|27| the uninvited demon

I'll never be that

Me again.

~b.m

______________

Shock slowly but surely makes its way through my body as I stare through my peephole, my body trembles, wishing there was more than just a door keeping us apart,

"Come on Vanessa I know you're in there I just want to talk" he pleads, in an extremely soft voice, you'd mistake him as a kind-mannered man,

I'm frozen in my place all reasoning is out the window at this point, and I can't think straight,

Do I call the police? Do I call Aaron?

Do I ignore him or reply?

How did he find out where I live...?

Aaron was right to fear for my safety, but of course, I decided to brush him off believing the man who repeatedly raped me years ago wouldn't know where I lived since I hadn't seen him in years,

I guess I was a fool, has this man gone from a manipulative rapist to a stalker?

"Go away David," I declare with the strongest voice I could locate at the moment, the instant I talk I regret it, I could've just ignored him, pretended to not be home, it's not like I have a car outside that will make my lie obvious...but now it's too late.

"Come on sweet cheeks cant we talk for just a minute?" he pleads, his voice sugary sweet as he attempts to get me into opening the door,

Sweet cheeks...

The identical words he would praise in my ear as he harmed my body with his, the same nickname he would utilize to manipulate me into doing things I didn't wish to do.

That nickname still plagues me to this day, how Dare he use it right now believing it will work,

It certainly will not, no way is the man who mistreated me in more ways than one, going to try to control me into whatever he wants,

"Don't you Dare call me that" I announce loudly getting angrier by the second

"Come on don't be like that, I just want to talk that's it," he confesses calmly

I'm anything but calm, I'm furious, terrified, and freaking exhausted,

"Then talk but there's no damn way I'm opening the door," I mumble as I take deep breaths to steady the wild beating of my heart,

"But I need to see your pretty face," he says with an annoyingly pleading tone

I roll my eyes "it either you say whatever shit you came to say with the door closed or I call the damn police for you stalking me" I say getting more furious as time where he doesn't leave passes,

"Stalking? How dare you insinuate such a thing" he gasps

"So showing up to the place I work at and then my home isn't stalking? May I mention the fact that there's no way for you to know where I work and live unless you're stalking me" I stress, my hands tremble

"Did you think maybe someone told me?" He scoffs as if my accusation was outrageous for me to entertain

"And who in the hell would tell you?" I ask, confusion and exhaustion causing a headache to form,

"It doesn't matter this isn't what I came here to talk about" he sighs

"How is the fact someone gave my location of work and apartment address to you without my knowledge, not something that matters?" I ask raising my voice

He entirely dismisses me and proceeds to speak "I want to get back together I miss you, or at least be friends," he pleads,

He has to be joking right now...

"Firstly I'm in an incredible relationship with a man I love and will not be leaving, secondly I don't wish to be friends with you I don't want anything to do with you"

"Yeah well, I don't like your damn boyfriend very much the idiot nearly knocked me out with how rough he was punching me" he scoffs, and I see proof in his still bruised-up face,

"See you're a stalker," I mumble infuriated

"And did you overlook the fact you raped me repeatedly when we were together? You deserved all of those hits and much more" I shake my head even though he can't see me,

"I didn't rape you, you liked it, the noises you were making were very much of pleasure" he scoffs offended by my comment

"are you kidding me? So me sobbing, pleading for you to stop, and telling you no was me liking it?" I say with tears streaming down my face

I'm glad there's a door between us because if he stood in front of me I would possibly knock him out with the vase on my side table by my door

"I don't remember it like that," he mumbles and I can see him rolling his eyes through the peephole

"Of course you don't you're a disgusting rapist" I scoff

"Now leave my apartment and never come back, I don't want to be your damn anything," I tell him calmer than I ever believed I could sound in a moment like this

"You will regret not wanting my friendship...I am offering you so much more than that foolish man is giving you" he sneers walking off before I can respond,

I slump down against the wall, silent tears stream,

I cry out of anger, exhaustion, and terror.

How dare he say that the things he did to me I wanted...how dare he believe I want his friendship, and how dare he threaten me,

I am not certain how long I stay on the floor with my knees pulled to my chest, but it's long enough that my alarm goes off reminding me to get ready for work,

I cant go to work, I'm too frightened to leave my apartment in fear he's waiting outside or he'll follow me to work,

I stay on that floor until my phone rings then stops, and then it rings once more forcing me to stand and walk to my room,

I walk to my phone on shaky legs and see its 6:50 am, I am certainly late for work

I see Aaron is calling me and I answer it with shaky hands

(Call with Aaron)

"Hey, sunshine why aren't you at work?" He asks in a calm voice but there's a concern there,

I swallow down my sob and speak quietly

"I'm not going to work today"

"what's wrong? Why does your voice sound like that?" He speaks and I can just hear the frown on his face, he knows I never skip a day at work,

I try to speak but a sob escapes my throat

"I'm coming to you and I'm not taking no for an answer" he leaves no room for arguing, I hear shuffling and the sound of keys in the background

"Are you at your place?" He asks and I hear a door closing,

A mumble a quiet 'yes', he stays on the line until he gets to his car

He says an 'i love you I'll be there soon' and ends the call

(Call ends)

I slump in my bed crying as I wait for Aaron, What could've been a couple of minutes later I listen to a knock on the door and I swallow harshly wishing it's Aaron and not David coming back,

I look through the peephole and immediately open the door,

Aaron's face is filled with concern as he looks me over, I don't believe he has a moment to process anything because the second I see him I lunge into his arms, hiding my face in the crook of his neck while my hands are cupping the back of his head,

"Hey you're okay," he says softly as he closes the door with his foot as runs his hand up and down back

"Lock the door, don't forget to lock it" I tighten my grip on him as I shut my eyes

"Heh you're safe it's okay, I locked it, See?" he cups my face turning himself around so I'm facing the door,

The reassurance and him showing that the door is locked means a lot to me, I don't pay attention to the tear stains I'm leaving on his suit or the way I'm messing up his hair as I touch it, I need his touch and presence more than ever,

"Can you tell me what happened?" He asks softly as he sits down on the couch with me in his arms,

I'm still so frightened, fear takes over every part of my body as I try clearing my throat to speak...to say something but nothing comes out,

I hug him so tightly thankful for his presence, I grip onto the back of his shirt hoping this isn't a dream and that I won't wake up cold on the floor slumped against the wall all by myself,

"Hey you're okay I'm here, you're okay," he says stroking my hair, concern evident in his voice as he quietly speaks

He holds me as silent tears continue to stream, and I'm not sure how long I cry, but I finally calm down enough to slightly speak

"He came here," I say shakily

"Who?" He asks voice filled with confusion and a little concern

"David" I whisper

He freezes underneath me, I feel him swallow against my head before he speaks "how did he find out where you live? You told me that there was no way he could've known" he says breathing heavily

I sniffle "I think he was stalking me or something"

"Okay there's no way you're staying here," he says

"Yeah? And where perhaps am I supposed to live smart ass?" I ask sarcastically

"With me where I know you're safe," he says it like its the most obvious thing

"But isn't that a huge step?" I ask quietly

I feel him nod "you can sleep in the guest bedroom for all I care but you can't live here anymore, you can live with me until you find somewhere else to stay," he speaks sternly

"But then henry won't live next to me" I whisper

"Then I'll move him to an apartment next to yours, wherever you pick," he says, I nod slightly against his chest

"I was so scared, even though I didn't open the door" I whisper, trembling in his hold

"He talked through the door, but I was still terrified as if we had been facing to face, I felt like all the memories of when he would hold me down under him, or choke me until I could hardly breathe while he had his fun with me...came back at that moment when I was alone with him only a door separating me from safety " speaking gets more and more difficult as moments pass, my body and mind is exhausted

I feel him cup my cheeks "hey, can you please take a couple of breaths? Can you do that for me?" He asks softly as he looks at me

I close my eyes and lean my forehead on his and do as he says "good keeping doing that" he whispers

"You're safe now, I won't let anyone hurt you, we can even go and get a restraining order if you would like later today," he says still stroking my hair

I move as close as possible to him and nod "I'm sorry you're missing work for this" I whisper

"Screw the damn work, Vanessa, you and your safety are more important to me," he scoffs as he holds me protectively

Opening my eyes and moving my head to meet his gaze I'm met with anger on his face, I cup his face, leaning into him

"Thank you for being here" I murmur

His facial expression immediately softens and he brushes the hair away from my face slowly "there will never be a time where I'm not there for you when you need me" he says against my lips

I don't know what else to say to him so I connect our lips, I sigh into the kiss with immediate worry leaving my body at the touch of his warm lips on mine,

My hands move to the back of his neck on there on accord as they play with the hair on the back of his head while one of his hands moved to cup my jaw bringing me closer so he can deepen the kiss.

__________________

We just walked out of the police station after getting a restraining order against David, after getting to my place we started packing my things up immediately,

It helped lessen my anxiety over everything, but I know that paper won't completely be able to keep David away...

I feel arms slither around my waist as I'm packing dishes in my kitchen, I lean into Aaron's touch and sigh "you tired?" He asks

I nod closing my eyes "well we already did a lot so how about we take most of the important box's over to my place and we will finish everything tomorrow" he tells

I nod not saying anything from being exhausted from the stress of today, I feel myself get turned around and lifted onto the countertop

Aaron's hands cup my face and he looks over my features "how are you doing?" he says softly

"I'm not sure" I answer honestly

I immediately start feeling guilt realizing Aaron skipped a whole day of work to help me, maybe I'm being dramatic...

He nods But then sighs when he sees my facial expression turn upset

"Sunshine..." he mutters slowly

"I feel bad that you're missing all this work helping me," I say quietly

His face lifts towards the ceiling and he shakes his head "are you still on about that?" He asks with a frown

"of course, I am you're missing important work to help me pack, you're the boss of an enormous company you can't just skip work whenever to help me drive to the police station and whatnot...it was wrong of me to call you, I could've just called the cops" I shake my head bringing my eyes to the floor

"You're more important to me than any work, I've already told you this...I didn't have any meetings today anyway and I'll just do more paperwork on the weekend" he stands in between my legs pulling my body flush against his as he speaks

"But you're supposed to relax on the weekends" I mumble letting my head fall on his chest and my eyes close as stress takes over,

"I don't care, making sure you're safe and okay is more important to me than sitting on a couch," he says sternly

"Now stop being stubborn and let's go to my place and finish this tomorrow," he explains picking me up, I immediately wrap my legs around his waist and cling to him letting him pick up the pieces of fear that I have taken over me today

_______________

After putting my important boxes into his spare bedroom we went into the kitchen to make some food and see what would be best for the rooftop official opening,

We work perfectly together in the kitchen, we focus on the task, I'm mainly focusing on the food trying to forget this past morning,

"Ok, now I need flour" I turn to look at Aaron so he can tell me where it is,

He nods opening up a cabinet and taking it out, after he hands it to me I measure everything as perfect as I can and continue working on my task,

Suddenly I feel a puff of powder on my face and I look over to Aaron who has his hand out as he blows flour on me, with a grin on his face,

"Aaron! Why do you keep doing that, I told you to quit it after you did that with powdered sugar" I frown

He shrugs "you look cute covered in flour"

I grab some of the flour and throw it at him, his face is full of shock for all of a second, "yeah...I can see the appeal of flour on a body now" I laugh watching him

"Oh... you're going to get it sunshine" he warns before he rounds the island closer to me

I yelp as I run around trying to get away from him, my laughs fill the kitchen as he throws more flour at me,

"Stop wait, I'm out of breath" I huff and I put my hands on the countertop, but he doesn't listen he throws me over his shoulder, I laugh as I hold onto his arm as he throws me onto the couch, he hovers over top of me as I try catching my breath,

"Dummy, now the couch is covered in flour" I huffed out a laugh

He shakes his head with a smirk plastered on his face, he leans close to me, and his thumb brushes my cheek, then forehead, nose, and chin, most likely getting rid of flour,

"We should probably get back to cooking, we're halfway done" I mumble as I watch him

My fingers gently brush some flour off his cheek,

"Come on let's get to cooking" I smile kissing his cheek

He follows me into the kitchen, grabbing a towel and getting the flour off my face completely,

"Here let me do you" I smile grabbing the towel out of his hands and gentle removing flour, I feel his burning gaze on me but I focus on my task and ignore him, his finger lifts my chin so I'm meeting his gaze

I smile and shake my head "what" it's stupid to feel shy with him since we've been together for a while now...and yet he still manages to make me feel the butterflies and nerves I felt on our first date,

"Your smile was genuine this whole time we were cooking and baking" he gently whispers

I tilt my head in confusion, yes I laughed and grinned on the couch and in the kitchen with him these past few hours but I'm not sure where he's going with this,

"I don't know how the hell you manage to hold a smile after what happened today...I'm proud of you, and I'm happy I was able to keep your mind off of it for a while" his gentle confession as he caresses my chin making my body melt

"You make me feel safe...in your presence, it's easy to forget all that's wrong in the world" I shrug

"I try my best to make sure your mind isn't wandering to painful thoughts" he shrugs back with a tiny smile

"You threw four on me so id laugh didn't you" I give him a lopsided smile

"Maybe I did..maybe I didn't" he shrugs as he tries to contain his smile

I tickle his side which causes a big smile to appear on his face, I grin watching him "don't hide your smiles from me...never from me" I mutter with a smile

He pecks my lips "let's finish everything" He says against my lips, I nod and we immediately get to work,

after completing the rest of the different dishes we lay them out on his island

"Okay now that my kitchen has enough food for everyone on this floor we need to pick what's best," Aaron says chuckling from behind me

I smile "well let's test taste them I guess," I say grabbing some utensils for us

We ended up choosing 2 different appetizers and 1 dish that would be perfect out of the 10 we made

That ended up being bruschetta which will be perfect with the wine and drinks at the bar then we will have a charcuterie board.

Then some Authentic Italian pizza that will complement the wine, we also decided on mini cheesecake bites for dessert

"Can we dance" I grin putting on some slow music, he doesn't argue when I pull him to me, he immediately wraps his arms around me pulling me close, and his lips find my forehead just before I lay my face against his chest,

We sway to the music, I close my eyes loving the warmth of his body, his arms holding me close to him, filling my body with safety and love,

After the song ends I smile kissing his cheek, we put the food in the fridge,

"let's sleep, I'm exhausted" I whisper my head falls back against the fridge in the exhaustion of all the events that have happened in the past 24 hours,

Aaron smiles walking over giving me a quick kiss on the lips and lifting me and walking over to his bathroom,

After we get ready for bed he picks me up and I cling to him as he walks "where do you want to sleep?" He asks stroking my hair

"With you," I immediately mumble

He lays in bed and I scoot closer to him and kiss his chest lightly "good night my moon" I smile

He kisses the top of my head "good night my sunshine"

I fall asleep in the comfort of Aaron beside me but that sick feeling in my stomach never leaves

All I know is this won't be the last time I see David

I'm just worried about what will happen when I do

-----notes----

Hope this was alright, I'm hella tired, this is probably poorly written but I'm too exhausted to reread before posting.

I'm sorry that she cries all the time...it's probably annoying but like whatever, I usually cry and have anxiety spikes when I write these kinds of chapters so I put my anxiety and sadness into the chapters (whoops) (so you can usually tell what mood I was in by the chapter)

Vote and comment!!

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