"There is something seriously wrong with you, right?" I ask Dakota, meeting his gaze.

Green eyes sharpen, almost punishingly, but I do not back down. Not now.

I bite my lip, feeling the rapid thuds in my heart as I meet his intense gaze with a silent plea. "Tell me what you are going through?"

I see a raw opening, a glimpse of vulnerability in his eyes, but then he quickly masks it. As if he is on the verge of revealing his dark secrets, yet something invisible and powerful holds him back.

"What is so dangerous that you can't even speak?" My voice a soft whisper of concern, while he responses with a deep, penetrating gaze, filled with layers of complex emotions.

I rest my hand gently on his torso and feel the rise and fall of his chest with each breath.

"Talk to me." My voice almost pleading. 

My heart races, hard and fast, matching the rhythm of his own beats as I lean in closer and urge him softly, "Please."

His gaze intensifies and I hear his jaw clench with unspoken words as if he is wrestling with his demons. I can almost see the silent battle raging in his eyes, a war against himself.

Words seem to be on the tip of his tongue, yet he doesn't utter a single work, keeping them trapped within by whatever haunts him.

I gather courage and draw closer to him with a longing to connect, to understand, to share whatever burden, fear he is carrying.

"Dako-" *Buzz*

But the moment shatters abruptly as his watch vibrates with an intrusive sound of a reminder.

Dakota removes his arm from around me and glances at his wrist, with a flicker of resignation in his eyes.

"It's time to take my pill." He announces with a hollow echo in his voice and rises from the water.

A sense of loss washes over me as he walks away, creating an untouchable physical and emotional barrier around him.

Dakota wraps a towel around his hips and stride towards the locked medicinal cabinet, and with a swift motion of his fingers, the sealed hatch opens up.

From the bathtub, I watch him swallowing a pill from the little orange bottle, feeling a surge of complex-concerned emotions in me.

My heart is again doing weird things in my chest and I have never felt this conflicted in my life.

I want to hug him. I want to hit him with a stick. I want to sit down and talk more about his nightmares. I want to run away and colour my hair. The FucK!

"I'll be going to bed, you can watch the movie if you like." Dakota informs me in a matter-of-fact tone, before disappearing into his walk-in closet.

Once again, I am left alone, naked with bubbles.

And suddenly the movie doesn't interest me. With a pang of disappointment, I rise from the bathtub and drape myself in a clean towel, before wearing my panties back.

At least he didn't hide them again!

Instead of my dress, I pick his peachy shirt that still lingers with a faint hint of his aftershave and button it up.

Looking up, I find Dakota in black tracks.

Just in his black tracks.

Everything in me tries not to stare at his sculpted abs or that intricate wolf tattoo and with tiny steps of nervousness, I follow him to the room, that is just plain four walls.

We both stare at the left alone mattress on the floor, with a single pillow and blanket. The only island in this sea of emptiness.

"You wanna sleep here or wanna take it to your room?" Green eyes gazes me, studying my expression.

"Um, I am fine here." I utter slowly, but my heart beat sky-rockets.

IT? What is 'it'? My anxiety screams at me.

Is he talking about having sex here, in this-this floor bed? God no! Fuck NO!

Dakota casually gets into his.. Bed. That is his mattress.

Whereas I feel my pulses banging in my ears, like I am getting close to death as I slide beside him. He has kept the room's temperature close to that of getting frozen alive and I thither getting under the blanket.

An unexpected warmth spreads across my back as he draws closer to me and I almost bite a scream. My heart is thrashing so fast against my ribcage, I think it will jump out of my chest, in a desperate attempt to escape the intimidating presence behind me.

I am so scared!

His unpredictable nature has always been a puzzle, but tonight, it feels more pronounced, more ominous.

I shut my eyes tightly, and take deep breaths to calm myself, but then Dakota's heavy hand curls around my waist, and my eyes snap open as he locks me in an inescapable position with him.

I stop breathing.

His touch almost possessive and I tense up, feeling his raw, rigid muscles pressing against my back, reminding me of his physical strength and what level of violence he is capable of. 

OhGoodBoyJesus!! I am so close to having a panic attack!

Though he didn't exert any kind of force on me, yet, I can't ignore the dark, unsettling aura around him, which is contrasting sharply against his cute-cuddly behaviour.

It feels like I am sleeping beside a wild, unstable animal, whose soft touch can anytime turn into a latent power of hunt, depending on his mood.

My anxieties keep me wide awake in this torturous silence of the room, thinking what if he suddenly pounds on me from behind in a surprise move, just like other nights?

I am so paranoid by his erratic behaviour, that it is impossible for me even to relax.

"Dakota, do you.. want to have sex?" I ask him out with lashing thumps in my heaving chest. It's better to ask than die every second with anticipation.

I hear him take a deep breath, and my insides contract in fear. I am so scared!

"No." I feel his hot breath on my neck as he whispers almost tiredly. "I just want to sleep."

His arm tightens around my waist, pulling me back towards his heated body as he presses his face into the crook of my neck, almost adorably.

A wave of relief washes over my anxieties, yet my heart doesn't slow down from the intimate closeness of his embrace.

The thin layer of fabric separating us does very little to distract from the sensation of his hard abs grazing my back, his muscular hand resting on my stomach, and the warmth of his breath on my nape.

Does he really mean to just sleep tonight, with no act of revenge?

I stare at the warm yellow lights illuminating in the corner, waiting for them to fade into darkness, but they don't. Just like yesterday.

"The lights don't go off?" I ask, breaking the silence.

"No." He simply replies.

I feel his gentle heart beats thumping through my chest and his warm breath fanning my neck, all calm and subtle.

"What about the furniture?" I probe, letting my curiosity take the front seat.

"I broke them all in anger." He admits, in a low, distant voice.

My lips part in a silent gasp as I quietly absorb his words while staring at the stark walls, wondering how lavish his room would have looked before destroying it.

"Even the bed?" I ask. The mysterious aura that surrounds him intrigues me to know more about him.

In response, all I receive is a low hum, which vibrates through his chest to mine.

I couldn't help but imagine how much strength and immense fury he must have propelled to break a sturdy wooden bed. He has some psychotic level anger issues!

"You must be laughing at me." He utters in a low, almost broken voice.

"What?" I blink in confusion.

"That Dakota Black, is in fact scared of darkness." He whispers depressingly, while his chest vibrates with heavy sadness. "He is a coward, who sleeps with lights on."

"What? No.. I would never-" I protest, but his deep pained voice cuts me off.

"Even you mocked me before. You made fun of my name and I know you must be laughing at me right now, seeing the pathetic state of my room."

His words puzzle me even more, because that is clearly not how I feel at all.

"No.. Dakota." I correct him, trying to turn around but he hugs me tighter, not letting me face him. His chest presses harder against my back and I feel how furiously it is pounding.

It is thrashing like an earthquake!

"I would never laugh at your pain. I know you are going through something and I would never, ever make fun of your trauma." I assure him sincerely, yet the furious thumping of his heart doesn't slow down, revealing the inner turmoil hidden beneath him. 

"Dakota.." I call his name softly.

I wait for him to respond, but all I can hear is his heavy breath fanning at the back of my neck. I draw my fingers towards his hand, which clutches my waist like his last thread of sanity, and I touch him gently, offering comfort.

"I know it is hard to live alone, without a family. But you should be so proud of yourself for building yourself up from the scratch, without anybody's help."

I hope my words encourage him, yet he remains discouragingly silent. Could it be possible, that underneath that heartless domineering facade, there is a man who is more heart-broken than I am?

"And honestly, everybody has flaws. I myself am a flawed person. At times, I feel this overwhelming feeling of anxiety kicking in whenever I try to talk to people." A wave of vulnerability washes over me as I whisper the buried parts of my soul.

"I myself feel so damaged. I have no friends, no social interactions, I hardly go out of my room because the outside world terrifies me. I am so scared to have another bad experience as the last one broke me completely."

My voice cracks with sadness, feeling pity at the little girl in me, who still struggles to overcome the ingrained traumas she has endured.

"I see people around me, so carefree and extroverted, and I wish.. I wish I could be like them. There is so much I want to share, but whenever I try, all I feel like I am drowning in my social anxieties. Then panic kicks in and I feel unable to reach out, even for help. I know am not normal. Hell, I am not even myself anymore, but a product of anxieties."

I pause, feeling the tightness in my chest. I close my eyes, letting the tears spill over, feeling them trail a path down into the pillow beneath.

"But it's okay now." I take a deep, shaky breath and stare at the plain walls of his empty room.

"I have realized that everyone has a dark side, demons they are scared to face. So it is completely fine if you are scared of darkness."

A sudden need to console him takes over me and I gently squeeze his hand, offering my support.

"We are all flawed, aren't we? Our imperfections make us human. They remind us that nobody is perfect, and there is nothing to be ashamed of."

A deep sigh escapes me at the release of pent-up emotions from my locked heart and suddenly, I feel light, as if a heavy rock has been lifted from my chest.

I can't understand me. The pain that had been buried deep, spilled out in the presence of a man I thought I despised more than anyone else.

Dakota lies behind me silently, just like the room. His soft breathing gets to my head like a lullaby and just as I am about to close my eyes, I hear him speak..

"I am not normal either."

He quietly whispers, so hush as if he is talking to himself.

"I hear voices in my head." He continues, his voice so low, it's barely audible, almost lost in the silence.

( ͡❛ ͜ʖ ͡❛)

Next chapter will reveal What-the-Hell-is-Wrong-with-DAKOTA!!! 💃🕺🏻

Also, is it just me who hear voices in head. Like having one-on-one sarcastic battle in mind with dialogues 🤣

Hit👇⭐️