Sweat or Blood
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After spending over three hours in police custody and playing the part of the aloof victim, Veronica was finally released to go home while the police moved to question the doctor who had attended to her.
Her tummy growled in the cab which made her realize there was barely anything to eat at home. Now that she had her wallet and ATM card back, she could at least buy a few groceries.
Although there wasn't a lot of money in the account regardless. Her phone was wrecked, so she'd thrown it out.
"Why does my life suck so much", she sighed while unlocking her front door.
Davie came running towards her, whining and barking like he'd seen a ghost. "I missed you too, boy", she faked a smile while shutting the door behind her and Davie rushed towards her room door which was shut--unlike how she'd left it open.
He ran back and forth, barking like he'd been trying to tell her something till Veronica went toward the kitchen to grab a knife. 'Is someone in there?', her eyes narrowed at the thought as she slowly approached the door from the edge in case a bullet was shot through. 'Did Davie somehow trap the burglar in? No- he can't use the lock'. She quietly twisted the knob before quickly pushing the door open.
After waiting for a few seconds, she peeped through silently to see a suited man leaning on her work desk. He was reading one of the drafts she'd abandoned weeks ago.
"You're a writer, huh?", he queried, carefully flipping over to the next page without sparing her a glance.
Veronica gulped wondering what reason he had to visit her, was he worried about her snitching on him?
She fully stepped into the room and Davie stayed at the doorway barking at the dark-haired man. "You shouldn't break into people's homes, I could call the police".
"You could-", his dark eyes shifted to meet hers. "But you won't". His expression turned bored as he closed the book and threw it onto the table before standing upright to face her. "I'm not sure the police can kick a landlord off his property". He turned to pick up his dark leather gloves from the table and she noticed a few scars on the back of his hand.
Her eyes widened in awe then narrowed in annoyance at his sentence.
"Ohh, and the story you're writing, the hero isn't doing the right things--he has no background. Not to mention he never even realizes that he's in love with the villain's daughter".
"It's just a story", she watched him take slow steps toward her and retreated a few steps backward while Davie continued barking like he'd been too scared to attack.
After standing directly in front of her, Jason's eyes moved to the dog and grimaced with a warning glare.
Davie whined before running away.
"I've never been a fan of pets", he unapologetically turned to hold her waist, stroking her slowly. "And your injuries?".
"Tchh", she tried to slap his arm away, but the impact only hurt her wrist. "Get the fuck away from me!".
"Ohh?", her sudden outburst caught him a bit off guard and he'd only seen her scared and helpless. 'So the cat is also a tiger sometimes?'.
Ignoring her words, he moved his second hand to her skull. "And how's your head? You passed out from losing too much blood". He tilted his head in questioning.
"I...", she trailed off, feeling slightly disturbed at how close he was--his masculine cologne filling her nostrils. "I'm fine...".
He stared down at her wondering why her face was turning red. "Do you have a fever?".
"Ughh!", she shoved him away and her heartbeat quickened as his dark eyes stared down at her. 'Why the hell is he looking at me like that?'. His piercing gaze caused her face to flush in embarrassment and anger. "Don't touch me". She mumbled a bit lower than she'd planned to.
Jason watched her show different sides that he'd never seen before. "I see", he moved forward and Veronica retreated till her back was against the wall. "You must be sensitive to touch then", he leaned down to whisper in her ear, his breath brushing against the side of her ear. "What if I do this then...?", he gently nibbled on her earlobe.
Veronica, gulped as a labored sound escaped her lips and Jason pulled back to tease. "What's wrong? Your face is burning up".
She quickly flung her right hand forward, scratching his chest with the knife in her hand. It was just right after she realized what she'd done and the weapon dropped from her hand.
Jason took a step back, letting the blood stain his white. He hadn't expected her to use the knife.
"Oh my God! I-I didn't mean to, I'm sorry. I'll stop the bleeding!", she tried to close the cut with her hand. Although it wasn't that deep of an injury, she didn't want to be put in another mental facility.
"It's just a scratch", he gripped her wrist to stop her hands from getting any bloodier. If only she knew how many times his father had cut him even deeper. "You should wash your hands".
She shook her head at his bland tone. "But you're bleeding". Grabbing his wrist, she pulled him toward her bathroom. "You should wash up, I have a first aid kit. It's your fault this happened though".
He watched her run off, leaving him at the bathroom door before deciding to take his shirt off.
Veronica returned shortly to find him shirtless, but what held her gaze were the few scars that seemed to stretch to his back.
"I'll leave after you apply the ointment", he said shortly noting the sympathetic look on her face
"Just tell me what you want, my life is already a mess", her voice cracked in frustration. "I didn't tell the police about you, just like you wanted, and I'm thankful that you saved me back then - but please...", her fists clenched beside her as she stared down at the floor. "I don't want to be involved in anything dangerous".
Jason watched her pitiful act in silence although her words were barely getting to him. He walked past her before calmly pausing at the door. "Veronica Miller, was it?".
She didn't reply.
"Like it or not, you owe me. And I will collect the debt whether in blood or sweat". He meant that he'd be collecting it either through hard work or something dangerous whether she liked it or not. "So you can just sit back and wait till I give you a call. Run if you want". He ignored Davie who was barking before opening the front door to leave. "I'll find you". He slammed the door right after and Veronica plopped down to the floor with her back on the bed frame.
Davie rushed in after and she leaned down to rub his back. "Don't worry, we're not going anywhere", she assured her dog before looking toward her work table and noticing something she didn't recognize.
She got up to approach it before finding a phone with a short note on it. 'I'll contact you through this'. In her boiling rage, she picked it up, ready to smash it against the ground but paused midway.
'Think about it Veronica, you could simply sell the phone tomorrow'. She took in deep breaths before lowering the phone and ejecting the sim card. 'He thinks he can bully me, huh?', she scrolled through the phone to find the only contact available.
"Jason Timberlake".