Teen Ink

Matchmaker's Mansion: Ch. 26

A slice of light punctured the darkness. The soft moan of an opening door expanded the band of light, raising the darkness of the room to a dim gray. A footstep awakened a faint glow of light that illuminated the room just enough for her to make out the shapes in the room.

Asha shut the door softly behind her and hugged her arms, warding off the chill of the room. They could’ve at least made the room warm if they were going to force her to be scantily clad.

Sheer drapes fell from the ceiling, filling the room with silently wafting fabric. Her hands pushed the drapes away as they hugged her body like soft seaweed tangling about her. As she looked through a waterfall of fabrics that misted her vision, her eyes grasped the outline of a large mass.

She walked towards it, drifting through the drapes, until her gaze fell on a bed. A plush white cover was decorated with rose petals. She quirked her head to the side, looked down at her outfit, and then eyed the bed. The pieces were coming together, and so far the picture wasn’t looking too good.

She pressed a hand on the bed, the bed giving way to leave her hand print. Her mouth quirked in a wry smile and she sprang onto the bed, the rose petals jumping into the air and settling on her like feather kisses.

The sound of a door opening was like an electric shock, turning her veins to ice.
*******

Shay rubbed at his black hair with a towel, stopping the drips before they fell on his bare shoulders. He didn’t notice the figure sitting on his bed until he was almost there, the ceiling lamp above the bed casting a golden glow around her feminine curves.

With an arm he pulled the drapes aside, his eyes dropping to meet Asha’s. Her eyes grew wide with shock, her mouth falling open. Shay followed her eyes down his body, finally realizing that he was only in his boxers.

He took a step forward, putting his arms out like he was about to explain, when she screamed. A scream that seemed to shake the drapes as they rippled. He advanced towards her, pumping his hands up and down like he could possibly hush her if he did it enough. But her eyes just grew wider, and that’s when she ran.

Tears streaming down her face, she bolted away from the bed, tangling herself in the drapes. As he ran after her, he heard her tear-laced cries.

“Please don’t make me do it…don’t make me do it…”

“Asha!”

“I don’t want to do it this way…please don’t force me…go away!”

He found her in a corner, wrapped in the darkest colored drapes, a crimson red. Because she was wrapped up so tightly, he could see every shape of her figure pronounced clearly. He reached out and touched his fingertips to her shoulder. She flinched.

“Asha?”

Her sobbing increased. “Please don’t make me…I’m not ready…not ready for this.”

“I’m not making you do anything…what are you talking about?”

“You’re just l-like h-him…I should..should’ve known. You just w-want me for m-m-my body.”

Shay didn’t know what to say. He thought back, trying to remember if he had implied any kind of lust towards her. No. He hadn’t. But that guy had- the guy in the baseball cap that had been pulling her away, saying something about her needing to keep her promise.

“Asha…I’m not going to treat you like your ex-boyfriend did…I promise,” Shay’s voice faded. He realized that nothing he said could change her mind.

He left her in the drapes, like a cocooned butterfly that he was tempted to unwrap, and strode back to the bed. Grabbing fistfuls of downy comforter, he yanked it off the bed, rose petals springing into the air.

Her sobs ceased when he gently placed the comforter around her drape-wrapped shoulders. He hugged her tight, the comforter a layer of safety between their bodies. Slowly, he felt her melt into the warmth of the comforter and his arms holding it close around her.

“Do you want to come out now?” Shay whispered, his breath rippling the drape that obstructed his view of her face.

He saw a tiny nod through the fabric, and with his help she slipped out of the drape with the comforter drawn close around her. His guiding arm helped her shaken self back to the bed where she nearly collapsed.

Her feet stuck out of the bottom of the comforter, and he felt the urge to reach out and trace the curve of her heel. Instead, he tucked the comforter down over them, patting it gently.

“Shay? Are you still there?” her voice was muffled.

He knelt down by the edge of the bed where he could see a small piece of her face in the mounds of down. Her brown eyes still sparkled with tears.

“I’m right here,” he said.

A small hand emerged from the comforter to rest on his bare chest.

“You’re a real man, Shay,” she said, her hand warming the place above his heart. He wondered if she could feel the Deum throbbing within him beside his heart.

“Thank you for…not being a…” she couldn’t finish.

“Did he hurt you?” Shay said, iron in his voice.

Her hand started to withdraw back into the folds, but he grabbed it. “Did he hurt you?” he pronounced every word.

“Yes,” she paused, breathing in sharply. “In more than one way.”

Shay’s grip loosened on her hand as he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

He saw half of her teary smile. Gingerly, he pushed the blanket away from her face. Her eyelids fluttered closed as he smoothed the tangles of hair that had fallen into her eyes.

“Shay?”

“Hmm?”

“Please hold me.”

The bed sank beneath him as he lay down beside her, and she turned her cocooned body into his open arms. The night was spent with occasional sobs from Asha and gentle hushes from Shay, his chin resting on her head as he smoothed her hair.