Thea
I pull Angel’s shirt from me and hand it over to him which he takes and tossed aside. He gaze is deep and intense and I’m unable to look at his face. I know he’s mad at me too. I didn’t know if I should explain myself or just hear him out.
He takes out my torn cloth and toss it aside leaving me on my bra alone.
“Are you hurt anywhere?” He asks but the stern doesn’t leave his face. His eyes were searching my body and he looked concerned now.
“No.” I answered shaking my head as well. He remains silent and I could tell that he was trying hard to keep his temper down.
“Why did you go up to the stage?” He asked and I tuck my lip in not knowing how to say the words. “Look at me Thea.” He says and I shake my head. “You know what you did and that’s why you can’t look at my face.” His voice sounded hurt with a mixture of anger in it as well.
“Angel… I….” I look at him but I’m lost for words. I feel guilty as well. He wasn’t supposed to find me in such situation.
“I just wanted to have fun.”
“By letting men disrespect you?”
“If you watched them you would have seen that I didn’t approve and they backed off.
“Are you a stripper or what?”
“Why would you say that?”
“With all those stakes of money for you. What the fuck were you doing Thea?” He yelled angrily startling me.
“I just wanted to have fun. It’s not my fault that they staked money for me. I wasn’t going to take them.”
“Of course I knew you wouldn’t do that but you were stooping low back there.” He said and I felt terrible. I couldn’t help but think that’s how me saw me back when I was a stripper. I didn’t mind then but hearing Angel say it now made it seem horrible. Tears welled up my eyes but I blinked them back in.
“”I’m not a whore.”
“Tell that to those men.”
“You’re being rude.”
“I don’t even give a fuck about that but no man is touching you asides me!” He yelled and I almost stumbled startling from fear
“You’re not going out to places like this again. I let you out once and this is how things turn out.”
“Are you listening to yourself Angel? You’re being controlling now.”
“I’m protecting you.”
“No, you are being controlling!” I yell with tears in my eyes. “All you’ve ever done is cage me!” I cry out letting tears fall off my eye. Angel blinks and hurt fills his eyes as he watched me tear up. “I have stayed with you all these months, You deprived me from seeing my mum and you wouldn’t take me back to her like you promised all in the disguise of protecting me till you got rid of all threats that sorround us.”
“Thea stop.”
“No! The one time you grant us the freedom to step out you just had to follow us here.”
“What would have happened if I wasn’t here?”
“We’d just handle things fine.” I retort in a teary voice. Angel softens and he tries to hold me but I pull away.
“I hate to see you cry… Please.”
“Don’t touch me!” I yell putting a hand forward and stopping him from coming closer. I wipe my tears off and look away from him.
“I’m not apologizing for protecting you Thea.”
“No you won’t because your ego won’t let you realize that the only apology you should be rendering is for being controlling.” I say purposely to hurt him.
“You can say what you want to say to me but I don’t regret being here just in time to interfere and I promise you that bastard will get what he deserves.”
“You can’t just take someone’s life.”
“If he’s a pervert like that then yes I can.”
“You’re heartless.”
“I know.”
“Why did you even come here? And you got a suite and yet you think you’re not being controlling. Or what I’m I missing? Have you been coming to this club without my knowledge?” The place falls silent in an instant. All that tension, arguments, it all went down for a pause. I think we needed the few seconds to catch our breath.
“You don’t trust me.” Angel says in a low voice. It sounded difficult to say, I could tell I hurt him bad with my words.
“You’re the one who doesn’t trust me. You came here for what? Or was it a coincidence that I came to the club you frequent?” I wasn’t backing down nor let myself feel guilty for the things I said.
Angel scoffs in disbelieve. He shook his head as well shoeing his disappointment.
“Really, Thea? I’m being unfaithful right now?”
“Then why do you have a suite!” He doesn’t respond but goes into a room through another door then gets me a a paper which I hesitate but take later and go through it. I gulp feeling guilty, it was a receipt. He just paid for this suite yesterday.
“That’s the manual receipt. I have the soft copy as well if you’d like to see and the emails showing the interaction I had with the management to make reservations for this suite to be used for just a night.”
“So what are you trying to say?” I ask, even though he had proved he wasn’t a regular here and this was the first time of renting a suite, I still needed more information.
“g
I got this suite for us.” Angel said.
“And why?”
“You wanted this remember?” He said and the memory quickly flashed on my eyes. Before coming to the club, I had expressed my wish to actually share one night with Angel in a suite at the club. We joked about it and I asked him to surprise me.
“You said you didn’t want to go home straight after having mad fun with the girls. You’re my woman Thea and I don’t need you to say things straight up for me to know what you want and here you are telling me I’m being controlling?”
I remained speechless not knowing what to say. I had just shown my distrust, accused him falsely and downplayed his efforts for me. I was feeling guilty.
“I didn’t think about that… I’m sorry.” I apologized and looked at him. He blinked and I could tell he was still very hurt.
He sighed deeply and moved away to drop the receipt. I stayed at my place wondering if I should go to him.
He walks right back to me and I’m nervous.
“You stay here, I’ll get back soon.” He said and began walking towards the door.
“Please don’t do it. Angel…” I said stopping him. He turns back to me looking determined.
“Thea…. I’ll give the bastard what he deserves. Don’t try to persuade me.” I feel scared to my bones that I shiver slightly. He was going to kill a man because of me.
“You can’t be serious….”
“You’re forgetting who I am.” He said reminding me.
“Then I’m not staying here to wait for you.” I say and try to walk past him.
“I will certainly have his blood on my hand if you walk out of that door and go to find him.” That was my plan but he knew it already. I was angry that he wouldn’t listen to me but now he had just dared me and I was scared to go against him.
“That man harassed you Thea.”
“Then you deal with him how I want. I’m the one who was harassed.”
“By taking him to the police?” He scoffs. “How pitiful.”
“Why are you being difficult?” I say feeling so helpless. Angel wouldn’t listen to me.
“Because you’re my woman and I’m the only one allowed to touch you intimately. So you’re going to stay here and wait.”
I shake my head and quickly reach out for my phone. I try to call Florentine but Angel quickly snatch the phone from me. He looks at the number on the screen then looks back at me. He puts the phone in his pocket and passed me a mean stare.
“I don’t want to be an ass Thea, please don’t make me.”
“Well too late because you’re one.” I say hating the fact that there was nothing I could do now.
“Really?” His voice is husky as he lowers it. “Then we have no problem with how I handle things.” I bit my lip and fold my fist, my lips quiver as I try to say something without having my voice sound cracky.
“You’re a big one.” I yell at him but he doesn’t seem fazed. He comes closer to me and raise my jaw gently. I turn away so that his hand slipped off and he simply let out a sigh.
“I’d never watch any man hurt you and go Scot-free.”
“But you can hurt me and go Scot-free.” There’s silence again as we both knew I was referring to the things he did to me when he thought I betrayed him.
“You’re never going to forgive me are you?”
I don’t say anything but he lifts his fingers up to my face and caresses my cheek. He pulls me in then he brushed his lips slightly against mine. I stiffen as sensations wash over me. He pulls away and I raise my hand to wipe the taste of his lips on mine.
“Don’t wipe it.”
“Or what? You’re going to kill him?”
“Just don’t wipe it.” He says and gulps hard.
He looks at me passionately before moving past me to grab his shirt.
“So you’re just going to make me wait here while you hurt someone?” He stops at my words but doesn’t respond. “If you do as much as hurt him….”
“Maybe if you ask politely I won’t have to do anything.” He snaps at me.
I feel speechless, helpless and scared of what will happen but Angel comes to me, his eyes soft.
“Just wait here for me.” He says putting his white shirt over his body and leaves.