FicWad

Paulina awoke the next morning to find that the door to the bedroom had been unlocked while she’d slept. She rubbed the irritating gold crystals out of her eyes and straightened the strapless bra she’d fallen asleep in, too sad, tired, and angry at Frank to change before passing out. She pushed open the door and marched into the kitchen, where Frank was standing with his back to her. He was whistling some tuneless song, which infuriated Paulina. Had he completely forgotten what had happened last night, she wondered furiously. She cleared her throat and walked through the doorway.

“Oh, hello, Paulina,” Frank said, turning and offering a sleepy smirk. Paulina’s stomach did a little flip, but she willed herself to stay angry. “That lovely little bakery down the street delivered some muffins, which are quite good, I must say.” He indicated a halved muffin sitting on a plate on the table. “Eat. We’re flying back today.”

Paulina narrowed her eyes and took a few steps to the table. She picked up the pastry, weighing it in her hand for a moment before throwing it at Frank’s back. He froze for a moment before straightening and turning toward her with a raised eyebrow.

“What was that for?” She didn’t answer; just glared. Frank sighed and rolled his neck and shoulders before turning back to Paulina. “Are you still angry about last night?” Paulina crossed her arms. Frank moved forward, but she stepped back. He still caught her, however, slipping a hand to rest on her bare waist. “Paulina,” he whined, trying to pull her closer without resistance, much to Paulina’s chagrin. She wanted to pull away, but… “Baby. Honey. My little kitten. Don’t be mad at me.” He smoothed his hands up and down her sides, making her shiver. “That’s it, baby.” He leaned down and kissed Paulina’s cheek, moving along her jaw and down to her neck. She whimpered, but still wouldn’t speak. She wanted so much to be angry at him, but he was making it so difficult…

Paulina reached up and took his face in her hands, guiding it to her own for a kiss on the mouth. She pushed her hands back into his hair, envying its length, winding it between her fingers tightly, making Frank gasp into her mouth. He’d gotten his piercings back, and the cold hoop pressed into Paulina’s lip.

Her mind screamed at her. What was she doing? He was keeping her hostage--he’d kidnapped her! This was the man that beat her, and allowed her to be raped, gave her birth control pills for said rape, twisted her mind until she didn’t know which way was up…

But he could also be very kind, sweet, and tender. He could squeeze her fingers ever so gently, or wrap an arm around her waist with such care…he could kiss her lips like she couldn’t describe with words. His touch told her he cared, perhaps more than he wanted to, at times. Everything about him was hard and soft at the same time, and she didn’t know quite what to make of it.

Then again, he’d even admitted that this was all an experiment. What if…it was all an act? He just wanted her to believe that he cared so much. He wanted to see if she was stupid enough to fall for it. Paulina’s insides bubbled. She may have been strange, may have been an outcast, not pretty enough, not cool enough, but she was never, fucking never going to be told she was stupid. She was not stupid, and she would not let herself be taken. Not a single damn man in this apartment, or that house, or the world, would take her for a fool.

“No!” Paulina tore her mouth away from Frank’s, yanking her arms back and shoving him away with all her might. He fell to the floor and she stepped over him, running out of the kitchen. She ran into the bedroom and slammed the door, holding the knob for a few minutes in case Frank came after her. But Frank didn’t come. Tears threatened the backs of her eyes, but Paulina refused to let them fall. Instead, she went to her duffel bag where it lay on the floor and began to dress, hoping Frank wouldn’t barge in while she was doing so.

As it turned out, Frank didn’t bother her for a few hours, and then it was only to walk in, grab her by the arm, and lead her out to a car that was waiting to take them to the airport. Once on the plane, Frank and Paulina refused to make eye contact, let alone speak to each other. Paulina was just relieved when, hours later, they had arrived back at that hellhole where, at least, she could be by herself.

When she walked into her room, Mikey was sitting on her bed, waiting. She sighed and rolled her eyes, bending over to pick up Al, who had hopped over the moment she’d opened the door.

“Hello, Paulina,” Mikey said in a bored voice.

“I don’t suppose anyone thought to feed Algernon while I was gone,” she responded, ignoring his greeting. Paulina could really care less about formalities, or being polite, especially with Mikey.

“Why would I feed that fat piece of shit? He weighs more than I do.”

“Hold the hyperboles back, honey. And even if that were true, he’s still a living thing that needs food on a regular basis. You weigh more than I do. By your logic, we should stop feeding you, too.” Paulina bent over and scooped some food out of the bag in the corner, sitting next to Mikey on her bed and letting Al eat out of her hand. She stroked his ears, a silent apology for leaving him alone and unfed.

“Excuse you, but I’m not the one who went from a size zero to a size four in six months, honey.” Just to be cruel, Mikey pushed Al off the bed, smirking as his back hit the floor. The rabbit flailed over and fled to his litter box in the corner, which had also not been cleaned in Paulina’s absence. She sighed, exasperated.

“You’re such an ass, Mikey.” She got up and dumped what was left in her hand into Algernon’s food bowl, figuring he’d go eat when he got hungry enough. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down so that she was laying across his lap.

“That wasn’t very nice,” he told her, pushing Paulina to the ground as well. She wanted to smack him, but knew better than to act on such a thought.

“Suck my dick,” she mumbled sourly, sprinkling more litter in Al’s box.

“Is that how Gerard‘s charm works?” Mikey asked, his voice innocent, but malevolence shining in his eyes. Paulina just bit down on her lower lip and shook her head. She walked out of the room before she said or did something she’d end up regretting. For lack of anything better to do, she allowed her legs to carry her in the direction of the kitchen. She didn’t fear running into Frank, since he usually took refuge in his bedroom when he was feeling moody. She did, however, run into another unwelcome surprise.

“Paulina, I’ve missed you,” Gerard purred as he pushed Paulina up against the wall in the parlor. Yes, he purred, like Frank, but unlike Frank, Gerard’s voice lacked any of the charm or endearment that made his friend so…Paulina hated to think “irresistible.” But he was.

“I thought you might,” she murmured. His hand snaked down to grasp her wrists, lifting them above her head and pinning them against the wall. “That’s uncomfortable.”

“Not for me,” Gerard said, nuzzling Paulina’s nose with his own. She squirmed and wrinkled the bridge, wishing he’d leave her alone. She heard footsteps approaching, and hoped that meant liberation from Gerard’s grasp. When she caught sight of who it was, however, Paulina found herself leaning into Gerard’s body, swinging one leg up around his waist to pull him closer.

“Me either,” she said, leaning into the man in front of her. She pressed her mouth against his, letting her eyelids hover, but not close, so she could covertly watch Frank as he walked by. He paused, glaring at the lip-locked two. Paulina let it hang in the air for a moment before freeing up one hand and placing it on Gerard’s face, separating it from her own, but not by far. She smiled gently, heart pounding. “You’re so much better at that than Frank,” she told Gerard, pulling him back in, this time closing her eyes so she couldn’t see Frank’s face and regret what she’d just done. When she pulled away again, Frank was gone, and Gerard began to laugh. “What?”

“You!” he barked between gasps of laughter. “You little…” He continued to laugh, to Paulina’s annoyance. “I feel almost…used! Ha! Who knew you were capable, Paulina,” Gerard mused, cupping her face in his hand patronizingly. She twisted away.

“Either explain your maniacal ranting or go somewhere else.” Now that Frank was gone, Paulina just wanted Gerard to release her other hand so she could go back to her room and sulk.

“You, my dear,” he said quietly, almost admiringly. “You just used me to make him jealous. It’s a hoot! I almost can’t believe it!”

“Oh, please,” Paulina said, blushing furiously at being caught. Well, she hadn’t exactly been covert. “I’ve got no reason to want to make Frank jealous.”

“Ha!” Gerard barked, throwing his head back. “You think he hasn’t told me everything that happened while you two were gone?” He bit his lip gleefully and cocked an eyebrow at her. Paulina’s demeanor changed immediately.

“He did!” Her jaw hung slack. How dare he! What of that was his business to tell anyone, especially the insane Gerard. Paulina fumed, but she was also curious. “Tell me what he told you.”

“He didn’t.”

“He didn’t…”

“He didn’t tell me!” Gerard laughed again, and Paulina could feel anger bubbling in the pit of her stomach. He was so frustrating. “I only asked you if you didn’t think he’d told me!”

“I am so sick of you,” Paulina sighed, shaking her head.

“But he will. In time.”

“I doubt that.”

“You underestimate our friendship. He will tell me anything I want to know, with a bit of clever wording on my end.” The man smirked pompously.

“Get him to!” Paulina said, a little too emphatically, making Gerard’s smirk grow wider. “I mean,” she said, clearing her throat. “You know. I want to know what he has to say. Just tell me what he says happened.” Begging. Paulina was almost disgusted with herself, but she just had to know.

“Hmm…” Gerard pondered it, obviously taking great joy in making her wait for his answer. “I’ll see what I can do.” He finally let her go, Paulina having not realized how tightly he’d been hold her wrist. She rubbed it with the other hand, looking at Gerard, who just stood and gazed at her.

“Thanks,” she mumbled begrudgingly. He smirked, chuckled once more, and walked into the kitchen. “For a lot of nothing,” she added once he was out of earshot.



Hello, there. Another chapter, and it only took ten days. I'm quite pride of myself, if I do say so myself. What do you think? I know, this chapter was kind of uneventful, but...kind of not. I don't know. Mixed feelings on this one, I suppose. I feel like the muffin-throwing part was funny, and I didn't mean it to be. Oh, well. Oh, by the way, you know what I realized the other day? I posted the prologue of this story on 10 July of last year. That's almost a full year ago. Isn't that crazy? For those of you who've been reading this from the beginning, does it seem like it's been that long? It doesn't seem so for me, I know that. I don't know. Food for thought, I suppose. Anyway, go comment, rate, and subscribe, and I'll work on getting us that much closer to the end of this story. OverAndOutxx