Chapter 4 Belle’s POV

“Heyy Otis, have you been looking for me?” Jade asked and stood up first, slicing through the silence.

Otis said nothing. I could only feel his unforgiving stare at me.

I tightened my fists so hard my knuckles shone.

“Go wait for me by the car” he said to Jade, eyes still on me.

Damn this man.

Jade turned to me and held my hand. “I’ll see you around I guess. Right?”

That’s when I noticed how much younger he was than Otis, about my age, maybe? Or even a year older than me, which would make him nineteen.

What difference did it make anyway?

I nodded.

I could see the fury in Otis’s eyes, almost as if he was daring me to try it.

He took a step closer as soon as Jade left.

Then he scowled.

“You don’t walk out on me when I call you, okay?” He said, baring his teeth. “You were a customer, and you sure as hell would have acted like one”

I just stared at him, too angry to speak and too mesmerized by the smell of his cologne.

Deep fruity scent mixed with wood.

“I was asking if this bracelet is yours, I’m leaving if it’s not” he said, then turned around.

“It’s mine” I said and made for it, which of course he took from my reach.

Always an asshole.

“How sure are you that it’s yours?” he asked, and for a minute I thought I was going insane.

“It’s mine. My dad gave it to me as a gift on my birthday” I managed to say through the anger boiling inside me.

I had no idea I had left it at his shop that day.

“Well then, beg for it” he said, with a cold demeanor like he didn’t know what he was doing. 

“Excuse me?” I could actually feel fumes coming out of my nostrils.

“It’s mine. Just give it to me.” I reached for it again and he pulled it out of my reach once more.

Thoughts about this man had run through my mind the first time we met, to a point I dreamt about those eyes.

I couldn't figure out the emotions I had about him.

Now I did.

Hate.

My body crawled just at the thought of him, the way he felt he could climb on people however he wanted. 

“Well since you won’t beg for it, I guess I’ll just take it to the real owner” he said.

Then threw the bracelet into the trees.

Anger rose through me for the first time in my life. My teeth jammed so hard together, I could hear the sounds they made when against each other.

“Wait, what did you just do?” I asked him, close to tears.

Act Belle, Act.

“You'd better go get it from where you threw it, or I’m telling my dad” I said, blinking faster as the tears threatened to fall.

“And then what?” He asked, appearing as nonchalant in his words as he was in looks.

He turned and started leaving.

My legs were carrying me into the house, before I could say Jack. I ran to the phone and called my dad.

Of course, he didn’t pick.

They never do.

I ran back outside and saw Otis walking off like the thug that he was, taking long strides that screamed “back off.”

The sun had already gone down and there was no way I’d leave that bracelet out there. My dad had told me it cost a fortune.

Not to mention that it was one of my favorites.

I grabbed a flashlight from inside and headed in the direction where I saw it fall.

After searching with my naked eyes for a few moments, I turned on the flashlight as it got darker.

Somehow, staying in that isolated area gave me some time to myself.

Being a virgin at 18 was what people found very normal. I hadn’t even had my first kiss.

Wow.

Talk about unlucky, haha.

Then my thoughts drifted to Jade, he seemed like a really nice guy.

Too bad I was leaving so soon.

Breaks always happen though. I might be around faster than I imagined.

Especially after I graduated, I could do whatever I wanted.

I had been so deep in my thoughts that I spun around in shock when I heard footsteps close by.

“You really do give a fuck about that bracelet, huh” 

It was dark so I couldn’t make out the face at first, but the voice...

It was unmistakable.

Otis.

I felt bile rise in my throat. “Why does it matter?” I asked, unable to hide my irritation. 

“Maybe it matters because you’re supposed to be in your house right now, not out in the woods looking for some goddamn bracelet” he spat out.

“Well, it’s none of your concern, so you might as well just run along.” 

“You don’t talk to me that way.” He said, moving closer than I wanted. “You don’t.” 

“And if I do?” I liked the nerves that pumped through me at that moment.

Maybe it was like that for everyone. Someone pisses you off, and you feel that powerful version of yourself pop out.

I straightened my shoulders. 

When it was obvious he wasn’t going to say anything, I went back to looking for my bracelet.

He crouched down and started searching too, but at that point.

I couldn’t care less.

After several minutes of checking under the shrubs, “I’ve found it” Otis announced.

“Thank you” I said and collected it from where he held it right in front of my face.

We moved out from the trees and began the walk home.

“How old are you?” He asked and I flinched.

I hated it when people asked about that part of me.

“Eighteen” I said sincerely.

“And how about you?” I asked and as always, I almost regretted it.

“You shouldn’t ask a man his age. But I can tell you this for free, Jade is the same age as you”

He said and kept walking.

“I turned 18 two weeks ago”

I guess what I said made him stop.

“Two weeks ago, huh? He asked and moved closer to me.

“I wonder what you’ll become when you actually strike nineteen.” he said, his voice laced with insult.

I looked down, he was staring at me too attentively….like I was food when he wasn’t hungry.

Disgust?

Then a jolt went through me when I felt a finger on my arm

Why was I feeling flustered? I couldn’t pinpoint that.

A hand went to my face, then his lips closed in on mine.

It felt so natural, yet so cold at the same time. I kept my lips open while he explored my tongue, my teeth-everything.

A massive wall of toned chest resisted me when I tried to push him off. 

My legs wobbled and I leaned into him.

This man I hated so much. He was kissing me.

Then I felt light on us.

“So this is what you've been doing all this time?”

My dad.

I turned towards the light the same time Otis pushed me away from him.