Note: This resumes the plot once more, completely unrelated to the Interlude.

Chapter Four

Ben had returned home the next day. He and mom were at the police station. Violet went with them, but I had opted to stay inside with Tate.

I was studying and telling him random tidbits of information about the chapter. He was sitting beside me with a ball in his hands, bouncing it against the opposite wall. Several times, he tried to convince me to take a break, but I was determined to get the section done before everyone came home.

Tate sighed and bounced the ball one last time before snatching away my laptop.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "Give it back! I'm losing my place in the audio!" He paused the video and shook his head, moving the laptop away from my reach. I began to reach forward. My body was completely pressed against his. From the corner of my eyes, I could see how close his lips were to mine.

He put the laptop down. "Madi..."

Just as our lips were about to touch, there was a noise downstairs that made me jump. There shouldn't be anyone else in the house.

"Stay here," he told me, but I shook my head and clung on to him. I didn't want to wait around helpless like I did last time. "I'll be walking first then."

I nodded.

I stayed close behind him as we quietly made our ways downstairs. We peeked into the kitchen and I saw a feminine figure standing by the counter looking at our cutlery.

When Tate made no motion to signal that she was a threat nor did he demand for the intruder to leave, I decided to take matters into my own hands. "Who are you?" I asked the woman once I stepped out from behind Tate.

"Hello." Her voice had a Southern drawl to it. "I'm Constance - your neighbour."

"What are you doing here?" I demanded. I didn't like how she was able to get into our house. I had made sure that the doors were locked. Unfortunately, the security system that we were going to install wasn't ready, yet, but I'd be absolutely ecstatic when it is.

"Oh, you know," she said, in a dismissive tone.

I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes at her. "No, I don't. Please, explain."

"I want to speak with my son," she sneered once she realised that I wasn't going to bend to her will.

Tate went rigid from behind me. "Go away," he growled. "I don't want to speak with you and you're not welcome here."

My eyes widened with shock. This was his mother? No wonder he hated her so much.

"And you think you're welcome?" his mother taunted him. "Aren't you labelled as... what was it? A psychopath? I don't think her father would want someone like you to date his daughter and I don't think you're good enough for my son. What are you - a dropout?"

I clenched my hands. "He doesn't want to speak with you and neither do I. Please, leave. You're trespassing on private property."

"I used to live here, you know," she went on as if she hadn't heard me. "If you'll just leave - "

"No!" I gritted my teeth. How was it possible for someone so infuriating to still be alive? "This is my home. I don't care what you did before, but you're not going to be ordering me around as if you still owned this place because you don't, so get out before I call the cops.

There was a moment of silence before she stormed off.

I sighed, leaning against Tate. "Your mom sure is a piece of work."

"Yeah..." he mumbled into my hair.

We returned to my room and I tried to continue studying, but I couldn't stop thinking about our almost-kiss. This was twice, now. When was it actually going to happen?!

Instead of lingering on anything that had just happened, I found some songs and videos on my laptop to share with Tate. I couldn't enjoy the graphics, but it was like an audio book - enjoyable, nonetheless.

When my family was finally home, we had just finished one of my favourite musicals.

"Why would you choose the deformed murderer instead of the pretty boy vicomte?" Tate asked me, curiosity and fascination oozing from his voice.

I closed my laptop. "Why not?"

"He murdered all those people! Isn't that reason enough?" Tate sounded genuinely confused and even frustrated with my flippant dismissal of the crimes. His hands were gripping his hair and he was starting to scare me.

I tried to calm him down. "I know he did, but he had his reasons and he was there for her when she needed someone most. I believe in treating a person how he has been treating me. Sure, the past matters, but I don't want to judge someone by that," I softly explained to him. "I wouldn't say that he was a good person because I know he wasn't. He did murder all those people, but... he just wanted love and... I know the feeling of loneliness..."

There was a moment of silence between us before he enveloped me into a hug. "I was lonely, too, but... Not anymore. I have you, now, and... Am I enough?"

I smiled at him. "Yeah... Yeah, you are."

"I should go," he mumbled when mom's voice called me down for dinner.

As he was heading towards the window, I quickly followed him. "Did I offend you? When I said that I preferred the phantom?"

He shook his head. "No, I... I would've preferred if she had chosen him, too. I just wanted to know why you would choose the same."

I accepted his explanation, but I knew there had to be more to it. "Wait, are you going to come back after dinner?"

There was a pause and I was afraid that he wasn't going to return, but half way down the tree, he replied, "Yeah."

...

"Madi, we moved your appointment with Dr. Henderson to tomorrow," mom informed me after we finished dinner. "It's at eleven in the morning. Don't stay up too late, alright?"

I nodded. It was going to be my first session with the doctor. Was he going to be like Dr. White? I was kind of nervous.

"Do you want to watch TV together?" mom blurted out after a moment of silence. "You've been up in your room alone a lot and... I thought maybe we can spend some mother-daughter time together."

I was actually just looking forward to another relaxing evening with Tate, but I didn't want her to get suspicious. "How about tomorrow night?" I suggested. "I have a lot to sort out and I'm really nervous about tomorrow. I'll probably go to bed early."

She was disappointed, but nodded nonetheless.

"Don't worry, mom," I tried to reassure her. "I'm always alright. I'm the queen of alright, but please don't call me that." I grinned and this seemed to reassure her, so I took the opportunity to disappear.

Tate was already waiting for me.

I smiled and climbed into bed. "Mom wants me to spend the evening with her tomorrow, so I probably won't be here until later."

He shrugged. "I'll come later then or I can just stay in your room."

I laughed. "Honestly, Tate. You might as well live here with how much time you spend in my room."

"As long as you're here," he mumbled. "But I don't think your dad likes me much."

I scoffed. "I really don't care about what he thinks." I shoved the laptop towards me and stretch out on my bed. "I have a session with Henderson tomorrow. I don't want to go."

"What are those sessions supposed to do?"

I began to explain about how the institution thinks that they had some new concept that would change how we viewed the world. It sounded far-fetched to both he and I, but everything was free and I also got quite a few perks with it - the laptop, for example.

What made me especially reluctant to go see Dr. Henderson was the fact that being alone with him gave me an odd, dreading feeling. He appeared friendly enough, but I just couldn't get rid of the unease that I had whenever he was around.

"How have yours been with Ben?" I asked him, taking the spotlight off of me.

He shrugged. "He thinks I'm a psychopath. I haven't been taking the pills and he asked me why." He paused. "I told him I was afraid that my dick wouldn't work."

I burst out laughing and quickly tried to stifle it, afraid that we would be caught. "Did you really say that to him?"

"Yeah," he laughed. "He didn't seem impressed.

I grinned at him. "And is there a reason why you're afraid that your dick wouldn't work? Maybe there's someone that you are trying to impress?"

"Maybe." He moved closer towards me.

Just as we were about to kiss, he jumped off the bed and hurried towards the door, leaving me confused and disappointed. When he returned, I gave him a confused look.

"We've been interrupted enough," he breathed against my lips.

I shuddered. "Tate..."

Without warning, he crashed his lips on to mine. They felt cold like the rest of him, but as he moved against me, I could feel his passion burning through my entire body.

When we broke away, I knew that my face must've been flushed red. "I-I'm sorry. I've never done this before," I breathed out.

His fingers raked through my hair. "Sh... You were great. I've wanted to do that for a while now."

I swallowed. "Me, too."

"Want to do it, again?"

That night, instead of laying down side by side, I was pressed close against his chest. I was far too comfortable being in his arms. If I were to die, now, I'd die happy. Tate... Tate made me happy. He made me feel complete.

...

"Madison, please have a seat." I made my way to the plush couch and looked warily at him. "May I call you Madi?"

I nodded.

"I hope you're doing better," he said on his wheelie chair. "Since this is only our first session together, let's just start off with introductions and anything that you want to talk about; anything that's on your mind."

"I don't really have anything to say." I laid down and closed my eyes. This was a really comfortable couch.

"Dr. White told me that you've been taking college-level courses online." There was a sound of shuffling papers. "That's very impressive for a sixteen year old. What are you learning?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Why not?"

I frowned at his persistence. "Because it's not going to lead anywhere. Nothing is waiting for me. I have no future." But as long as I was with Tate, I wouldn't mind. The question was, would he be tired of a blind girl like me?

"Madi, of course you have a future. There are many successful people who are blind - Joseph Pulitzer, Helen Keller, Andrea Bocelli... There is such a wide range of things that you can do." I shook my head. I didn't have any goals or dreams like them. "Perhaps you'll even be a pioneer of something even more spectacular."

I frown ed. There was a sort of excitement in his voice that I didn't understand.

"Has your vision been improving?"

I opened my eyes and looked towards him. "What do you mean? Is my vision supposed to change? I can be better?"

He wheeled his chair closer to me. "Of course. This is why you're here."

"I thought I was here for my psychological state." If that wasn't it, then what was it?

"Our therapeutic centre is different. We try to help our patients regain their vision." He crossed his legs. "So, has your vision been better?"

I bit my lips. There had only been two instances where I thought that I was dreaming wide awake. Both of them happened when the rubber man was present. Why?

"Madi?" He snapped me out of my thoughts.

I briefly debated whether to tell him or not. How was I going to explain about the situation? "I've seen some colour, but it was very brief. This... This man also stood out. I was able to actually see him - every detail in his eyes and outfit. I thought it was a dream or just my imagination, but the second time we met, it was the same."

Dr. Henderson patted my hand. "That's good. It means that you're getting better."

"Will it happen with other people, too? Will I be able to see them properly?" In my excitement, I had forgotten the motion that the doctor may have a hidden agenda.

"Yes, that is our goal," he told me. "Tell me if you see anymore improvements. We'll adjust your medication accordingly."

After my visit with the doctor, I was taken out to eat with my parents. Violet was actually at school today, so she was absent. She probably wouldn't have enjoyed this, anyway.

Both my mom and Ben took this opportunity to grill me on what happened during my session. I knew that they must've had a reason for going out to eat, especially together, but then again... What did I do? Mom was knocked up with his baby.

I told them that it was good and that we just talked about my life in LA. I skipped over how my vision may actually be returning. I didn't want to give them false hope, especially when the family situation was so fragile.

They also wanted me to go to other places because of how often I was stuck in my room. During the entire ordeal, all I could think about was meeting Tate in my room. Unfortunately, as we returned home, mom made sure that I wasn't going to go back on my word. And so, for the next three hours, I listened to the mindless chatter of a sitcom. I had no idea what was going on and the constant laughter from the live studio audience irked me. Mom, however, seemed to enjoy it, so I appeased her by enduring it.

I didn't know when, but at one point. I fell asleep with my head resting on the arm of the couch. Neither of my parents brought me to my room, so when I felt a hand trail down the side of my body, I thought it was Tate. When I tried to turn to him, however, I fell off the couch. This immediately woke me up and I groaned in pain.

I blinked my eyes to rid myself of any lingering grogginess. When I saw colour, dread filled me. There was only one person that made me react this way - the rubber man.

His black suited legs were right in front of me. "No - " His hand clasped around my mouth, muffling the cry. I knew that in the moment of dire, I had promised him anything, but seeing him now, I was frightened and confused. I didn't understand why it was only him who I can see clearly; I didn't understand who he was nor why he was doing this; and I didn't understand why I wasn't struggling more.

He began to drag me towards the basement - the one place Tate told me to never go. When he opened the door, it was pitch black and he didn't bother to turn on the lights. Instead of having my body thump painfully down the steps, he had the decency to sling me over his shoulder. I watched as the door closed by itself. How? There wasn't an iota of draft in here.

When he stopped, he placed me down on to the cold concrete floor. I stared fearfully up at him. He stood motionlessly as I waited for him to do something. "Who are you?" I knew that I wasn't going to get a reply, but I was hoping to get lucky, one day.

He crouched down and stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. I cringed back and whimpered. His hand trailed down my neck and down the side of my breasts where he lingered before stopping at the hem of my shirt. "Why?"

Instead of stopping at the shirt, however, he slipped his hand up my skirt and rubbed the cotton fabric of my panties. I tried to squeeze my legs shut, but he nudged them back open and knelt between them.

"Stop," I panted. The familiar feeling of hot liquid pleasure was pooling between my legs. I didn't have to look down to know that my panties were completely soaked. Why was my body responding this way? The only person I wanted was Tate! Tate! Tate! Tate!

The rubber man retracted his hand before tearing my panties off. The soft material ripped as easily as paper. My skirt flew off after and I was left completely defenseless in front of him.

He unzipped the area around his crotch and his cock bounced out. He was hovering over me with one hand on himself, stroking it absentmindedly as he looked at me. I swallowed hard and braced myself as he began too guide himself to my nether lips, sliding along the slit. He began to rub against my slit, causing my hip to instinctively buck. I gritted my teeth to keep myself from crying out. I shouldn't give in. I'd be betraying Tate.

The rubber man entered me in one smooth thrust. The feel of him inside me nearly brought me to the edge. I couldn't stop the moans and sighs as he began to trust in and out.

Not long after, I clenched my eyes shut and came, but he continued to move inside me. In my mind, I imagined someone else inside me, instead, and when I came a second time, I screamed, "TATE!"

I heard grunts emitting from him. This was the first time I had heard him utter any sound, at all, but I couldn't focus long enough to identify it as I rode out the rest of my orgasm. Several more thrusts and he held still inside me as he came. I shuddered. What if I became pregnant? What if Tate found out? I didn't want him to leave me. What if... What if...?

I passed out.

...

Tate groaned and laid on top of her briefly before moving away. He unzipped the mask and pulled it off. Worry filled him. She had cried out his name. Did she know that it was him? He grabbed his hair and began to bang his head against the wall. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.

Once his fit was over, he stared at her body. It would look suspicious if he moved her body, but it would also look suspicious if he didn't. He also didn't have the heart to leave her slumped against the cold wall. He took off the rubber suit.

When he placed her on the bed, he contemplated leaving so that it seemed as if he was never there in the first place. He stood at the side of the bed for at least half an hour before slipping in with her. He couldn't stay away. He was addicted.

Subconsciously, her body rolled towards him and he was now faced with the problem of one naked leg hooked around his hip. He swallowed hard. The pants were already growing extremely uncomfortable. Dying had made him absolutely insatiable.

Taking several deep breaths and imagining his cock sucking mother and the cheating bastard, the erection died enough for him to keep himself from raping her once more.

For the rest of the night, he went over what he was going to say to her over and over and over again.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

For anyone who was uncomfortable with the Interlude, I'm sorry. I've added a trigger warning in the summary.

On the other hand… Happy new year, everyone. I hope your future days will be merry and bright.

Thank you Emmettluver2010, bittersweet S, and guest (Laurel) for reviewing.

Emmettluver2010: The chapter was an unrelated segment that I've inserted because I needed to vent. I apologise if that was confusing. Madi is still alive.

Laurel: Thank you for your supporting words. I do feel a little better right now. Madi's alive again, like a phoenix! No, the other chapter was just a little unrelated segment. I'm sorry if that was confusing.

bittersweet S: It just hits me pretty bad every once in a while, but lately it's been lingering and writing's definitely something that keeps me going. Thank you so much for reviewing.

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story. It means a lot to me.

I'd love to continue hearing from all of you.

Happy holidays to everyone.

Stay safe.