Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
I nodded solemnly and then poured the second drink down my throat. It hurt less than the first time, but I still burst into a coughing fit.
I heard him sigh, but when I glanced back down at my hands, my eyes widened in horror. Red… they were covered in dripping red blood.
A scream tore out of my throat as I scrambled to my feet. The glass dropped to the floor and shattered into pieces.
“Olivia!” He got to his feet, and I paled, glancing at the glass around my feet and then my hands. They were back to normal–there was no sign of red anywhere.
Was I imagining things now? Was I even awake now?
“Here,” Giovani took one step and swept my legs out from under me, pulling me into his arms.
I hung onto his body, breathing heavily as he moved away from the broken glass.
He set me gently on the bed, brushing my hair from my face. “Are you hurt?” He glanced down at me, checking over my body, but I only shook my head.
“Stay there. I’ll clean it up,” he said firmly.
I watched as he left and headed down the hall to get a broom. I stared at where he’d disappeared, dazed and feeling like I was going out of my mind.
He came back, broom and dustpan in hand, and I watched as he methodically cleaned up the glass. Once he was satisfied, he headed back to me with expressionless eyes.
“Olivia,” he asked, and I flinched despite myself. “What just happened?”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered quietly, “I had a–”
“Nightmare?” Giovani finished my words, a frown on his lips. “You need to get some sleep.”
“I can’t,” I said, hoarsely. “Not while she’s missing.”
“Olivia,” he said, grasping both of my hands as he glanced at me pleadingly. “This isn’t your fault.”
“Yes, it is. If I hadn’t left her–” I protested, choking on my words.
“No,” He shook his head firmly, squeezing my hand. “This isn’t your fault.”
“I shouldn’t have left her,” I hung my head, folding over as I curled into a ball. “I could’ve done something–”
“You would’ve been kidnapped right along with her,” Giovani growled. “How would that help anybody?”
“At least I’d be with her!” I cried, snatching my hand away as I got to my feet. “At least I wouldn’t be here just waiting to see if she comes home alive or in a fucking body bag!”
“Olivia!” Giovani snapped, grabbing my arms.
But all the thoughts I’d been holding back poured out of me like a broken dam. I sobbed, pushing against his firm chest even though I knew I wasn’t strong enough to move him.
“It’s all my fault! It should’ve been me!” I screamed, clenching my fists and pounding them on his chest, “I should’ve–”
“Olivia!”
Giovanni wrapped his arms around me tightly, and I fell limp, feeling horrible and empty inside. But truthfully, I knew there was nothing I could’ve done. There was no way I could’ve fought off kidnappers, and I knew Dahlia would’ve hated me being there with her.
I was so selfish, a horrible best friend who couldn’t control her own emotions. But Dahlia… she was always so much stronger than me. I’d been following her around since we were kids, and I felt so lost without her.
“I miss her,” I confessed, honestly. “I’m so scared she’s hurt and dying, and there’s nothing I can fucking do but cry like a baby. I miss her so damn much.”
Giovani sighed, holding me close. I laid my head on his shoulder, shuddering as I let him do whatever he wanted with me. I felt like a pumpkin on Halloween, like someone had scooped away everything inside of me and replaced it with a tiny, flickering flame that was slowly fading away… so incredibly fragile.
And that was how Giovani treated me.
“We’re going to find her and bring her home, I promise you that,” he swore to me, a dark lit to his voice. “Are you ready to sleep now?”
I nodded solemnly, everything evaporating into his warmth as he cradled me.
Giovani held me for a few minutes but eventually, he swept me off my feet and gently laid me down into the bed. He pulled the comforter over me, and I watched silently as he headed for the light.
The world fell into darkness, but I wasn’t worried anymore. I saw him moving, just a shadow, but I trusted that it was him, that he would be here for me no matter what.
Giovani slipped under the covers, and my eyes adjusted to the darkness as he shifted into a comfortable position.
He pulled the comforter over us and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me across the bed until I was flush against him. I could feel every inch of his skin pressed against mine.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured softly to him.
“Don’t be,” he muttered quietly. We were so close I felt his hot breath brush against my skin. “I should’ve known you wouldn’t have been okay. I’m sorry I left you alone.”
“No,” I shook my head pitifully. “I shouldn’t be having a breakdown like a child. I have to be strong–”
“No.”
The firm reply halted any more of my thoughts, and I glanced up at him, confused.
My breath hitched as I saw the deep emotions in his eyes. There was no doubt he cared about me, no doubt that I was special to him… and maybe more.
Moonlight passed through the window, illuminating the side of his face.
“Never apologize for your feelings, Olivia,” he said so strongly that I could only nod in response.
He smiled, just a tiny lift to the corner of his lips, but it was enough. His eyes slid closed, and I listened to his breathing, his heartbeat under my fingertips.
And finally, I felt warm.
*Olivia*
I stirred into consciousness as a bright light passed over my closed eyelids. I groaned at the sudden intrusion, turning on my side and away from the offending light.
I was dazed for a minute as my brain powered up and memories came flooding back–Dahlia going missing, Giovani leaving and then coming back… the terrible nightmare that had awoken me, and how I’d gone to Giovani, the way I’d broken down on him, and he had held me all night until my eyes had closed, and I’d drifted off to sleep.
I sat up in bed in a hurry, my legs twisted up in the blanket as I blinked away the sleep around my eyes. The sun was shining brightly through the window, the curtains pulled away to let it in.
The room was the same as last night, except for the missing owner of the room.
My eyes trailed to the right of me, and I reached out for where I thought Giovani had been. It was still slightly warm, indicating he hadn’t been gone for long.
Where had he gone, though?
