His Obsession || Book One

Feuds

I shuddered, exhaling heavily.

Marcello got lost into thought, his nose twitched in anger, "He killed her and made sure I was watching. Now, I'm going to have him watch, except you'll die in great suffering."

He threw his wine glass across the floor, shattering it completely. Then, he choked me with a hand and lifted me two inches off the ground.

I gasped for air, digging my nails in his arms. Once he let go, I panted heavily and fell to my knees. "If you think that was bad.. Just wait till you see what I'm gonna do to you." his devilish voice whispered in my ear.

He grabbed a fistful of my hair and nearly dragged me up the stairs. I was taken to closet in which he threw me in and locked it.

Nothing but shelves surrounded me, that's when I seen a dim light behind a shelf.

I pushed the big shelf out the way which revealed a medium sized air vent. I popped the rigged, aluminum sheet off and crawled in the tight space.

I ended up crawling for a good ten minutes, when I finally found an exit.

It was a bathroom which had a window inside. Once I got out the claustrophobic vent, I quickly unlocked the window and jumped out, firmly sticking a land.

I headed straight into the trees and ran towards the street ahead.

Eventually, I ended up at the edge of town. Alone, in nothing but a T-shirt and running shorts, I immediately began to shiver. It had to have been nearly 40 degrees, I could hardly feel my legs. Men's eyes would gawk me which made me feel incredibly vulnerable.

A business lady on the phone dropped a quarter as she rushed across the sidewalk to work. I took it and walked to a call booth.

Dialing Eric, he answered before the second ring, "If you even touch her I will rip your-"

I interrupted, "Eric? Eric, it's me. Danica. I don't know where I am."

"I'm coming." his tone switched to concern. I heard the revving in his car increase in a second.

The call ended and surely enough, in minutes he pulled over at the sidewalk in front of the booth I was in.

As soon as I got in, he already started to bombard me with questions.

"Why'd you leave? Where were you? Why are you wearing that? How'd you get here?"

But I couldn't even look at Eric the same. My head was reminding me of his affair with Alecia. It made my stomach weak.

"Where were you?" I heard myself ask.

His fuming voice barked, "We're leaving."

His reckless driving had us back to the hotel in minutes.

I hesitated to enter the elevator I was once taken in.

Eric's presence didn't make matters better. I started to grow afraid of him.

Getting to the hotel room, I chose to change into a turtleneck sweater, leggings, and boots.

I entered the bathroom to change and once I got undressed, I immediately noticed the bruise marks on my neck from Marcello.

I swallowed hard and continued to dress.

Afterwards, I packed my clothes away and plopped on the bed.

Please be all a dream.

But it wasn't, no matter how hard I wished none of that ever happened, it did.

Eric placed a hand on my shoulder to indicate we were leaving, but I jumped startled when he did so.

"Where were you?" he asked sternly.

My eyes wandered around, avoiding the question.

His face blank, "I'm not going to ask again. Where were you?"

I got up and grabbed my luggage, ignoring his question, "I don't have to tell you."

I strolled out the suite and Eric stormed behind me with his luggages.

We checked out and the very kind employees guided us out the front.

We got a taxi to the airport and went through the usual.

Eric and I were mad at each other. We didn't talk at all, even during the two hour wait for our plane to arrive to the airport.

I ate at a sandwich shop while Eric sat from afar, keeping an eye on me, drinking at the bar.

After my meal, I walked in a gift shop and wandered around. I bought a fashion magazine and a sweater that said SAN FRANCISCO on the front, for my mom.

I don't know how long I'll go without talking to Eric, but I already began to dread it.

I used a payphone at the airport to call back home, "Hey mom."

"Hey sweetie! How are you liking it?"

I noticed in the shiny reflection on the key pad, Eric was watching me like a hawk. I succeeded in ignoring his stalking.

I had to let my mom go when I was out of minutes.

We hung up, I took a deep breath, and walked over to Eric who still had his eyes locked onto me. His phone was placed on the table and his hand gripped the glass tightly.

I sat beside him and snapped at him silently, "Stop staring at me."

His eyes narrowed at me as he took a sip.

Eric's phone flashed "New Message from Santiago." I noticed he turned rigid in his seat, and so I snatched the phone before he could, and read their conversation.

"Danica, give me it back." he grouched at me.

"Find out who Danica is talking to on the payphone. Number 6."

"She's talking to her mom. Would you like me to send you the voice recording of the conversation?"

"Yes."

"ATTACHMENT: Voice Recording."

I gasped in disbelief and fury, "Are you kidding me? What the hell is the matter with you?"

"Its not like you're open to talk about anything, so what would be the point?" Eric got up and yanked his phone back, "And would you keep it down? You're making a scene."

I scoffed, twisting my face in grimace, "Unbelievable."

"Brat," He snapped back, taking a seat and proceeded to his drink.

I rolled my eyes with a groan and walked away fuming.

I just want to go home.