Shattered

Chapter 34

I've made changes to this chapter after deciding I wanted to take a different approach to the next chapter.

Like a rabbit stuck under a wolf, I was trapped.

"By kicking my fucking balls and running off, you've only proved that something did happen when we left," he declared lowly, bending his elbows as he leaned closer to me.

I cowered into the wall, afraid of what was to come, but I still felt an angry fire run through me. This is who I am. "Just giving you what you deserve," I uttered with a scoff, looking up at him through my lashes, and not in the flirtatious way.

Behind my brave face, I was scared shitless, knowing this would end badly for myself, but I needed the pain to remind me what I'm fighting for, what I can't give up on. Even though I made nothing easy for him, I was in a state of comfort. There was no active push for my freedom, only waiting around for a straight shot out. While this wasn't necessarily bad, it was the wrong move now that I had something going for me.

What a waste it'd be if I sat around to see if an escape route would fall into my lap like I had waited for this single piece of paper. I was given new information, which meant I had to put it to use immediately. Pushing Chandler's buttons would remind him that I won't be so easily controlled, that he still doesn't have control over me.

The dominator can't control the one he wants to most, how fucking ironic.

Almost brought a smile on my face, truly.

"You're really trying it, aren't you?" He laughed, but his expression didn't change. It was hard as stone, his jaw clenched in fury. "If you can be an asshole, so can I," I countered.

His hand on the doorframe slid off, coming under my jaw in a rough grip. "Stop talking shit and answer me." He spoke in a louder voice, my attitude quickly pushing him to the edge of the cliff. I wanted, no, needed him to fall off the ledge.

"There's nothing to tell you. Nyx went to get water while you were gone, I didn't move from the couch, as you saw, and I got a lucky guess." Keeping my eyes trained on his, I spoke in a steady voice, trying to prove I wasn't lying, even if I was.

Something in me was tempted to say, "you never asked a question, so I have no answer," but I knew that was crossing dangerous waters.

Not wanting to get beat, I avoided touching him, keeping my hands flat on the wall beside me. My words would anger him to the point of yelling, possibly earning a slap, but unless I harmed him, he wouldn't go any farther physically.

Or maybe I was holding him to a higher standard than he deserved.

"You're going to stand here and lie to my face?" he questioned, as if he wasn't already expecting that answer from me. He knew I was predictable, and he knew more than he let on. He always did. It was like a game to him, he would loosen his grip to let me have my moment of hope, just so he could crush it in his hand and watch me slowly break until I shattered.

For the sake of no reason at all, I really wanted to tell him yes, to provoke a reaction from him, but instead, I stared at him for a long moment, like he were an idiot, although he knew exactly what was happening. "How am I lying? I just told you what happened," I lied. The irony.

"You have one last chance to tell me the truth, Jess." Chandler let go of my jaw, moving his touch to the back of my head, tangling his hand in my hair. Dangerously, he came closer, grazing his lips by my ear as he did earlier.

"I promise you won't like where lying gets you," he muttered gently, his tone contradicting his words. His chest pressed against mine, leaving no space between us. It was both suffocating and terrifying in all the worst ways.