Uncovered - Volume 1 Chapter 25

[Terri’s POV]

My eyes were wide and lips parted slightly as I continued staring at the man in front of me. I had never expected to find a person such as Jace like this. I was shocked. He always seemed to be a collected man, but right now the image of him had disappeared from my head because a few feet away from me stood a completely different Jace. One with some serious anger issues.

He was in the corner of the studio near a punching bag, which I didn’t remember seeing the last time I was here, as he repentantly punched it violently. He wasn’t wearing gloves, he had just wrapped the cloth around his knuckles and the sound his fist made every time it collided with the bag sounded really painful. He didn’t seem to care though. I couldn’t really see his face because it was dark in the room, only the fireplace providing some light, but even in the dim light, I could clearly see that he was shirtless.

I took some steps closer without tearing my eyes away from him so that I had a better look at him. His torso glowed as sweat covered it, his long curly hair was wet and stuck on his forehead and I could see his muscles tense every time he punched the bag with strength. He was mesmerizing, but what caught my attention the most wasn’t his well-defined body. It was the fact that black ink covered most parts of it. He has practically covered in tattoos something that again I didn’t expect. Both arms were completely covered with small and bog tattoos and so was his torso from what I could make out. He even had a small one on the bottom of his back, which looked like a sentence, but I couldn’t see it very well. I was so focused on observing his tattoos that I didn’t notice when he stopped.

“What are you doing here?” Jace asked, his voice deep and filled with anger that it scared me. I shook my head, moving my eyes away from his body and looked at his face to see that he wasn’t looking back at me. Instead, his eyes were glued on the floor as he unwrapped the cloth from his hands.

“I-I”, I stammered.

” I think I told you not to get out of your room unless I told you so”, He stated, finally turning his head to look at me.

His dark green eyes met with my blue one and I regretted immediately my decision to disobey him. I should have definitely stayed in my room. The intensity in his eyes and the frown on his face told me he wasn’t happy with it… not a bit. He looked like he was going to attack me any second and that was intimidating.

For a strange reason, even though, I feared the man in front of me I was still standing in my place. I couldn’t move, even though, I really wanted to get out of the room.

“Yes, but”, I started to say in an attempt to explain myself, but he interrupted me once again.

” But you didn’t listen to me”, He said walking past me and approaching the coffee table behind me. I turned around to look at him but didn’t dare to speak.

He took his black sweater that was lying on the floor and pulled it over his head and covered his torso along with his tattoos. It was then that I realized that he had been hiding his tattoos this whole time. He always wore long-sleeved shirts or dark clothes so that no one could see that black ink on his body underneath them. Agnes must know about them.

He ran a hand through his hair, pushing them away from his face and then turned his back to me. I watched as he served himself a glass of whiskey without bothering to talk to me and I was starting to feel confused. Minutes ago he was angry and now he didn’t even acknowledge me. His hand slipped in his back pocket and he took out a packet of cigarettes before placing one between his plump lips and lighting it up. He closed his eyes inhaling deeply and letting the smoke flow down into his lungs.

“Actually the reason I came was that you had told me to. For that painting of yours”, I said in a low voice. His eyes opened and he looked at me, taking the cigarette between his finger. His expression hardened again.

” If I wanted you to come I would have told you so. I didn’t yet, here you are without my permission”, He said raising his voice. What was his problem?

“Why are you acting like this?” I asked him with a frown on my face. He took a sip from his drink and then placed it back down on the table along with the cigarette. He started walking towards me and when he was just a few inches away stopped. The smell of sweat alcohol and smoke immediately filled my nostrils and I closed my eyes briefly.

“And how exactly I am acting?”He asked with a small smirk on his face. I gulped.

Don’t say anything stupid, Teresa. I reminded myself clenching my fist.

” Y-You are constantly angry and so controlling. I agreed to this, but I won’t do everything you say. A-and-“, My voice trembling at this point and I didn’t miss the amus.e.m.e.nt of his face. He lowered his head so that his face was on the same level as mine.

“Do I scare you, darling?” He asked me and I wanted to scream yes but decided against it. Instead, I took a breath, calming myself down and opened my mouth to speak.

“You are an intimidating man, Mr. Alaric”, I replied and he nodded his head all amus.e.m.e.nt vanishing from his eyes as he stood straight again.

” I see”.

“Why were you so angry When you saw Alexander?” I asked him quickly, changing the subject, but it looks like it wasn’t the best way to do it.

“That’s none of your business!” He snapped at me angrily, making me jump in surprise. He moved back, taking the glass filled with whiskey and drinking it all at once. I didn’t stop myself from speaking again, I needed answers. This mystery was killing me.

“You almost killed him!” I continued and his gaze turned back to me. His face was stern and his nostrils were flaring. He took the bottle in his hand and poured it all in the glass before drinking it all again like it was water, without blinking once. He was trying to avoid my question, but I wasn’t going to give up.

“I am talking to you, Jace”, I said, raising my voice. He closed his eyes and the glass he was holding shattered in small pieces in his hands as he applied pressure to it. Soon the empty bottle followed, he threw it with force on the floor causing small pieces of glass to cover the carpet. I gasped in surprise and covered my face with my hands, taking a step back as they flew everywhere.

” You”, Jace said, approaching me. One of his hands pushed me on the wall as he placed the other one on my neck without applying much force, he was holding back.

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that. Ever again”, He said through gritted teeth.

” Or else what?”, I challenged him before I could stop myself. Stupid. You have a death wish, Teressa.

“You wouldn’t like to know to believe me. Haven’t your friends in the Dollhouse warned you about me… Terri”, He said emphasizing the word and making me flinch. Why the hell he was calling me that?

” You killed that girl”, I whispered as Grace’s word echoed in my head.

The first girl he took with him was found dead the morning after.

Those were her words and as I replayed in my head I felt goosebumps appeared on the face of my skin. So she wasn’t lying, everything she said was true. He really is a horrible person.

“Is that what they told you? Is that what he told you? Jace asked angrily, slamming his hand on the wall right beside my head. Was he referring to Alexander?

” So it’s true you killed her. What does Alexander have to do with this?”, Did I ask puzzled?

“Everything. Every f.u.c.k.i.n.g thing has to do with him!” He yelled in my face, the smell of alcohol in his mouth was stronger than before and that scared me because it meant that he wasn’t completely sober.

“Mr. Alaric, calm down” I forced myself to say. He laughed bitterly.

“Calm down? Why? You are afraid that I might go hurt your boyfriend Terri or you?” He asked, bringing his face closer to mine.

“Stop calling me that”, I told him, not bothering to reply to his question. There was no point in doing it anyway. He was so angry that he wouldn’t listen to a thing I said. His anger for Alexander was scaring me, but I wasn’t worried about him. Alexander was the person that ruined me, not my boyfriend.