red lipstick smeared all over his collar and chest. Flashes of what all went down at the Cherry Popper run through Christian's mind. He takes the rest of his clothes off and grabs a clean pair of underwear and pajama bottoms. He stumbles his way to the bathroom to shower, hoping that the cold water will wake him up. But it only does partly.

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

       The sound of the water splashing on the stone shower walls and floor wakes Emily from her sleep. She yawns tiredly and stretches, looking around. A light shines in from the cracked door of the bathroom.

He must have made his decision unless he would have came to bed with me. The brunette tears up once again.

Emily gets up and goes into the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind her. She peaks her head into the shower to see a nude Christian leaning against the shower wall, physically shivering as he washes his body.

"Well?" Emily says loudly, her voice breaking.

Christian freezes, staying that way for a long period of time. Emily begins to choke up.

"Well!" Emily screams at him with tears in her eyes.

Christian slowly turns and looks at her. His haunting face makes Emily take a step back. The misery on his face and in his eyes gives Emily mixed signals.

Tears roll down Emily's reddened cheeks. "You said yes!"

Somehow, Christian had managed to get over to Emily. The water on his wet body drips onto the mat outside of the stone shower. He lifts Emily's chin, making her look him in the eyes.

Christian caresses her cheeks, rubbing her tears away. "Roger made me another deal...he told me that if I spent the entire night getting to know Monroe and if I didn't develop feelings for her, I could still have his business. But if I did have any feelings for Monroe by the end of the night, he would arrange a wedding immediately."

"Do you—" Emily tries to not break down, her face scrunching up. "Do you have feelings for Monroe?"

"Monroe and I had a lot in common, Em. I've never had any woman have so much in common with me before—" Christian stops himself when Emily looks away, "I...I have to admit that she would make me a very happy man. And when we kissed—"

Emily lets out a loud sob, covering her mouth. Christian holds her to his wet, hairy chest before she can run away. He softly smiles at the feeling of her pressed against his chest.

"But the entire time, I kept thinking about you." Christian begins to tear up, kissing Emily's forehead. "And Monroe would make me a happy man, yes, but my life without you in it, it would be empty."

Emily wraps her arm around his neck, holding not him tightly. The brunette cries harder, her chest painfully rising and falling at uneven rates. Christian softly cuddling her to his chest, squeezing her tightly. He kisses her forehead once more, pulling the loose hairs out of her face.

"Go back to bed, Em, Baby." Christian kisses her cheek softly, "I'll be there in a little while."

Emily attaches her lips to his, pouring everything into it. The love, fear, hate, and pain all in one exhaust Christian even more. He reluctantly lets her go but makes her look up at him. Her innocent doe eyes melt his heart.

"Go on." He motions towards the bedroom, "I won't be long, My Love."