The Girl Behind The Mask | Chaelisa

Chapter 26

"... it's been a while..." Chanyeol spoke; his tone undiluted by the tense atmosphere between them.

The man that stood before her now was but a sad resemblance of the man she had once known. Though only 2 years had passed, Chanyeol was nearly unrecognizable. It was his eyes, Roseanne later recalled, that immediately pinged her memory. His hair - once luscious and vibrant - was now drained of life and unkempt; greased from base to tips. His face - once bare and clean - now altered by days-old stubble that seemed far too overwhelming for his soft features. He was thinner than she remembered ever seeing him, even in his teens. His clothes, always well-fitted, now hung loosely around his frame.

"Chanyeol...? What...What are you doing here?" Roseanne was having a difficult time accepting the vision in front of her. Chanyeol... gone and forgotten. Chanyeol, standing casually at her door with his hands tucked into his front pockets. "I... don't understand..."

"I've missed you..." Chanyeol began with a partial shrug, as if that was reason enough. "And... you've been on my mind a lot lately... I took that as a sign. A sign to come see you. God... how I've missed you, Rosie..." He took a tentative step forward, crossing the threshold that separated the porch and the house's interior. Roseanne's hand automatically tightened around the door.

"You should go, Chanyeol..." She spoke, banishing all the emotion from her voice; it was all too much to process at once. "We have nothing to say to each other."

Chanyeol... smirked? And the very act caused a series of shivers to run down her spine. "I... have driven half-a-day to get here, Roseanne... nearly twelve hours. The least you can do is listen to what I have to say, princess..." Another step, and the impulse to slam the door shut on his intruding figure was suddenly tempting. "I'll do all the talking."

Roseanne's mind was on overdrive. Frankly, all her senses were on overdrive. Every one of her inner alarms were currently screeching. "It's late. And like I've said... we've nothing more to say to one another." She stated, inching the door closer to its frame ever so slightly. "You lost every right to that the second you chose to fuck around. So, please... leave."

With that, she proceeded with the shutting of the door, and would have succeeded... if not for a foot barring it from fully closing.

Without waiting for an invitation to be extended, Chanyeol pushed the door open just enough to slither inside, swinging it shut once he was in. Roseanne was forced to take a few retreating steps back, putting some distance between them two, everyone of her muscles simultaneously starting to tense. Chanyeol now stood between her and the exit.

"I said leave." She hissed, louder and with more determination. Maybe he had misunderstood her tone the first time... maybe he would listen now that she spoke with a little more persuasion. "Whatever you have to say, I don't care for it! So save your breath and get the- "

"Still as feisty as I remember..." Chanyeol interrupted her, speaking through a self-assured smile that quickly turned hungry as his gaze scanned down the length of her body. "And still just as beautiful..."

Roseanne could hear the TV faintly in the living room behind her... where Axel slept, defenseless and oblivious to the current situation. She diffused her nerves by mentally telling herself there was no reason to jump to conclusions; although his arrival was unwarranted, there was no cause to worry until a solid motive presented itself.

Infidelity aside, Chanyeol had never been aggressive or quarrelsome toward her at any moment during their time together. She recalls the manner in which his eye pleaded for mercy and forgiveness the night he was caught; pained and desperate... the look of a man on the brink of losing that which was dearest to him. Yet the expression in his gaze now differed dramatically from that many, many months ago... there was neither pain nor desperation reflected in his eyes tonight. Instead, they were ablaze with a fervor and hunger that set her skin into an uncomfortable tingle. It was the look of a man with a longing... behaving out of personal entitlement and claim.