Dark Layers (Volume 3), page 2
- Criminal convictions
None
- Illness's
None - no tattoos, no blood transfusions, no previous accidents
- Hobbies
Dancing - award winner
Pianist - award winner
Polo
English literature - award winner
Journaling
Mr. Deuce Gooden - Anile's father
- Skills and/or employment
85% pass rate criminal Lawyer in Kent, England, for the past 30 years
- Family
Mother and Father deceased
No brothers or sisters
One living child - Anile Gooden
Married for 18 years to Anile's mother
- Criminal convictions
None
- Illness's
None - no tattoos, no blood transfusions, no previous accidents
- Hobbies
Golf
Shooting trips
Mrs. Fraya Gooden - Anile's mother
- Skills and/or employment
Unemployed
No history of employment
- Family
Mother and father deceased
No brothers or sisters
One living child - Anile Gooden
Married for 18 years to Anile's father
- Criminal convictions
No criminal convictions but has previously tried to press charges against a Mr. Jack De Sniper for suspected rape against herself
- Illness's
Schizophrenia
Previously suffered a mental breakdown
Currently residing at the Bethlehem Royal Hospital
- Hobbies
Pianist
Painter
Polo
...
To Elijah Darks.
Dated: 28/02/2012
As you have requested, here is an update regarding Miss Anile Gooden.
Gathered Information on Anile Gooden
Address and Contact information
Job
Health
Qualifications
Hobbies
Relationship Status
Criminal Convictions
Sincerely,
Aksham
Mr. Aksham
...
Miss Anile Gooden
- Address and contact information
Whitehouse Apartments, 9 Belvedere Road, London, SE1
07777744437
anilegooden@outlook.com
- Skills and/or employment
Non Masters Lawyer, complete pass
Recently graduated university from the University of Cambridge, class of 2012
Currently unemployed
Holds a full UK drivers licence but does not have a registered car
- Family
Mother - Fraya, living / Father - Deuce, living
- Criminal convictions
None
- Illness's
None - no tattoos, no blood transfusions, no previous accidents
- Relationships
Currently single and living alone
- Hobbies
Swimming
Pianist - award winner
Reading
Law investigation practice
...
Elijah stops me from reading; he quickly snatches the papers from my hands.“What the fuck is this?” I scream, “have you been stalking me since I was fourteen?”
“Anile, please, let me explain.” He begs.
He looks panicked; his eyes are wide and watery; his lips are pressed into a hard line. He's clutching at the papers with more means than necessary.
"Give them back to me."
"I cannot do that, Anile."
I get to my feet so quick I feel my head spin. I shake my head to gather myself.
"Are you okay?" He asks worried; his frown is deep.
"Give them to me, now!" I shout.
"No, I cannot do that, I'm sorry."
I try to jump for the papers but he quickly raises them above his head. I grab his arm and try to pull it down but it really is no use. I give up and narrow my eyes at him.
"Who stole my photos? Who went into my parent's house with an agenda?"
"Anile, you have to let me explain." He says slowly.
"I want to know who?"
"I cannot tell you, it's an offense and I cannot let someone else take the fall for my obsession."
My tummy folds over - his obsession? Does he mean me?
“Get some clothes on Elijah and tell me what the hell is going on!” I order with a firm pointing finger.
Elijah leaves the room quicker than lightning with his clothes in hand. I sit on the bed and rub my head hoping it will make me feel… somewhat better – it doesn’t! Why, oh, why does this have to happen now? Once I have given myself to him – and I was so damn happy! Fuck! This isn’t happening, this has to be a bad dream and I just need to wake up! Jesus, do I really want to know why he has watched me for so many years? No.. yes, no, yes! I fight with myself, debating on whether to stay and listen to him or leave. I cannot take this - I need my mother.
I lay back and throw my legs over the side of the bed. I cup my face. Tears lightly make their way down my cheeks.
“Oh no.” I sob. My chest heavies and my breathing becomes uneven.
Elijah comes back into his room. He stops in front of me for a few seconds. He’s dressed in black jogging bottoms that hang from his hips, and a white V-neck T-shirt that's tight on his chest. His beautiful feet are still naked. He sits next to me, slowly lowering himself onto his bed. He thrashes his hands through his long black locks - he looks really, really worried.
I turn on my side and peer up at him. He has worryingly stressful eyes. I sit up and pull the duvet over my naked body. I gaze impassively, awaiting his explanation.
“Well?” I snap.
“Anile, you have to promise me you will not leave me.”
“No, I won't do that. Just tell me Elijah, tell me what's been going on!”
“Even if you do try to leave," he lowers his head in shame, "I cannot let you go, you mean too much to me.”
He takes both my hands in his, urging me to release the duvet. He starts nervously stroking my knuckles. I feel his pain, his gut wrenching torturous pain. I want to stay angry, I desperately try to stay angry, but I cannot. What the bloody hell is wrong with me? It’s his Darks flu, it makes me feel off balance, it makes me do things I would not normally do! Damn him!
“Is this why you are so in tune with me and care for me; because you have been obsessing over me for all this time?”
He sighs long and steely; his grip on my hands tightens; his fingers tremble against mine.
"Anile, Princess, I hope you are ready for this. I have tried so hard to keep it from you; I am so, so sorry." He whispers in a broken voice.
“Keep what from me, Elijah? Please, I need to know!” I beg, still clutching at his hands.
“Anile, eight years ago your mother came to me, she wanted to press charges against someone for sexually abusing her. She knew that if she had any chance of imprisoning this Law tycoon, she needed the best. I started on the case but my father got wind that his best friend had been arrested - Jack De Sniper was my father's best friend."
I gasp; shit I cannot breathe! I rip one hand free from Elijah's and grab my throat.
"Breathe Princess." He whispers. He hunches down a little to see my face fully.
"Elijah, I." I don't know what to say.
"My father put a stop to me legally representing your mother. I did everything I could to help her - I even paid for another lawyer to represent her because all her assets from your father had been frozen. It didn’t work out as expected; your father sectioned her; he claimed that she had been living in a fantasy world and that she made everything up.”
He stops, as does my brain. I cannot believe he kept all of this from me! My poor mother, she must have been so scared. An agonizing ache fills my chest where my heart is - I knew what happened with Jack but I never knew she pursued help. I never had a chance to help her, I was too young. She made me promise to never think of her – and I never did, I held my promise. But now I wish I carried on fighting for her; she needed me more than I ever knew.
I cannot help the tears that escape my eyes - I want them to drown me, to rid my body of this pain.
“Elijah, why didn’t you tell me?” I whisper; my voice is broken. I’m trying to fight back the tears. I pull my other hand free from his. He tries to take my grip again but I force.
“Please don’t Elijah, I cannot – please don’t touch me.” I cup my face and think hard about what he has just told me. I cannot stop blinking, I just cannot digest this.
“Anile, you have to understand, I did whatever I could.”
I stare him hard in the face. “So why do you have my photos and my life’s history? What does that have to do with my mother?”
“Your mother was with me when the medical team came for her – when your father sectioned her. She was frantically desperate for my help – no one would help her Anile. She wanted me to help her leave your father, but she was not going anywhere without you." He turns to face me fully; one leg rested on the bed; his hands are clutching at the duvet with more grip than necessary. "She had arranged for you to be delivered to my old office, and I was going to help her leave your father. When your child minder finally dropped you off - just minutes before the medical team came for her – that’s when I first laid eyes on you.”
My expression is umbrage. This Bastard laid eyes on me when I was fourteen fucking years old! Jezebel warned me that someone has always been watching me - I never imagined it was him.
“Elijah, I was just a kid!” I gasp; he's stealing my breath by the damn minute!
“No, it’s not like that Anile – it was not like that. The feelings I have for you now are completely different to the ones I had for you back then - I just wanted to take care of you. I knew you were a kid, you were a beautiful sweet little girl. You were full of light, innocence, and you laughed – you don’t know how long it had been since I had heard the laughter of a child. Everything about you captivated me, but nothing captivated me more than your appearance. You were and still are the doppelganger of my mother. I had to know who you were, I thought that maybe you were my mother’s daughter – I thought you had to be, the resemblance was just too perfect.”
I inhale sharply, almost feeling sick. I hold my tummy with one hand while it churns. “Elijah, if you are about to say what I think you are, then please stop.”
He's passively staring at me with a growl lingering on his lips. “What the hell do you take me for? Incest is not my fucking thing you idiot!” He snaps. He has one hand held out in defence.
“Don’t you call me a fucking idiot, you idiot! You have practically stalked me for eight years. You have started dating me; you have taken my virginity," I shake my head with too much force - I cannot believe this is actually happening, "and now, only now do you decide to tell me all this?”
I quickly get to my feet – Ares is coming to surface. I will fight for everything; my sanity, my salvation - myself.
“Anile, don’t do that. Don’t fucking argue with me like that – you know what it does to me!” He warns; his eyes are wide and crazy.
Oh dear, now you’ve done it Darks!
“If you lay one finger on me, I will fucking kill you!” I warn with a stern finger.
He stares flabbergasted. His mouth is agape, his eyes aloof. "I am not going to argue with you - I am sorry." He says defeated.
Now I am astonished - that is the biggest one-eighty yet! I stare down at him and wonder how the hell I should deal with this. It's fucked up, really, really fucked up; but I do love him and I already knew he was damaged. I want to stay with him, save him, show him that life should not be this way. How can I save us? Should I even bother to save us?
"Elijah." I whisper.
He peers up at me; Jesus he looks pained. His frown is deep, deeper than usual - his thick raven eyebrows are out of shape; his perfect pink lips are pouted; his bottom lip is trembling. I hope he doesn't cry, I cannot handle his tears.
I quickly throw on the long purple maxi skirt he got for me and then struggle into the white vest top. Once dressed, I pace, desperately trying to come up with a plan.
"Anile, are you going to leave?" He says softly.
I narrow my hand at him. "I need ten minutes, just be quiet for ten flipping minutes Elijah."
He doesn't say another thing and I continue my pacing around his bedroom. I cast my eyes across his family photos that are unevenly hung on his walls. He was once a sweet child, innocent and undamaged. I shake my head viciously.
Right, I am in need of a check list to see if this is really worth my sanity.
Pros
Cons
funny Check
Control freak Triple check!
Smart as hell Check
Aggressive Check
Out of this world gorgeous Check
Annoying Check
Caring Check
Secretive Check
Protective Check
Tender Check
Gives me mind blowing sex Double check
I stop pacing and just look down at him. He's cupping his face in his hands; his inky black hair is hanging over the tips of his fingers - he's thinking the worst is going to happen, it makes my chest hurt further. To be honest, the check list really does not matter - I am in love with him and that will never allow me to leave him.
"Elijah." I whisper.
He doesn't look at me.
"Are you ready to go out?" I say emotionless.
He looks up at me with a staggering expression. "Sorry?" He says, his mouth set in a firm o.
I want to burst out laughing. This is so fucking crazy - beyond crazy - but what the hell am I supposed to do? I cannot leave him, so the only other option is to accept it and try to move on somehow.
"I want to do something normal, no hassle, no dramas - and I definitely do not want to see any of your family. Let's go dancing or to the cinema or for a run - let's do something normal Elijah."
I mentally sag; my neck is hunched and my arms are hanging limply by my sides - I cannot believe I am going to try and dismiss this.
"Anile, we just..."
"Stop," I cut him off dead, "I don't ever want to speak of this again. I want to do something normal Elijah, please. We have never just done normal." I beg.
"Anile, you cannot just cast this off." He urges with worried eyes.
"I will talk about it when I'm ready Elijah. At the moment it's just too raw and I really don't want to leave you." I tighten my expression because just saying I could possibly leave him makes my eyes well.
"Okay," he says while frowning, "what do you want to do? I have no idea what normal is Anile." He's holding his hands out in a plea - Jesus how can one not know what normal bloody is?
I bite down on my lower lip while thinking. "What did you have planned for us after the press conference?" Crap, will that even be normal? Is that a trick question?
He peers up at me and smiles sweetly. "It was a surprise. Do you want to do that? I still want it to be a surprise though."
I *sigh* long and hard. "Yes, let's do that. Am I dressed okay?"
I aggressively remove the last hour from my mind - I know it has to go somewhere but how about an imaginary little box? You are insane!
"Your clothing is fine. You look beautiful Anile, you always do." He breathes.
Chapter Two
ELIJAH AND I are outside in his front garden, standing only a few feet from one another on the stony driveway. My feet are naked and although the stones are uncomfortable on my sole's, it feels natural and okay. It's so sunny and refreshing out here, the heat from the sun warms my face.
Elijah starts edging towards me. He's holding the silk green scarf in his hands. He playfully wraps it around his knuckles while gazing at me from a small distance. I close my eyes while inhaling deeply, his scent is blowing towards me in the light wind, his potent spicy aroma. Hmmm. I feel him stop dead in front of me; he's silent. I open my eyes and peer up into his palatial blue lagoons; his eyelashes are so thick and black and long - his eyes drown me mentally. I shake my head as a sense of enervation hit's my chest; his intense stare really does drain my brain. The feeling I get around him is now deflected and I hate it - I still love him with more than I know my heart can handle - that will never change - but I'm confused by knowing he has watched me for so many years.
"Elijah, is there anything else?" I whisper. I gently tug at the hem of his T-shirt, I'm nervous. I am not actually sure I want to know anymore; I don't even know why I asked. I think it's more of a test to see if he would willingly tell me more.
"About your mother?" He asks with a deep frown. He's looking down at me, he looks so worried.
I heed his gaze with intensity. "About anything. Is there anything else you are not telling me?"
"Yes." He breathes.
"Do you want to tell me?" I ask while peering down at my nervous fingers.
"It's about Jezebel. That's the only other thing that I have not told you."
I nod my head slowly and wonder if I really want to know about her right now?
"Don't tell me. I don't want to know about her - not right now."
I peer up at him again, his eyes have not moved from me.
