and thus begins part 2 of the story where Virtus pretends he doesn't know abt Uri's gender just so he can mentally torture her

so petty 

im glad we made it to this part together 

srry i haven't updating in like 4 months -none of us are suprised tho

Chapter Twenty-six

At first I was certain Dorothy was going to tell Virtus the truth, but he didn't act any different when we left the house. The entire ride back to Virtus's home was quiet, and I was relieved we manage to escape before Dorothy said anything that might reveal the truth.

The house is quiet when we enter, and Virtus, as usual, tells me nothing of his plans to endure the rest of the day. One moment, I'm standing by him, watching him pick his next read in his library, and the next, he's sitting on the couch, his feet resting on the coffee table, and he's reading, of all things, Little Women.

I sigh, and lean back on the couch. I stare up at the ceiling, and then out the window, where the trees in the yard swayed gently in the afternoon breeze.

It reminded me of our backyard back at home. Yoel and I would often climb the trees and stay in them for hours, just watching the neighbors go about their day.

Virtus was incredibly boring.

I want to complain, but he's definitely still mad at me for calling him a homosexual last night. He barely spoke a word to me today. I don't blame him for being mad, but still, I think this was his way of tormenting me.

Also, I'm starving.

I stretched my legs in front of me, and watched the elegant grandfather clock in the corner of the room. The slow ticking became my focus for as long as I could put up with it.

One hour goes by, and we don't move. Another hour goes by, and I think I fall asleep for a solid forty mites until I'm woken up by the chimes of the clock. Another hours passes, and I'm about to lose it.

When the clock chimes a fourth time, I turn to Virtus, exasperated. "We've been sitting here for four hours, are you done reading yet?"

He doesn't even fucking look at me as his eyes still trail the words of the book, "Last I checked, I decide what we do, not you." He flips the page, and I tell myself grabbing the book and throwing it across the room will not help me. 

Taking a deep breath, I compose myself, and continue to wait.

I have never read Little Women, but I'm certain it is not entertaining enough to sit for so long, nor is it good enough to warrant a waste of an entire day by reading it wholly without any break.

My joints were begging for movement.

When another hour passes, the fifth hour, I stand, and stretch. Five hours and the man hasn't looked up from his stupid book. 

I vow to never read Little Women for as long as I live.

I walk over to the window, and stare outside like a dog daydreaming about freedom. 

One the sixth hour, I'm on the brink of another uncomfortable sleep, when I'm jolted away by Virtus slamming his book shut. He had finished it, I couldn't believe it.

He stands, and I hastily get up after him, despite still feeling groggy and half-asleep, I follow him out of the room. My heart plummets when I realize we are returning to his library, where he begins to pick out another book.

I groan, "Are you kidding me? Please not another one. Virtus, I'm going to lose my mind."

He pretends as though he did not hear me, and continues to skim through the books on the shelves until he finds his next read.

I concluded he was definitely punishing me for calling him a homosexual last night. "If you're mad about last night, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said."

He glances at me, pulling out a copy of The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James, "What is it you think I'm doing?"

"Punishing me."

"Ah." He nods, and returns his gaze to the book in his hand, "I believe if you were to really experience punishment, you would know it, not just think it."

I frown. What was that supposed to mean? "Uhh, is that a threat?"

He looks back up at me, and the monster smiles, "Maybe." There is no humor or glee in his eyes. I have become too comfortable around him. I had forgotten just how scary he could be. I take a step back.

He is frightening, and I feel a strange sense of danger when he stares at me. 

"Uri." He continues, as he flips through the pages. "I've decided we're going out tonight."

I can't stop my eyebrows from raising, that was so unlike him. He hated going anywhere, and when we did, he never told me about it. 

My body filled with dread, "Go where?"

"Hmm, a party maybe? A concert, or a pub? Perhaps a club?"

I gawk at him. I know he hates all those types of places. What was he doing? He's definitely attempting to punish me, but surely what I said didn't affect him that much, did it?

"Look Virtus, I really am sorry." I apologize yet again. I don't know what else to do. I'm tempted to drop to the floor like a dead weight child and shout that I'm not moving.

That might just work.

I'm considering the idea when Virtus pipes up, "I've been feeling unamused lately." He starts walking out of the library and I follow. "I certainly need a night of fun."

"You? Fun?"

He looks back at me, "You seem surprised."

"I didn't think you knew how to have fun." 

He stops and stares at me, and another smile rose on his face, "I had forgotten how to have fun Uri, for a very very long time." He leans closer to me, "But I believe I've found my joy again."

They way he said it felt like worms in my chest. Something wasn't right, my whole body is screaming to retreat.

I smile grimly at him but inside I was thinking of an escape plan.

He was definitely going to torment me tonight.

We both get dressed. Virtus urges me to wear something nice, something that definitely fit in with the crowds of rich people all partying and high.

I sit on his bed, watching him pull on his typical expensive suit jacket. I keep telling myself as long as I don't allow myself any sort of alcoholic drink tonight, everything will be fine. I just have to get through a few hours of an event that I hate, and I know Virtus hates it just as much as I do.

So the question is, why are we going at all?

We leave the house after the sun has set. The night is dark, and beckoning me to go to bed, but I can't because according to the man I'm shackled to, the night has only just begun.

The drive to whatever mystery we are going to is long, and quiet. Virtus didn't bring a book to read, so we are stuck dealing with each other's company, which, after today, I realize is pretty poisonous when he's mad.

I glance over at the monster who seems so oddly content with this position. Gone is his usual look of misery, now replaced with a demeanor of certainty. 

A feral aura twisted around his limbs, I was probably not imagining it.

"Once again, you keep staring at me." He points out, his eyes trailing from the window to me.

I shrank under his gaze, debating if I should just be honest and admit he's freaking me out, of if I should pretend I am perfectly fine and this moment is perfectly normal, and everything is perfect because I'm definitely not about to die.

I choose the latter.

"Would you rather I ignore you like you've ignored me all day?"

His eyes widen a bit, "Did that bother you?"

"You know it did."

"Hmm." He pretends to think on that, but I know he doesn't care, "I suppose I'll have to buy you a drink as a form of apology."

A drink? He knows exactly what alcohol does to me. "You and I both know that's a terrible idea."

"What do I know? The longer I spend time with you, Uri, the more I realize I know nothing." He leans back so casually, "Perhaps I just want to get you drunk again."

"I hate myself drunk." I mumble under my breath, but he heard.

"I appreciate the drunk you. You're so honest, perhaps the only time you're honest, really."

I have nothing to say to that, because he's right.  I am insufferably honest when I'm drunk. Particularly why I don't like it when I drink, the more I drink, the more I realize how everything I do is followed by a lie. I'm one of the most dishonest people I know. It's too much to comprehend at times, in fact, I don't even know if I have a personality that is entirely the truth. Unfortunately, I won't be garnering one anytime soon.

Eventually, the car has to come to a stop, and a destination arrives. I study the building that a couple are walking in to. There is a man leaning against the side, smoking a cigarette, and I believe a shirtless man with several necklaces dangling on his chest is smiling at him with a look that was of pure lust.

Male prostitutes. I've never actually seen one before. I gawk at the two, as Virtus opens his door, and climbs out of the car like none of this is a sight to him.

I follow him out, partly nervous, half intrigued. "What is this place?" I ask, quickly moving to his side.

"My wife's favorite hang out." He says, with no tone indicating he felt anything about his wife hanging out in a place with male prostitutes.

"And, Virtus," I clear my throat, "Why are we here?"

"To have fun." He motions for me to walk through the doors first. Two security guards, don't even bat an eye at Virtus as they step aside, and let us through.

"Holy shit." I breathe, realizing this place was a lot more extreme than I had initially thought. This was practically a home for sex workers.

Men and women alike worked here, charming the guests who drank and danced to the awful music.

I felt like I stepped into an entirely different world. Women, most almost naked, sitting on the laps of very overweight men. They had feigned lust in their eyes, clearly masking interest to make money. I felt bad for them, but they probably made a lot of money.

Clearly, those who visited this place were rich, many wore expensive name-brand suits. A lot of them wore jewelry that looked very, very expensive.

We reach a counter, and Virtus leans over to talk to a young woman who stood behind it. He says something I can't hear, and then lightly flicks his head to my direction, as if he were talking about me.

Her eyes trail to me, and she smiles, and leaves behind a curtain. 

When Virtus returns to me, I immediately ask, "What did you say to her?"

"Lighten up, Uri, this is my apology." He approaches the bar, and orders two drinks. He hands a glass to me, and simply says, "Drink."

I'm trying to firgure out why he wants me drunk so bad, and I'm hoping it has nothing to do with what will be occuring this questionable evening.

"Virtus, this uhh-" I try to come up with words that sound like a man would say them, but I'm not entirely knowledgeable about how a man of my own stature would fair in a place like this. Would he be excited? Would he be even a fraction as horrified as I am? I'm no prude, but I also do not want breasts or other parts shoved in my face by strangers whose lust is for my wallet.

Not that my wallet contains anything extraordinary.

"This place is not exactly the type of place I'd consider to be 'fun'." I wince at a man who shoves a woman against the wall, her very short skirt lifts up, and she is definitely not wearing anything underneath. 

This is a playground for the perverts, which, no matter how strongly Virtus attempts to prove he is one, I find him just as out of place here as I am.

He's not a kind man, and his morals are not just questionable, they are debatable, but a place like this is mundane for him, and too much all at once. Or perhaps I'm simply imagining him as a morally grey character, one in which I'm excessively underestimating.

"Drink, Uri." He beckons, "Stop thinking so much."

"Did you hit your head this morning?"

He ignores me, "Ah, your fun has arrived." He downs a shot of his own drink, and wraps his arm around my shoulders, turning me around to face two women, their eyes stuck on every part of my body that is not my face. He slams his hand onto my back, shoving me towards the two workers, they catch me before I fall onto the floor, and their hands touch places I was not comfortable with. "Enjoy yourself, intern. You deserve it." The way he said the last part was of pure disinterest. The look in his eyes as he stared into mine was dark, and I felt a shudder rack through my body. Me having fun was the last thing he wanted. He knew this would make me uncomfortable, and goddamn him, whatever his plan was for me tonight, this was only the beginning.