short chapter wow wow wow drama

Chapter Seven

We return to Virtus's apartment, and I watch him shed his coat onto the couch. He looks so exhausted despite only having gone to dinner. 

I haven't forgotten about his anxiety attack. The longer I think about it, the more curious I get.

He sits on the couch, after pouring himself a glass of wine. He says nothing to me, as he takes a drink, and closes his eyes.

I don't know what to do so I stand awkwardly, and wait for him to yell at me, or tell me to do something.

He opens his eyes, and glances at me. We stare at each other for a long moment, before he leans back, "Sit."

I move over to the opposite end of the couch, and sit.

We are silent, and I watch him take another drink, "You may ask one question." He says, his eyes trained on the wall.

I contemplate my choices. One question, and once again, I only have a thousand. Somehow, despite him allowing me to ask a question, I'm still not convinced he'll answer anything of importance.

Again, I choose something unimportant. Something completely irrelevant to it all. "You don't expect me to bathe in front of you, do you?"

That seems to catch him off guard as he slowly turns his head to look at me. For the first time, I see a slight smile on his face, "My intention is not to see you naked, I assure you." He takes another drink of his wine, "That's not really your question though, is it? I know you want to ask me several other things, why do you avoid them?"

"Why do I have to ask to know?" The question spills out before I can stop it, and he stares blankly at me. I feel like I have to elaborate, so I quickly add, "I have no interest in your personal life, but since you did whisk me away to New York City, why is it that you can't even tell me why we're here?"

"Because," He slowly responds, "If I told you, then there would be no point in having you here."

I frown, "That doesn't really make sense."

"It doesn't have to." He stands, "You've asked your question. No more."

He walks into the kitchen, and I follow. I watch him attempt to pour himself more wine, but is interrupted when an abrupt pounding on the door makes us both pause.

His exhausted expression is immediately masked, and I see no hint of human emotion anywhere. He sighs, takes one last drink, and dumps the rest of the wine into the sink.

The door opens, and for some reason, I'm nervous.

Glancing into the living room, the last person I would have expected walks in, and my heart sinks. 

Alan Rockwell, is in the apartment. 

Virtus moves into the living room, and I hesitantly follow. Alan doesn't even notice me at first, as he says, "I told you there was something wrong with those fucking Scotts. They want their hands in every important, and expensive industry the country can offer. They're claiming you, Virtus. They never once asked, didn't you see that? It was not a question, not a damn offer. They were downright forcing you to marry this girl." He's pacing, "I should have seen it coming. This marriage is already going to be a problem, and you haven't even announced the proposal yet." He trails off when his eyes go from the Bone Cutter, to me. "Why the hell is he here?" He stares at me as if I was the one who physically assaulted him.

I try to keep my head high. I try not to look bothered.

Yes, I am terrified.

It is as if every time I lay eyes on him, I can feel each blow to my body. Each kick to my ribs.

Virtus sits back on his former position on the couch, and I quickly sit back down too, as if sitting would shield me better from any future blows to the face.

"I hired him." He answers simply, "While in New York."

"I can see that." He says, his tone clipped and oddly irritated, "But why?" When he realized he wasn't going to get a response, he began to make assumptions up himself, "Don't tell me it's because of your problem, a problem, might I add, that could be fucking fixed if you socialized a little more, and stopped hiding yourself like a goddamn hermit."

I glance at Virtus, and see a small falter to his expressionless mask, "I don't know what you mean, and I advise you not to elaborate."  

He didn't elaborate, but I could tell he wanted to. I couldn't figure out the dynamic between these two. Why was Alan Rockwell allowed to just barge into Virtus's apartment? He was the only person I knew that seemed as though he hated Virtus, insulted him, while masking his insults as 'advice'.

Why does Virtus even put up with him? I know if I was him, Alan would have been fired on day one.

And what kind of problem was Alan talking about? 

They stared at each other. There was a warning in Virtus's gaze, and a defiant hatred in Alan's. Looking between the both of them, I realized they shared similar qualities, qualities that could only be shared if they were related.

My mouth hung open as I made this realization. 

Alan had to be his father. It's the only explanation. Their physical attributes were way to similar to not be close relatives. I never noticed it before, but then again, they both wear makeup on television, so of course they would try and hide their relation.

I decided not to share my revelation. I would keep it hidden that I know anything at all. I want nothing to do with either of them, and their family drama had nothing to do with me.

Still, it was a shocking thing to finally see.

"You must be ashamed, then. To not even let someone as low as an intern that you've personally hired know your secret."

"I'm not ashamed." Virtus states, his voice unwavering, "I'm only protecting my own damage. The world does not need to know what I carry."

"Damage? You're implying as if it isn't something you choose to feed."

Virtus stood up so quickly, I barely blinked. They were inches away from each other, and I was beginning to think they were going to physically fight. "You think I chose to be like this?"

"I think you choose to be like this."

"It is an imprisonment." Virtus's voice raises, and for the first time, I hear hurt in his tone, "It is a cage."

"It is your fucking choice, Virtus."

"You know nothing."

"Look at you!" Alan raises his voice as loud as his, "You've hired some college student to trail after you like a fucking dog. Do you not realize just how pathetic that is? Do you not see how stupid you are acting?" I was getting really tired of being compared to a dog.

Virtus clenches his jaw, obviously trying to hold back a lot more words than what he spits out, "Then what do you suppose I do?" His tone is eerily calm now, and I find myself pressing my back against the couch, as if I could mend into the fabric, and vanish completely.

I should not be witnessing this. 

"Get rid of him." Alan's rage-filled eyes turn to me and I feel like crying for no other reason than because I do not feel safe in the slightest bit, and nobody would be able to stop either of them from hurting me. They are the ultimate power in the country. My life is in their hands.

Alan grips my arm, and yanks me off the couch. I resort to my mental paradise, where I think of my childhood, and I think of Cindy, and anything else that could justify not breaking down.

"Get out." He spits in my face, and I don't know what to do, because I know I don't take orders from him, I take orders from Virtus, but then again, Alan, for some unexplainable reason, scares me more than the actual Bone Cutter does.

Virtus saves me from making a decision. "He's not leaving." I feel his hand grab my other arm, and he pulls me out of Alan's grasp, and pushes me behind him. Like a coward, I use him as a shield. "Do not touch him again."

Alan is the epitome of madness, "You've become dependent on a rat."

"I don't see how that is any of your concern."

"And I don't see how anyone could be so fucking thoughtless."

"Get out, Rockwell." Virtus speaks quickly, "Get out or I swear to God I will make sure you are replaced from your position before the end of the night."

They continue to stare at each other, and before he leaves, Alan turns his head, and stares at me. There's such an explosive warning in his gaze that I realize he has made my being here personal, and I don't know what lengths he will go to to get rid of me.

When Alan leaves, Virtus turns to me, and says; as if it were the most casual thing, "He's going to try and kill you."

Horrified, I try not to let it show, "It seems there are two of you who now control whether I live or die."

"No." He says quietly, "I am the only one preventing your death now. Your continued existence is wholly up to me."