Entangled (Entangled Trilogy #1) (13 page)

“I’ll tell you some other day,
Roza. Now, tell me what James did to you. I’m going to kill him,”
Adrian threatened, clenching his hands into tight fists while he
tightened his jaws so hard, I’m surprised his teeth didn’t begin to
fall off one at a time.

“He didn’t do anything,” I said,
looking away from him.

“He made you cry. He’s going to
pay for every single drop of tear that fell from your
eyes.”

“Please don’t kill
him.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Don’t kill
him.”

“Roza, you’ve only known him for a
short period of time and you trust him more than anyone else.
You’ve known me forever and now, you can’t trust me at all,” he
sighed, letting me go, but I stayed where I was. I felt safe around
him despite his bipolar attitudes.

“What are you talking
about?”

“Nothing. Forget I ever said
that.”

“Adrian,” I whined. Why did he
have to be so complicated? He could get it all over with by
answering my simple question, but he’d rather keep it hidden from
me and lose my trust.

“I have to go. I just wanted to
check in on you,” Adrian said, getting up from the bed, but he
paused and looked over at me.

“Roza, what is it that you see in
James and not me? Am I that bad of a guy? I don’t want to be a bad
guy to you. What is it that he has and I don’t? If you’ve ever
wanted anything from me, I had always given it to you right away. I
never delayed your desires. I didn’t know that in the end, you’ll
end up choosing him. What is it that you see in him and not me?”
Adrian asked as sadness sketched itself all over him.

What is it that you in him and not
me?
I think he meant,
why don’t you notice the person who truly loves
you?

“Adr—,” I started, but he cut me
off.

“I should get going,” he said,
clearly out of excuses. I nodded and with that, he left. With him
went my heart.
What is it that he has and
I don’t?

My face was streaked with
tears,
futile
tears that is. My whole life is pointless. No one will ever
tell me anything, ever. I am always in the shadows, why? I want to
be out of this hellhole. I want to be free. Lucifer was wrong.
James and I were a match made in hell. No matter how hard I tried
denying the fact that James and I’ll never be compatible, I knew
that wasn’t true. None of it is. James and I are somehow meant for
each other; I know we are.

CHAPTER 11

HANDS OFF

Roza,

I miss you so much! Where have you
been? Haven’t seen you in a while, don’t you think? Can’t wait to
see you when you meet me on the roof today after-school. I’ll be
waiting for you to arrive. You know what to do if I’m not there on
time. :)

-Adrian

* * * * *

I couldn’t help, but ponder upon
what Adrian wanted to talk about. He never actually wanted to talk
to me or anything and once in a blue moon invited me to the roof.
What was all this about all of a sudden? He is so bipolar. One
minute he’s doing exactly what you anticipated and the next, he
does something completely out of the blue. Archetypal Adrian. He
knows about everything that has been going on in my life now.
Hitherto, he decides to try and cheer me up. Even if he’s the only
one trying.

I sighed and decide that I want to
go to the roof, just to see what he has planned for me. When I went
to the roof, I only saw James with his back facing me.

My heart did a gazillion
cartwheels at the sight of him; not from love or affection, but
from hatred and . . . fear. I stood up straighter, pushing my chin
out a bit forward, trying to appear strong and unwavering, but my
insides were quivering with panic.

My first instinct was to turn
around and run, but instead, I took a few steps forward. For some
peculiar reason, I could feel a tingle inside me as soon as I
entered the roof. I only ever felt this way around Adrian. I could
almost feel what James is feeling right now:
Triumph.
He instantly turned around
and pinned me with a look that glued me to the place where I was
standing. I could barely move a muscle as he made his way over to
me and hugged me, his expression completely smug.

He held onto me like old times. I
desperately wanted to hug him back, my soul craving for him, but I
knew that wouldn’t help the situation. I wanted to just want to go
back to normal so badly, but I held myself back. God, how I’ve
missed his scent: sunshine and vanilla.

“So, Rosemarie, did you get my
note?” James smirked once he pulled away. No. Way. He sent me that
note with Adrian’s name on it so I would meet him. I would’ve never
agreed to come up here if I knew that he sent me that note. My eyes
widened as this realization dawned me and James’ smirk grew. I
can’t believe he did that. All my longing and desire was replaced
by resentment now.

“
You
sent me that?” I asked
incredulously.

“Yup. Ain’t I a genius?” James
asked, putting on a Southern accent as I cringed. I can’t believe
he did that to me.

“What the hell? You are not a
genius,” I said as I turned around to leave. He could think twice
about me staying here. Nuh-uh; there was no way I was going to stay
here. Just sensing his presence was asphyxiating enough. I felt as
if I couldn’t suck in air anymore. A strong pair of arms caught me,
turned me back around and pinned me against the wall now. James’
body trapped mine between him and the wall with no possible escape.
Great, I was imprisoned.

Students started coming in through
the doorway and I thought that they could maybe help me. I tried to
open my mouth to yell out for help, but James leaned in close to me
to whisper something that I was too busy flouting.
Why couldn’t the students see us? Were they just
pretending?
The students just went on with
their businesses, checking the roof, looking at the plants while
some couples were in lip-locks. They didn’t even come up for air.
What is wrong with all these people? Why were they just kissing
when they could’ve helped me get out of this place? Were they
pretending not to notice us or were they scared of
James?

“No, it’s because we’re
glamoured
,” James simply
replied as I stared at him with unreserved misperception.
Glamoured? As in . . . we were sparkling and they couldn’t look at
us because we were sparkling so much? That’s not very manly of
James.

“No, not
that
glamoured
. This is different. This is like an illusion. Angels can
conceal things from the view of others. They can make themselves
and whoever they want invisible or just make them look like
something else so others perceive them differently. I glamoured us
so that no one else can see us. I mean, we do need some privacy
right?” James smirked again, that same mischievous gleam returning
to his eyes. I merely nodded and tried to think of an escape from
him, far away from him.

What if I kick him where the sun
doesn’t shine? It works with every other guy.

“You think it is that easy to
escape from me? Now, where is your Adrian? How is he supposed to
save you now? Shouldn’t he be coming to your rescue while you
shower him with kisses and chant ‘My hero’?” James smirked.
Honestly, I hadn’t thought of that. How was I supposed to get out
now? Adrian has things to do after school and honestly, we’re just
friends so I am not going to shower him with kisses while chanting
‘My Hero’. I struggled to break free, but his hold on me was just
too tight. On top of that, James was a freakin’ fallen angel; he’s
meant to be inhumanly resilient so I wasn’t going anywhere in a
while.

“Are you scared?” James faked a
frown. “Are you afraid of the big bad wolf? Where’s your courage
now? Do I scare you?”

“No,” I spat. I hated him now. I
used to love him so much. I trusted him. Instead of loving me back,
he played with my feelings and . . . used me. I don’t know what he
used me for but he still used me. He broke my trust so there was no
way I was going to be scared of him. I hate him. Krystal was
right.

The ones that you think you can
trust are truly the ones you can’t trust, not even the slimmest
bit. Take my advice and never, ever spontaneously trust anyone who
you think you can just because they gave you ‘sweet talk.’
Everything is not what it seems. First, think about your
decision.
Krystal was definitely right. I
should’ve just listened to her. I should’ve taken Maddie’s warnings
about him. He is a jerk. He just sugar coated everything and made
everything look so . . . easy. I should’ve never given in to any of
his temptations.

“I heard that, Rosemarie! You
think I can’t read your thought. Oh, but I can,” James said in a
singsong voice. “You think you can keep your thoughts to yourself,
but you can’t. We’re bonded. I can always read you, touch you, hold
you. We’re meant to be together, Rosemarie, don’t you see?” What.
Is. He Talking. About? We’re not “bonded” and he has no right to
touch me, hold me or kiss me or do anything to me. I am my own
person.

“You feel a strong connection
towards Adrian and not me. Why is that? Did I make you unhappy? Is
it because I am from Lucifer’s side? Answer me. I know I can change
myself just for you. Give me a chance and freakin’ answer me,”
James ordered. His face inched closer to mine and it brought back
so many memories.

I remembered our first kiss on
this roof. I can’t believe that same James is standing in front of
me now. I just couldn’t believe it. I pushed down all my emotions
so I could face this devil in front of me. I don’t want him to see
how weak I am right now. I tried to bring the whole
quivering-with-fear thing down a notch.

“He’s a better person than you’ll
ever be,” I answered him slowly through gritted teeth as if I was
teaching a five-year-old about patience.

“
You
lie
. Does he make you feel the way I make
you feel every time I touch you?” James asked me. He put his hands
on my waist again, pulling my body impossibly closer to
his.

“Does he make you feel the way I
make you feel every time I compliment you?” James growled, forcing
me to look up as he tipped my chin up.

“Does he make you feel the way I
make you feel with all my kisses?” James barked as he gently kissed
my neck. He trailed kisses from my collarbone to the corner of my
mouth as I grimaced in disgust.

I couldn’t even believe the fact
that I had fallen in love with this devil. James unexpectedly
crushed his lips on mine and tried to part my lips with his as I
pounded my tiny fists on his muscular chest.

“Kiss me,” he ordered and I didn’t
obey. There was no way I was going to kiss him.

“No!” I answered.

“Oh, yeah? Well, you asked for
it,” James smirked as he ran his hands up and down my body as if I
was a trophy he’d won. Then, he put his hands on my thighs, making
me gasp from the sensation. He took that opportunity and crushed
his lips onto mine once more, his tongue snaking its way into my
mouth. I still refused to kiss him back.

He pulled away too soon, leaving
me breathless. I don’t know why, but my body and mind craved for
his kisses. I wish I appeared stronger than I am.

“
Stop. Touching. Me,” I said,
controlling my anger. I wish Adrian was here. Hell, I wish Lucifer
was here.

Where are you, Adrian? Where are
you when I need you the most?
I whimpered,
almost hoping Adrian heard my thoughts and appeared out of thin air
to save me from James.

“
Oh, yeah? What are you going to
do? I’ve waited for you for a long time now and I am not going to
give you up. You can try denying the fact that you hate me all you
want, but I know that you still have feelings for me. You still
look at me the same way you did back when we dated,” James said as
he held onto my wrists very painfully.

Unable to take the pain anymore, I
let my tears slide down my cheeks. I couldn’t keep this away from
him anymore, it’s true. I still do have feelings for him, just not
as strong as before.

“
Don’t cry, Rosemarie. I hate it
when you cry,” James said as he moved to wipe away my tears. I
flinched, trying to avoid his touch as much as possible. His eyes
had softened when he told me not to cry, but seeing me flinch away
from him brought back the same hard glint in his eyes.

“
You are such a liar,” I
said.

“
You are so beautiful.”

“
I hate you.”

“
I love you.”

“
I wish I could kill
you.”

“
And I wish I could kiss you
again. Wait, maybe I can.”