Chapter Seventy Two: Final Clause
I'm my own high school rival: Christina's arc: Bend or Break.
I was neither awake nor asleep. I had escaped the void-like space that housed my memory fragments, and wherever I was, it was warm. Getting oriented is important, right?
So, what is the last thing I remember… The last thing I remember was Christina's smug face, her blond hair, and sun-kissed skin.
After seeing her, I fell asleep. But then there was the void.
What if… I touched the damn shard, and this is whatever was inside.
I quivered thinking about the kind of trauma I would have to work through, and something warm—something familiar—touched my chest. I squeezed down with both hands, expecting the same rough comforter that I woke up on in Shizuka's apartment.
Had I actually been stabbed? Did I dream of the chase? Had Christina kissed me… actually, I hope that was a dream.
But the textures I held were different.
My right hand gripped something soft, smooth, like silk.
Did the hospital upgrade my sheets… I wiggled a bit.
It feels so nice.
But my left hand held something else, warm and soft, with a little extra… cushion.
What is this? I knew this feeling from somewhere.
I traced it. It was smooth, and then I hit a bump.
"Hmmm," something murmured nearby.
I felt around again and located the bump.
I pulled softly on it to see if it would come off.
Something slick wrapped around my legs.
I froze.
I stared blindly into the open air.
That—that wasn't a leg hooking around mine, was it?
Something giggled.
Oh, sweet lord no. That was a moan, a leg, and… a nipple.
That means this wet feeling is… Oh, crap!
Lying in the silence of an unfamiliar darkness, I listened. Maybe, if I try really hard, I'll die, just for a moment.
I waited, feeling the rise and fall of my chest.
Damn, I'm still here.
The hand on my chest moved.
It slid to my right hand…
and laced its fingers through mine, and then it squeezed…we squeezed.
I tried to swallow, but my mouth was too dry.
"Damn… I need to sleep, but you're turning me on—" someone said in a groggy voice. "But since you're in the mood, too, come here," she said.
My eyes shot open. The room was pitch-black. Hospitals didn't have rooms this dark, right?
Maybe there was a power outage… Yeah, that's it, and the doctors moved more patients into my room, and one of them crawled into my bed… But what makes my room so special?
"O-shhh," I whispered. The hand squeezed mine again, and the terrifying realization that we were naked dawned on me.
Where is my hospital gown?
Why am I naked with… "some woman?" I shuddered.
Sakura is going to kill me!
…No, she's really going to kill me.
I reached over to push her away, but her hand leaped through the shadows like a night horror and held the back of my neck.
I stiffened, but her grip was too strong.
She pulled me down and pressed her nose into my neck.
The tip of her nose caressed my neck. I shivered and squeezed my legs together.
Wherever her nose went, soft lips followed closely behind, sending unnerving twitches throughout my body. I clutched her with every graze of her lips.
She inhaled me.
I hadn't showered in a day, and a stranger was smelling me in the dark.
She exhaled slowly, releasing more soft moans.
Her breath was warm against my collarbone.
"I knew you wouldn't wait for twenty-seven days," she said, groggily.
What…does she mean by twenty-seven days—for what?
Damn it all.
Her hair brushed against my nose, and I caught her scent. A floral familiarity struck me.
It smelled like Christine Tsukikage, the girl I loved in the future… Only one person shared this scent.
"Christina?" I whispered, praying someone else would answer.
She rubbed her nose on my neck without answering me.
But seriously, would it be better or worse if it weren't her, but a stranger instead?
To hell with it all. How would I explain this to Sakura?
I felt around for her shoulder and regretted every touch as my body began to betray me.
Oh, no. I'm reacting…
"Oh," she said, surprised. "That's more my speed," she moaned.
Her body rolled against me.
My body started to react.
I yelped…as if hit.
What was that sound? Was that me?
I pushed away from her, trying to create space.
"What…are you doing, hani?" she said.
Christina's tone was soft and playful. The thought of a soft Christina in bed with me wasn't something I was ready for.
I rolled.
Another hand burst through the pillows I was lying on and stopped my retreat by wrapping her arm around my neck.
Damn it.
The sheets rustled.
The bed shifted.
Then the feeling faded.
The room fell silent.
For the first time since I woke up, I was alone in the dark.
"Shit. What time is it?" she said.
I turned toward her voice.
Two sharp claps cut through the silence.
Blinding lights forced me to close my eyes.
I sat up and blocked the lights with my hands, wanting her to turn the lights back off, so I didn't have to face the truth.
"Hey," Christina said, gently placing her hands on my wrist. "Are you alright, or are you having trouble breathing? Should I call the doctor?"
She moved my hands aside, even though I resisted.
The light surrounded her body, leaving only her silhouette, a shapely figure that I refused to fill out.
But my eyes started to adjust.
***
The room was twice the size of my apartment's living room. The bed we were on had red, silken sheets and pillows with a silver fan crest. The gray walls were lined with the portraits of different women. There were two beanbag chairs; one red and one silver. There was even a kitchen and a computer.
"Hani, I'm right here. Look at me."
Cold chills ran down my back.
The mattress's weight shifted again, and her warm body pressed against mine.
Two doors… on the other side of the room… too far! There was one right by the bed on her side.
I looked into Christina's eyes, and my face felt warm.
She was…without shame.
"W-where are your clothes, no, where are my clothes!" I said, trying to break her grasp on my wrists.
"Who needs them? Let's just take our time and enjoy the moment," she said, sitting up on her knees to match my height.
There was an open door on her side of the bed…but how do I break free?
"We're both ready, so," she said, giggling.
A question raced through my brain like a drunken driver on his last drink: ready for what?
I started to become lightheaded.
Then what she said clicked.
Christina let go of my wrists. "You don't look too hot," she said, holding my face.
I pressed my knees together and covered my lap with my hands.
"Why are we naked, Christina?" My words exited with a shaky resolve, as I hunched over.
She let go of my face and started rubbing the back of my head.
I can't look at her. It's wrong.
"Hey," she said, with irritation in her voice. "What's this supposed to be?" She patted me on my bowed head. "You started this craving, so take some responsibility, Antwon."
Responsibility…for what? Has she lost her damn mind?
"Are you fucking listening?" I felt her fingers tighten around my hair.
I sprang up, still covering myself, to meet her gaze.
"I!" My eyes shook.
"I," my eyes fell from her eyes to her lips.
"I…" from her lips to her collarbone.
No, no, no. Stay strong, don't go any lower. Maybe this is a dream.
"I'm before you, Antwon, in all my fucking glory, and you aren't looking at me."
Shit, this is real!
How do I get out of this? Think, think…think.
I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth.
That could work!
I took a deep breath. My eyes opened, and I tried to strip myself of all emotions… I tried to think like Jenie…
But my pulse raced.
She sat across from me with wide eyes and a slackened jaw.
"A-are you good now?" she asked, hand still reaching for something she couldn't grasp.
Eyes still shut, I performed a short bow, so as not to bump into her because she was so close.
"Ms. Tetsusen, I don't remember coming to this place. Where are we?" I asked.
"We…we're home. We're at my mom's house," she answered as if asking the question.
Her mom's house…the crazy woman from school?
Don't panic.
I sat up, and Christina's blue, gem-like eyes made it harder to focus.
"Right. H-how long have we been here, Christina?"
She hooked a finger around her dimpled chin and thought for a moment. Her eyes searched for answers.
But there was a more pressing question.
"Christina…may I have some clothing, please?" I shrank down, still covering my lap, and made myself small. I also opened my eyes as wide as I could. Everything I'd learned from watching those stupid romance dramas.
She sat back, no longer sitting up on her knees.
"Aww, hani," she said in a disappointed tone, "if you want to get dressed, there are some clothes in the bathroom." Her sharp-blue eyes dropped to my lap. "I wanted us to have something nice to wear after we finished fu—huh."
My finger raced to her lips, stopping her from completing that word.
We locked eyes for a moment.
First, some nut-job with a knife tries to kill me, now this.
"Let's not use words like that, Christina."
She nodded, and I closed my eyes and smiled as warmly as I could.
Then something warm and wet wrapped around my finger.
"What the heck, Christina," I shouted, yanking my finger out of her mouth.
Shit! She's unhinged!
She smirked and pointed her thumb to the room by the bed behind her.
"The bathroom is over there. You just have to walk around the bed, or you can scoot by me."
She slid to the side, creating enough space for me to pass her.
"Why…are you doing this, Christina, and why did you take me from the hospital?"
She ran her hand through her hair. Her smirk changed to something softer as her eyes found my knees.
"Let's get dressed for this conversation," she slid to the edge of the bed and stood up. I, however, wasn't in a position to move.
I pulled the red-silken sheet up and wrapped it around my body.
"Hmm, so you don't want to get dressed?"
I sighed and focused on the red sheets.
"Give me like…five minutes."
***
I sat on a red beanbag chair across from Christina Tetsusen, tapping my cheek as I looked over something called a Transfer of Legal Bindings paper. The clothes she gave me were light gray sweats with a fan symbol sewn on the back. They were comfy in an uncomfortable situation.
Well, shit.
I lowered that document. According to this, my father bought into this "right of wardship" crap, and gave me to this psycho brat. But in thirty days, she has to reopen the claim proceedings, which means Sakura can challenge her again.
I sighed.
"Was there something you didn't understand, hani—"
"Stop calling me that."
…
She smirked, and my blood boiled.
"You don't have the right to touch me until the thirty days are up!"
"It's actually twenty-seven days. Since running away does not delay the initial day the claim was solidified, hani."
I leaned forward, but the beanbag sucked me in.
If you were a boy, I'd kick your ass.
"I'm not buying this crap! Who witnessed this nonsense!?"
"The cafeteria," she said, smirking.
…
"Forcing intimacy nullifies the contract."
"I told you; you touched me. It's your fault that I was so turned on." She pressed a hand to her chest. "I'm not to blame for this escalation."
"How, Christina?!"
"Well," she said, craning her neck to her right. "After bathing you—"
"Excuse me!"
She snapped back to me. "Shut up."
…
"As I was saying, I bathed you. I placed you on the other side of the bed because…I wanted to do more than clean you up. But doing so would void our contract," she said, looking at the floor.
"Well…"
My father's name was on the contract…he gave me up.
I bit my bottom lip to fight back the tears.
"You moved from one side of the bed to the other and cuddled me." Her soft eyes met mine. "It was cute."
"Then you woke up."
I made an ugly face by bunching my lips up and puffing my cheeks out.
"No, I didn't, and now I've caught you in your lie."
Christina grinned, but it was more smug than before. She pointed at my crotch.
"Not all of you woke up. After touching, smelling, and damn near nibbling me to death, I was ready to burst." She stood up and brought both hands to her chest. She clenched her fist. "But I refused to break you in."
"Break me in? What does that even mean when a woman says it?"
"I wanted to respect my consort's day of rest after being attacked by a heartless cunt, who is waiting for execution."
"She's still alive?!"
"But when you squeezed me, Antwon."
"I wasn't sure where I was!"
"And played with me."
"Don't say it like that!"
"You broke every contractual barrier."
"I don't even remember being moved from the hospital!"
"You freed me to crave you physically."
"I'm going to kill my father for selling my freedom."
She walked over to me. She stood there with her arms crossed and rocked her head from side to side.
"Sell you…there were no fees beyond processing the documentation."
…
My eyes dropped to the floor. I knew my worth as Knox, but I had thought Antwon's life had more value. Was it because I started fights with Sakura or complained about being trapped in a box that he gave me away?
I grabbed my chest.
"Antwon," Christina said. "Are you okay?"
Muffled whimpers escaped me. I covered my face with my arm, hoping it was enough to hide.
"Hey," Christina said. "Your dad…didn't want to sign."
My arm dropped, and I looked at Christina's blurred figure. Her neck craned to the left, and her eyes were fixed on the bed.
"I promised him that he would have access to you, and I'd bring you to him when he called me," she said, blushing. "Shit. My consort's father has me, a queen, by the fucking leash. I must be crazy."
You don't understand, Christina. If you take me, Christine will never be born, and I will be the villain who erases her from existence.
She pressed her knee into the beanbag chair I was sitting in.
I couldn't live with myself.
My heart started to race as she pressed her other knee into the beanbag, looming over me.
So, regardless of how much you think that you own me, Christina Tetsusen, I will be free from you.
She wiped the tears from my eyes and kissed me.
If anyone can help me now, it would be Jenie.
I turned away, preventing her from kissing me. "Wait!"
"What is it?"
I took deep breaths until the crying stopped.
"I want to invoke…the final clause within the regulations regarding…premature bindings," I said, losing breath between words.
…
"Fuck. So you want to be the one to initiate body bonding, regardless of how much you touch me?"
"Y-yes."
She sighed.
"I'll…call the legal team when the sun comes up. You know," she said, standing, "this is cruel treatment of a noble woman. I will remember this on day thirty-one, Antwon. Since you invoked the damn clause, you must do everything I say that doesn't breach the contract."
"So," I said, absorbing information from the contract.
What is she going to do? Tell me I can't be mean to her? Command me to make her more food than I already do? I just wish this thing wasn't so… nuanced.
I looked her over from head to toe.
"Hey," I said. I waited for a verbal response, but she didn't speak. I looked up from the contract, and she was scowling. I fought back the urge to smirk. "What happens on day thirty-one?"
She smiled, if you could call it that, from ear to ear, as if she had committed a crime and escaped without a trace.
"On that day, Antwon," she said, voice lowering with every word, "I'm going to lock you in this room with me for a week, and drain you dry, every hour on the hour. You won't be able to eat, sleep, or think. Oh, and the only time you'll drink anything is when you're showering between sessions."
Dear god! She isn't human.
I scanned the floor. There wasn't anything out of place.
I stopped at her feet.
Why…does that excite me?
"Christina," I said, still recovering. "Thanks for being so understanding."
She scoffed.
"I wouldn't have if I hadn't recorded this shit." She crossed her arms and tapped her foot.
"W-what!"
She flipped her hair back.
"Tsk. I've got to cover my ass, hani."