Friendly reminder that this is a horror story, and that things aren't going to be all rainbows and butterflies for Christine anytime soon. If you're looking for fluffy E/C, I'd seek elsewhere, at least for a while. Fun fact, though: in my original plan, the huge turning point was going to happen in chapter 17, but since I refuse to rush anything, it'll be a couple more chapters.

Thank you so much to all of my supportive readers & reviewers. You all keep me writing. This chapter is a little all over the place, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway. Please don't forget to leave me your thoughts.

Nothing But A Lie

Chapter 22

"What did I do wrong?" Christine whispered, stumbling a step back as he furiously towered over her.

"You were going to write her a note, weren't you?" he accused through his teeth, stalking forward. "How could you even think of doing something so stupid?"

"What? Sky, you're being ridiculous," she cried, deciding that playing dumb was her safest bet. "I wasn't doing anything wrong! W-why would I do something like that?"

"Bullshit," he growled, slamming the writing pad and pen back onto the end table, a harsh finger pointing in her face. She had the urge to bite it off, despite her fear. "You purposefully started acting all weird, and you-you were going to expose me to her! I'm not an idiot."

"I never said you were," she defended, remaining as calm as she could manage, though her words still sounded rushed and slightly panicked. "And I didn't mean to...act weird...it just happened that way. But I-I had to make it look like I was going to give her my phone number. She gave me hers and I thought it would be rude not to reciprocate. That's all, I swear!"

His stare was hard, his hands on his hips as he deliberated whether he would believe her or not.

Deciding to try a different tactic, Christine looked down at the floor, making her voice small as she sniffled and said, "I thought you were going to be happy that it went well. I tried so hard to make you proud..."

The silence that followed was deafening, but it was only a few seconds later that she heard him release a heavy, frustrated breath, and then felt his hard arms slowly wrap around her shoulders. Perhaps she was becoming a better actress than she realized. She internally sighed in relief, though hating being in his arms.

"You did make me proud," he conceded, angry fit forgotten for the most part. "I'm sorry. I guess… listening to all of that wasn't easy for me. And I assumed the worst there at the end. But I believe you, baby. Sorry I got mad."

She sniffled again for dramatic affect, pleased that she was able to quell his anger so quickly. "It wasn't easy for me either, you know," she mumbled into his chest, keeping her arms at her sides rather than returning his embrace. "There's only so much I can handle in one day, Sky. I'm not bulletproof."

He blinked, surprised. This girl proved time and time again that she was nothing like he thought she would be. She was a stubborn, persistent fighter, and though it was ridiculously inconvenient for him, it was also so hot. What the hell was he going to do with her?

He laughed a little, breathless. "You are one dangerous girl. You know that?" He pressed a hard kiss to the top of her head, inhaling deeply. God, he wanted her so bad. But, she had a point. She'd had a very long day.

"I don't know what you mean by that…"

"Yeah. Sure you don't," he scoffed, tilting her face up so he could claim her mouth with greedy force.

It was even more difficult to return his kiss with everything she'd learned that day, everything she'd been through, but she was too afraid of the consequences that would come from fighting him. She stood still, but when he grasped her hip and drew her closer, she hissed out a sharp breath of pain, tearing their lips apart.

"What?" he demanded, but he understood when he saw how she clutched at her bruised side. "Oh, the medicine must be wearing off. Wait here, I'll get you some more."

"You had a good time today, didn't you, Erik?" the Iranian pestered cheekily as he tied the full trash bag drawstrings together. "I knew you would."

Erik lifted his yellow eyes to the ceiling, snatching the trash bag from Nadir's hands and heading towards the front door. "'Good' isn't my first choice. Perhaps 'survivable' would be a more fitting word."

Nadir laughed. "You're so dramatic."

Erik had, indeed, actually enjoyed himself throughout the day, he realized as he strode outside to take the trash out. Nadir had been- well, Nadir, but Anne hadn't been so difficult to be around either; mostly quiet, but sarcastic and intelligent when she was talking. Their conversations remained light and casual for the remainder of the afternoon after her admission on her daughter's situation, and it was all a nice distraction.

He hadn't been holed up in his house all day, tortured with thoughts and daydreams of her, which is exactly what he had been trying to avoid.

Anne had stepped outside to answer a phone call about five minutes prior, and Erik passed by her on his way to the trash bin by the curb. Her hushed voice did not sound happy as she bid her caller goodbye, and she looked visibly distressed as she stalked back into the house. Curious—and slightly concerned, strangely—he followed quietly behind and paused by the doorway, figuring she'd disclose more to Nadir if Erik weren't present.

"Everything okay?" he heard Nadir question at her entrance.

"I'm afraid not," Anne muttered. "Peyton's father showed up, just as we'd feared."

Nadir gasped. "Oh, no… Are they safe?"

"Yes, I think so. Meg is pretty calm. They've had some conversations, and she's considering letting him have scheduled visits. Convinced he has changed. I tried to talk her out of it, but she assured me that it's not the worst idea. Still, I don't feel sure about it."

"Wow. I can't believe she was so easily convinced..."

"Apparently his new girlfriend had a hand in that. Meg went on and on about the young blonde girl," Anne paused to scoff humorlessly, and Erik could sense her head shaking. "Said she couldn't be over twenty. And he's thirty-five. Ugh… But Meg really liked her, even said she wanted to be friends with her. Now I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure, but it all sounds very manipulative to me."

"Yeah," Nadir agreed with a grumble. "Very strange."

"I'll talk to Meg more about it tomorrow," Anne shrugged. "There isn't much I can do, especially when her mind is made up. All I can do is hope she comes around."

"I hope so too," Nadir consoled. "And I am sure she will. She's a smart woman. Who knows? Maybe he really has changed and there's nothing more to it."

"Mm." Anne didn't sound so convinced.

The evening ended soon after. Anne smiled tiredly as she bid them goodbye and was on her way, and Nadir seemed sad their night was over. Erik might have stayed longer if he didn't need to return home to Sasha, and he half-heartedly suggested they do something tomorrow to lift the old man's spirits back up. It seemed to work, and Nadir seemed cheerful as ever again by the time Erik left.

His mind was spinning with ridiculous thoughts as he drove home. He could not help but picture Christine at Anne's description earlier, as she had basically described her to a T: young, blonde, dating someone significantly older than her… plus, wasn't she supposed to be meeting his parents this weekend? And Anne's daughter was at her daughter's grandparent's home…

And then he had a thought that brought a frighteningly strong impulse to protect and save that he hadn't known existed in him: could Christine be with the abusive man Anne's daughter had once been with? Erik remembered the sight of the man, how his age and ordinariness were nothing how he had pictured Christine's mate to be, and the negative feeling he had gotten towards the stranger. Had it been an appropriate instinct?

Was the angel in danger? Or was he just being a crazy, jealous, overprotective man who assumed the worst because of the desperate and hopeless way he loved her?

The latter seemed more likely. Christine and that man probably had nothing whatsoever to do with Anne and her daughter. There was no way. The world could not be that small, surely. He was just inserting Christine into everything because he was obsessed with her.

Gods, he was pathetic. And he would still go home and plan some pathetically romantic gesture for her that would likely change nothing except make him suffer more.

But he would do it for her. He would do anything for her. And he had to at least try.

Still… he knew in the back of his unstable mind that he would be watching her more closely than usual, just in case.

The next day had its ups and downs for Sky.

On the one hand, he got to be close with and spend time with his daughter, Christine continued to behave around his family and Meg, and Meg altogether—albeit reluctantly—decided that she would let him see Peyton again soon. They would start small with afternoons getting lunch or going to the playground, but still, it was plenty for him. Things had gone his way, despite a few little cracks in his plan, and he was more than content.

But on the other hand, there were a few negatives he had to deal with as well. His family mostly sucked and weren't pleasant to be around, he was horny as shit and couldn't do much about it (he knew just how well that attempt would go with Christine at the moment), and he felt guilty as hell for the way he had treated her.

And that pissed him off.

She was the one who had acted out knowing there would be consequences. She was the one who had forced him to beat her into acting right. He hadn't been able to stop himself, and it honestly scared him a little. What if she did something that made him lose it again, and he did something he could never take back?

He hated that he had resorted to violence on Saturday, even though it did end up making her behave the way she was supposed to. But now, something had changed in her, and he couldn't quite tell if it was because of him or because of what Meg had told her, or if it were a combination of both. He could feel it in the way she spoke to him, looked at him, in the way she responded when he touched her and held her and kissed her…

Christine despised him. Of course, Sky wasn't that deluded into thinking she had been his number one fan all along; she had always been afraid of him, but now that fear was combined with an unmistakable hatred that she couldn't hide no matter how hard she tried. Now, her lips were always still when he kissed her, her body was stone when he touched her—no matter how casually—and her words were hard when she spoke to him. It both infuriated him and broke his heart.

They had been making progress before, and now they had taken ten steps backward. Sky didn't know how he could get them back to the place they were in. His first instincts were always to punish, punish, punish, but he knew deep down that that would only bring fake results.

Truth be told, he didn't just want her compliance. He wanted her love, no matter how much he had to manipulate her into getting it. And he had to think of a way to change the way she saw him.

It was Sunday afternoon, and Meg and Peyton had left earlier that day with an agreement on a future meeting. Christine was his full focus now, though the rest of his damned family wouldn't head home until Monday afternoon. He really didn't see the point in sticking around since Peyton was gone, unless…

A risky little plan had slowly formed in Sky's mind throughout the day. It would be a long shot, but it would be something, and he would take anything he could get at this point. If he could somehow show Christine that there were worse things that could happen to her than him, things that he could protect her from… then maybe she wouldn't be so reluctant to be with him.

Maybe his family wouldn't be completely useless to him if they stayed one more night.

"Hey baby, I think I left my laptop in the living room of the main house. Could you go grab it for me?"

She stared at him from where she lied, stunned. Christine had been approaching the sweet promise of sleep, was completely dressed down for bed, and cuddled up under the luxurious covers. She would have immediately felt annoyed if his request wasn't so out of the blue and… strange.

"Um…what?"

His tone became slightly impatient. "I have some work I need to finish up and I need my computer. Go get it."

They stared at each other for a moment, Sky expectant and Christine confused and slowly turning annoyed.

"But… Sky, I'm in my nightgown..."

Exactly, he thought. "Do not argue with me," he warned. "Just go get it. I doubt any of them are still up, but I just don't want to risk running into them, okay? I have had enough of them for one day."

She could understand his point. Besides Denise, Sky's family really wasn't the easiest to be around. The kids were loud and obnoxious, the twins were rude and full of themselves, their husbands were always trailing Sky's father like dogs seeking approval, and Ben himself was… ugh. She shuddered just thinking about the way he looked at her- like she was some expensive item he wanted to buy, or the way he always had to touch her shoulder or waist or lower back whenever he passed by or stood close.

She could definitely see where Sky got his creepy side.

"Any day now," Sky snapped, breaking her from her thoughts and making her roll her eyes.

"Can't at least change?"

"God damn it, Christine, just go already!" he thundered.

"Okay, okay. Jeez."

She rose from the bed and tried to slip past him, but he reached out and grasped her cheeks with one hand, holding her there.

"Attitude, Christine," he growled, ignoring her whimper of pain and squeezing her face hard. "I am sick of it. Do not test me further."

"Sorry," she tried to cry, but it came out distorted from his grip around her mouth. When he let go of her—or rather cruelly yanked her away from him—she shakily slipped on her sandals and rushed out the door, rubbing her sore face and holding back the tears that wanted to come.

She could tell he had been frustrated with her attitude all day, and she should have known it would build and build until he exploded. But she couldn't help herself. She couldn't bear playing his sweet, obedient little slave anymore, especially after this weekend. She didn't know how, and quite frankly, she was done with making things easy for him.

Her conversation with Meg had really changed her mindset, and Christine had subconsciously decided to only give Sky the bare minimum of what he asked for only when she had to, knowing that it could lead to pain and punishment. It didn't matter anymore; she was more determined than ever to figure out some way out of all of this as soon as possible. She had to. As soon as she got back to school, she would think of something. She would find a way.

The house was dark when she came in through the front door, but she could hear voices coming from the den; loud, manly, voices that boomed with laughter. She tiptoed past them to the living room and searched for the laptop. It wasn't on the coffee table or end tables where she could see, and she searched under decorative pillows on each sofa and chair to no avail. Sighing in frustration, she got on her knees to look underneath the furniture, which was pretty much pointless since it was so dark. She searched blindly with her hands, producing nothing. Maybe Sky had left it in the dining room instead?

Right when she was about to go check, the living room light flicked on, and she rose to her feet with a gasp. She whirled to find a bemused and attractive Robbie at the light switch, a glass of golden liquid in his hand.

"Kristen, right?" he asked in his deep-bass voice with a smirk, cocking one brow upward. Bloodshot green eyes raked over her scantily clad form, and she crossed her arms over her chest quickly. "Why you crawling on the floor in the dark?"

"I…" she stammered breathlessly, her cheeks flaring. "S-sorry. Sky needs his computer. I couldn't f-find it. And… it's Christine."

"Oh, Christine, right," he nodded slowly and ran his free hand over his beard, movements lazy and relaxed. "You know what, I think I saw it in the office earlier. Follow me."

He waved her on with his hand, and she deliberated as he walked away, unsure whether she should follow. At least it wasn't Ben… and the sooner she got the laptop the sooner she could get out of there. Besides, it wasn't as if anything bad could happen to her here, in a house full of people. Witnesses. So she settled for staying as far back as possible and followed Robbie slowly, watching cautiously as he entered the office at the end of the long, dark hallway.

"It's in here," she heard him call. When she stayed put, she heard his deep chuckle and then, "Come on and get it. I'm not gonna bite you."

Maybe she was being ridiculous. Not all men were like Sky, right? And he was married and his wife was around here somewhere… Still, she was wary as she approached the huge, dim home office and paused at the doorway, making sure there was no one else in the room besides him. He was alone, standing at the glossy mahogany desk, pouring himself more of that gold drink from a fancy glass bottle. He wasn't holding the computer, and she prepared to run away if she had to, staying on edge.

"Where is it? I don't see it," Christine demanded, trying to sound brave, but her voice trembled.

Robbie looked amused at that, and he pointed to a spot on the desk right next to him, and she felt very silly for not seeing the laptop lying there in plain sight. "Why are you so scared, little girl?" he scoffed. "You should be thanking me, not acting like I'm gonna hurt you or something."

In the back of her mind, she knew getting offended by his drunken half-insults was pointless and stupid, but her stubbornness wouldn't allow her to back down. "Excuse me?" she gasped, clenching her fists at her sides. "I am not a 'little girl'."

His eyes swept her form again, darkening. "No, I guess you're not."

Grab the laptop and run, idiot, her mind told her, but she couldn't bring herself closer to Robbie. Especially not while he looked at her that way.

He took a swig of his drink, furrowing his brows together as if confused. "Okay, so I just have to know. How much is Sky paying you?"

She blinked. "What?"

He held his free hand up in a placating gesture. "Hey, I'm not saying that you should be ashamed about it. You gotta do what you gotta do to get through college when you're poor. I get it."

Her mouth hung open in shock, but no words came.

Robbie went on, some of his words slurring when they came out. "Me and the other guys were talking and we just… don't see how that guy could ever get someone like you without some sort of arrangement. I mean, look at you. You're cute as a baby kitten. And him?" He stopped to laugh a little, setting his glass down on the desk and reaching into the back pocket of his navy slacks.

"Are you-" Christine choked out, aghast, "You think Sky is paying me to… be his girlfriend?" Like some sort of… prostitute? Her face was on fire in rage and embarrassment. God, she should have known it would look that way to these people.

Robbie produced his wallet. "Seriously, how much for an hour? I'll triple it if I have to. And, come on, don't pretend you're not interested in all of this," he gestured to himself cockily, "over your guy."

Christine rolled her eyes, and she might have laughed if she weren't so appalled. Were all men so… awful?

Erik wasn't.

She'd missed him terribly throughout the entire weekend, and wished more than anything she could be in his calming presence. Just two more days, she reminded herself. She would have a voice lesson with him the day after tomorrow, and she would feel safe for that one, fleeting hour.

But for now, she was on her own, and she had to decide which was worse: dealing with a drunken, offensive Robbie, or dealing with an angry Sky for not getting what he'd asked for… but wouldn't Sky understand if she told him what happened?

HAH. Sky, understand? He was so unpredictable, his reactions always surprising her. And she had to consider the fact that he was already mat at her, and he warned her not to test him again… she shuddered to imagine what he would do if she made him even more mad.

So she supposed she would have to deal with Robbie, then.

"Well, I'm not being paid, for your information," Christine said as he continued to rummage through his wallet, swaying on his feet slightly. "And I do not appreciate the assumption. I also don't appreciate being propositioned by a married man. And your wife is here, might I remind you."

"My wife is fucking our nineteen-year-old neighbor," he replied, unfazed, barely looking up at her as he produced a handful of bills. "Our nineteen-year-old girl neighbor."

Christine blinked.

"Look, Kristen—oh, Christine, sorry—I couldn't care less whether Sky pays you or not. I will give you…" he paused to count, and it took him a few tries in his alcohol induced state. "I'll give you three hundred dollars to put out. That's how much I need it, princess. I'll even go fast if you want."

"Ugh," she groaned, muttering to herself, "I give up."

Christine turned to leave, uncaring what she might have to face with Sky, but almost collided with someone in the doorway. There was no telling how long he had been standing there, silent and still as stone as he was, and her heart stuttered and seemed to stop altogether for a moment.

Ben stepped forward, causing her to stumble a step back into the office, and she watched in mute horror as he shut the door behind them, blocking her only exit with his body.

"I know you're not leaving before the fun even begins," he insisted darkly, and Christine knew in that moment that she had been very stupid to assume nothing bad could happen to her here.