Marrying my high school bully

Melissa

I was at his house, just like we’d planned in the morning, but now, there was a difference behind my reason for being here.

He placed a glass of chilled water in front of me which I gulped without taking a break. I wanted to ask for alcohol, but then I knew that I would be wasting my time because once the effect wore off, I’d be reminded of my ugly problem again.

“What happened, Melissa? Your face is puffy and your eyes are swollen like you have been crying for the whole day. Tell me who made you cry.” He growled.

I gazed at him and shivered. His eyes darkened and the way his jaw was set told me that he was ready to go out there and hunt down anyone who caused me pain.

Though I was mad at Mr Rogers, I didn’t want him dead.

“I want us to have a deal, Dexter…”

He shook his head in disagreement. “If the deal means that I’ll have to spare anyone who hurt you, then have it at the back of your mind that I won’t agree.”

A smile crawled to my lips, my heart melting at how deeply he cared for me. The fact that he wanted to fight for me was enough to dissipate the gnawing pain in my chest.

“It’s not that, Dexter. The deal is that I don’t want you to ask me any questions. I just want you to listen to me.”

“That sounds difficult,” He whined. “But I’ll do it.”

“I found my father today.” I blurted out as there was no easy way to put it.

His expression softened and then he took me into his arms. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and allowed my emotions to run free again.

His fingers raked through my hair as he massaged my scalp gently. His touch was soothing, and for a moment, I forgot all about my problems.

I liked that he didn’t ask any questions, just as I requested. Right now, I didn’t want to think, I just wanted to be numb to the pain.

“Do you want to eat anything?” He broke into my reverie.

I sniffed and shook my head. “I don’t think I can stomach any food right now. I just want to forget about everything.” I said honestly.

He raised my chin and looked into my eyes. The warmth shimmering in his eyes drew me in, assuring me that I wasn’t alone. He’d always be by my side.

“Melissa, I know that you want to stay oblivious to the situation, but that isn’t going to help. If you don’t tackle your problems, they won’t go away, instead, they’ll compound and come back at you.”

“You are right, Dexter, but can you not remind me of my reality? Please?”

He kissed my forehead and then stood up. “I’m sorry for being insensitive. I was just trying to look out for you, but since that isn’t working, I’d like you to come and watch me cook. I promise you’ll feel a lot better or we could go for a swim.” He suggested and I weighed both options.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

Cooking with him would only stir up old memories and what I needed was to channel my energy into something that would make me lose my breath.

“I think I’ll go swimming.”

He bit his lips with a shrug and the mere gesture sent shivers through my body. “That’s not a bad idea. Let’s go then.”

For someone who was crying a few minutes ago, I was energetic. I hurriedly stepped out of my suit pants and worked on taking off my jacket at the same time.

My white camisole went off next and I remained in my push-up bra and thong.

A loud whisper erupted behind me. “Girl, you are hot.” He commented with a devious smirk.

I giggled and stood on the deck of the pool, ready to jump in. “Thank you for the compliment, Mr Hemmingway.” I dived in, the impact causing a heavy splash around the edges.

The water was exhilarating and I sank deeper, my mind going blank as I only focused on surviving inside the water. Unfortunately, I was distracted by another dive that went into the pool.

Suddenly, I felt strong arms around my waist, pulling me upward even when I struggled to stay inside the pool.

“Do you want to kill yourself?” He fired at me.

“Maybe,” I said and flapped my hair on both sides.

If he was mad at me, I couldn’t tell because the way he looked at me spoke volumes of what he wanted. His eyes were covered with pure lust, the bulge poking at my ass was enough proof.

“If you weren’t so hot, I’d be punishing you right now.”

“The pool is perfect for it.” I flirted, then he put distance between us and swam back to the deck.

“I’m not going to take advantage of you.”

I scoffed at his reason and rolled my eyes. “You don’t get to tell me what’s good for me and what’s not. I need a distraction and you are the best person for that.”

“No, honey. You have to stop looking for easy ways out of your problems because you won’t find it.”

“And who gave you the right to lecture me, huh?” My temper was rising and there was every possibility of me directing it to the wrong person. “Everything about me has been a lie, but you won’t understand because you’ve always lived with a silver spoon in your mouth. I might have had the same experience if the man who calls himself my father hadn’t decided to be selfish.”

I expected a backlash but his lips remained clamped together so I continued.

“I went through hell because the people who were supposed to care for me deserted me. Maybe I’m cursed or I just don’t deserve to have anything good. And just when I’m in the process of picking up the pieces of my life, he shows himself as my father. What did he expect me to do?”

Dexter swam towards me, his expression stoic and unreadable and I hoped he wouldn’t scold me because I wouldn’t stand it.

“Just let it all out, sweetheart. I’m here for you.” He brought me close for a hug and my guarded sobs turned into an uncontrollable bawl.