"What is about you, that I can't erase?"
-Sandcastles -Beyonce
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(This gif just screams Brie's character in this book.)

The air between them was thick. Brie had believed he was going to kill her. Roman was questioning his actions. Neither really knew what to say to the other not that they wanted to say anything to the next at all.

Brie was mentally praying and wishing the best for all the people she is going to leave behind. She was praying for Roman's redemption. She was praying for so such much things. She even prayed for Dean.

Roman on the other hand was plotting what he was going to do to those two boys who had assaulted Brie tonight. He had already tell her he wasn't going to kill them but maybe he should. He wouldn't. He will just make their lives and everyone who knows them hell. But how? He mentally flicked through the dozens of different ways he can do so.

His eyes looked at her and saw she had a pale and frantic look. A fear he had just known was directed to him. It confused him a bit but then he realized he did had her kidnapped and he was driving her to somewhere she had no clue about.

She probably thinks I am going to kill her. Should I tell her I'm not going to? Eh, she will see soon enough. Roman mentally debated.

Brie swallowed and tried to remain strong. She tried to make peace with her death, telling herself she would see miss James again and apologize. That she maybe deserved it for causing her death.

Roman parked, "We are here." He announced and Brie's eyes went wide and the tears fell from them. She was not at peace with death, no matter how hard she tried telling herself that.

Her eyes looked at the tall clump of trees Roman had parked in front of. She was certain he had bring her to the woods to kill her in there.

"Please don't, I'm sorry." She apologized though she literally had nothing to be sorry about.

Roman rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to kill you. Follow me." Roman then told, getting out of the car, closing the door behind him. Brie thought about what she could have done to escape but she knew there was nothing she really could have done.

Roman grew impatient and walked around to her side, opening the car door causing Brie to look at him with her big scared baby eyes. She was shaking her head, crying. "Get out of the car Brie or I swear things won't be any better for you." He threatened, annoyed that she didn't believe him.

Brie grew even more terrified at those words thinking about the gruesome ways he could kill her the more she upsets him. Brie exhaled, shakily unbuckling her seatbelt. She slowly got out. Roman reached around her closing in the door.

Brie jumped at the sound of the door closing and leaned back against it. Roman standing in front her, getting closer to her which intimidated the hell out of her. It also flustered her because truthfully she had never been in this situation with the opposite sex before.

Roman was literally so close she felt like she could hear his heart beat and he could hear hers. Her eyes looking into his swimming with emotions. Her stomach a fluttered mess, because how does she react? Roman was just looking at her knowing he was making her uncomfortable but she did look very pretty to him in the moment.

"I'm not going to kill you or harm you." Though he was trying to ease her nerves his voice held a coldness to it. Roman tried to ignore the blush she had on her face, knowing it was not because she was attracted to him but because this was new to her and she didn't known how to feel.

Brie glanced at him and maybe it was because she was too flustered to properly think but she found that she had believed him. "Okay," her response soft and the shyness she felt from the situation clear as day in it.

Roman lingered in front of her for a few seconds longer before backing away. "Come," he instructed, walking away without even looking back, his whole demeanor harsh and in charge, Brie followed, trying not to be creeped out by the darkness of the woods. Roman did put on the flashlight on his phone but it was still very dark.

"Here," Roman held out his hand to her, rolling his eyes at the look of absolute confusion, and flushness on her face at his gesture. Her lips parted because she didn't know how to feel about holding his hand or what it meant. She wasn't interested him in that way but she still found him attractive so it fluttered her. She felt her cheeks heating up in the cold of the night. "You would need help walking down if you don't want to fall and die. Or would you much rather fall and die?"

Would she rather fall and die? It would be less awkward. She debated before gripping his hand lightly. Roman rolled his eyes and shook his head at how red she had went and how shy she had look. But how could you blame her? She had never been in such a predicament. She was holding hands, in the dark with an attractive dude that might just kill her, how was she suppose to react?

"Sorry," she uttered when she had almost slipped and crashed into his back, thankfully his hand holding hers stop her fall. The little hill they were walking down had quite a lot of pebbles and mud, making them have to be extra careful but she smelled the beach and she got really nervous thinking he was going to ship her away and there was no way she could have run away now that she was holding his hand -well he was holding hers.

"Stop being careless." He roughly scolded making her say nothing.

Roman expected her to say something but when she didn't he had focused on reaching to bottom of the stupid hill without her carelessness killing them both.

"We are here," he had snatched his hand from hers. It had just felt odd holding her hand. So imagine how confused it left him when he wanted to reach out and hold them again. Brie was a bit hurt by how he pulled away from her like she was a disease but swallowed it down.

She instead focused on the little waves crashing on the sand, the moonlight looking really pretty on the water, giving her enough light to see. She also looked to see if there were any boats in sight and felt relieved when she didn't see any.

"Here is the place to come when just want to think." Roman simply told and walked away from her closer to the water but still a good few feet away from it. Brie had never seen the beach in the night and it enchanted her.

Brie didn't know exactly what do but she took off her shoes and walked closer to the water until she felt the little waves hitting her bare feet, squirming at how cold it felt before a smile broke out on her face. If she was going to die might as well be happy before it, but she also believed Roman when he had said he wasn't going to kill her, at least not tonight.

Roman looked on as she smiled walking along the shore, her hair blowing in the wind and she truly looked like an angel. Who knew angels were so anmoying, he asked himself. He had sat down on the bare sand, cringing that he didn't bring anything to sit down on but he wasn't exactly planning to bring her here when they left the house.

Why was he being nice to her? Roman would never know the answer to that. He swears he hates her more than he hated anyone but he couldn't bare to see her sad. Damn!

Brie then walked over to him and sat besides him. "I've never seen the beach in the night," she confessed, resting her shoes to the other side of her.

"I didn't ask," Roman snapped back, truly not surprised and he really didn't care. He was mad at her still. Brie took a hard look at him then looked back out at the water.

Roman suddenly felt bad about her silence. "Back in the car when you had asked if you had agree to be raped, you didn't, you just didn't know." Roman finally said what he should have said the moment she said so in the car.

Brie felt her heart burst at his words because it felt nice to know somebody felt how he felt about the situation. It made her feel not-so-guilty anymore. "Stop be so clueless." Roman then ordered like it was something she could just stop.

Brie smiled at him despite the roughness in his voice. "Dean is really nice....." She trailed squinting her eyes in thought, "A little unpredictable but nice." She conversed.

Roman groaned at her talking. "Dean is an asshole." He told, he was half expecting her to look at him with wide eyes for calling someone that but she didn't. She had known that was how Emma and Alicia use to talk about each other though they loved each other. Does she wished they used better ways? Yes.

"You love him," Brie all but swooned at his words.

Roman sneered at the mere sound of her voice and the words she had just uttered. "I want to kick him off a cliff." He settled on saying, he wanted her to scold him, he was waiting for it but when it didn't come he had look over and saw her smiling at him. "You do realize he is one of your kidnappers right?''

Brie nodded looking a bit dazed by his words. "Doesn't feel like I've been kidnapped, not yet at least." She confessed but he just looked back out at the water.

"Maybe because you have been trapped all your life and in a way this feels like freedom." Roman calmly said his point of view as to why she may feel like that.

Brie blinked at him, thinking about his words. "All the students who go to my school calls it trap but I've never felt trapped in there." She confessed.

"Because you have been there all your life. You know nothing but it. Imprisoned since a baby. " Roman felt like that was the only reason as to why she may have felt like that.

Brie looked back at the water, just taking in his words. She shrugged. "Maybe you're imprisoned too." Her words catching him off guard, his eyes sharply landed on her, feeling his eyes on her she looked at him with kind eyes. "I may not know much about the real world but I know that kidnapping people is wrong and that I've not been your first, surely the cops are on to you."

Roman laughed at her last sentence. "The police can't do me shit." Roman had the police wrapped around his finger, he had lawyers, he had money.... He was above the law.

That came as a blow to Brie that the police can't do him anything but she didn't doubt it. She was learning she still had so much to learn. Roman listened to hear her say that the police are unstoppable and they will catch him but she didn't.

"No one is truly above the law or anything, some people are just better chess players. Ms. Jazz once told me that, I never understood what it meant because no one should need to know how to play chess to get the justice they deserve but I think I'm getting it now." Brie spoke and Roman looked at her truly stunned. He saw her maturing a bit. "But I know you aren't truly free, something is holding you prisoned. Maybe the fact that you know one wrong slip and things could go horribly wrong. But there is no way you can do whatever you do and not be imprisoned by anything." Her voice so soft, mixed with the wind and the sight before them it could have been mistaken for an angel telling him his deepest thoughts.

"Maybe." Roman settled on saying no longer in the mood to agree with her. She smiled and looked back at the water, taking in the beauty that earth truly is.

"I'm cold." Brie spoke, the cold of the night and ocean breeze mixed together wasn't doing her no favors. She wore a long sleeve top but the sleeves were very thin and was not protecting her against the cold.

Roman was wearing a thick leather jacket and was feeling perfectly okay. He was than capable of helping her out with the cold. He grinned to himself when he saw her hugging her shoulders, shivering just a bit.

"Oh," was all he had to mutter, closing his eyes letting the wind touch his face and he knew how cold it was but he was nice enough for the night.

"Can we please go back to the car, please?" Brie sweetly asked wanting nothing more than go back to the warmth of the car. It was nice when it lasted but now it was way too cold.

"You don't make the rules or tell me what to do." Roman knew that wasn't what she was doing but this was fun to him. He enjoyed her freezing whilst he was perfectly toasty. He saw her eyes open wide and mouth ready to protest. "Don't answer back." He snapped before pulling out his phone.

Brie gawked at him for a while before looking back forward, trying to find warmth in her own self. The cold weather was not agreeing with her cycle as it never does. She really wanted to leave but she knew better than to ask Roman again. She saw him contently scrolling through his phone, ignoring her existence while she mentally groaned at the cold.

Roman heard Brie's teeth start to clatter and it got to him, usually he would have thrown his victims in the water and leave them their for a good two hours to freeze but of course he couldn't bring himself to let her be cold for any longer. Sighing, he stood up dusting off his pants.

"Let us go," he spoke the words Brie wanted to hear for ten minutes now. Brie quickly flew up, putting on her shoes, almost falling from being so quick Roman looked at her with much judgement making her feel slightly embarrassed but it didn't matter so long as they were leaving. "Thank you," she uttered very shaking due to her shivering.

"Could you walk back up without my help?" Roman asked when they reach the little hill to leave. Brie looked at it and she was scared to walk up, shivering and in the dark with the only good source of light being his phone light but she was not going to ask to hold his hand again. She still flushed at the memory of holding his hand. It still felt weird and nerve wracking to her.

"I'll try." Brie said with much determination Roman gave her a look that showed he didn't have much faith in her but will let her try all the same. He motioned for her to lead the way and she did.

Not even half the way up and she already tumble a few times which resulted in Roman shaking his head and Brie feeling scared and slightly ashame but she kept going and he let her. He only took her hand when she almost fell back and hurt herself and possibly him if he didn't catch her fall first.

Brie flushed when she felt his hand on her waist  to keep her from falling, she felt weird with the touch. That had never happen to her before and it made her uncomfortable and awkward. Roman ignored her reaction removing his hands from her waist, taking hold of her wrist, leading them up the remainder of the hill carefully but skillfully and quickly.

Brie felt like she being pulled by him like she was some sort of hostage which she was but she didn't enjoy feeling like it. She didn't say anything focusing on being grateful he didn't leave her to possibly fall and die or injure herself on that hill.

Brie found she was grateful when he didn't let go but he eased his hold on her wrist all the way to the car. His hand actually was a bit of heat and the woods scared her.

"In," he ordered, opening her car door. Brie gladly hopped inside as Roman rolled his eyes, closing the door behind her. She just hoped he would show mercy and keep on the heaters in his car. Roman got in, closed his door, started the engine and raised the heat in his car much to Brie's delight and his dismay.

"Thank you." Annoying, Roman thought at her gratitude, driving them back home.

"You're training starts next week." A pipe bomb dropped in a deadpan tone and not even so much as a look towards the seventeen year old girl.

Brie had been pulled out of her glee of no longer being in the freezing cold and not being killed or shipped away when he had said that. A look of absolute bewilderment contoured her face. "With all due respect what does that entail?" She politely asked.

"What I said. No more questions." Roman shut down her line of questions before she even had chance to ask them. Respecting his words she nodded and tried to figure what 'training' he had meant.

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Before long Brie had dropped to sleep on their way back. Roman was offended that she felt safe enough to just drop to sleep around him but he let her sleep all the same. He had to ignore his urge to swerve the car and wake her up so many times before letting her know that dropping to sleep in his car was not okay.

Roman parked in his yard, looking over to girl who had cuddled up to the seat and herself and honestly he had never seen such innocence, not even a baby looked at innocent as she did. She looked like the word grace to him if it was suppose to become a person. Her lips slightly parted as she slept look like sleeping beauty.

A guard for his home reached his car while Roman got of it with the bag of stuff from the variety store. "Do you want me to carry her up sir?" he had asked with the utmost respect in not only his voice but body language as well.

Roman looked at him and nodded. He stood by watching. He saw the guard opened his door, reaching in to get Brie but he looked a bit too wobbly and unintentionally harsh. It should not have affected him but it did. It annoyed him to see how he handled her, seeing the discomfort on her sleeping face.

Roman sighed marching over to them, the guard's eyes went wide when Roman motioned him to give him Brie. He had looked frightened that he had done something horribly wrong and was going to be punished for it. Roman took hold of Brie and walked off with her, allowing the guard to rot in his own fear and paranoia.

Roman had the door held open for him by two different guards who he paid no mind to, walking into his home and up to Brie's room, being uncharacteristically delicate with her but he no longer saw the look of discomfort in her face.

Pushing open her door, he walked in and rest Brie on the bed as she instantly got acquainted with it, a stupid smile came across his face.

"When you asked earlier if you were stupid, you are not. Just blind and naive and brainwashed. But you are very annoying, the most annoying person ever." Roman softly confessed, backing away from her bed afterwards, resting the little black bag that was in his hand before he had took hold of her on top of the chester drawer he placed in that room, walking out to retire to his own room.

He had a lot to argue with himself about, mainly why was he so nice to Brie?

((A\N: I say both characters had progress this chapter, mostly Roman who tried to fight it at moments. Lol, so I had this whole chapter planned out like three month ago and I couldnt remember the conversations they were suppose to have and kept trying to remember and write it but it was really and I just decided to go with the flow and so I did and I'm happy how it turned out.

Hope you guys enjoy 😊😊😊😊😊😊)))