Unlikely Romance

CHAPTER FIVE

It seemed as if forever had passed. I lay there for what felt like days without Brian showing up. I was hungry, injured and weaker than ever before. I thought that he had left me there to die. But then I heard his footsteps.

"Brian..." I whispered weakly. My eyes were barely open, and I was light headed and dizzy.

He didn't say anything as he gently picked me up bridal style. I thought I was hallucinating, finally ready to pass out and just die. But he had set me down on his couch, and injected me with something in my stomach. I felt a thick liquid being put into my system, and then he had me lie down.

I weakly reached for him as he turned to leave, and before I passed out again, I felt him take my hand. I wasn't sure if that was real.

As I woke up, Brian was kneeling on the ground beside me, injecting my arm with something. My arm was still in the sling, and it still hurt. I blinked and tried to gather myself, and when I did, he was done. He was about to get up, but I spoke.

"H... how long was I...?" I started to ask.

Brian shook his head and put a bloody, gloved hand over my mouth. As he took it away I sputtered and wiped my mouth. "Two days," he told me. "Don't talk. You are still weak."

I came to the realization that he had been taking care of me while I was knocked out, and that he didn't take blood from me but was giving me things to help me. I suddenly saw my captor in a different light. He was like all I needed. I owed everything to him for keeping me alive instead of killing me and just getting another captive.

I held out my good hand, and as he put his I whispered a weak, "Thank you."

Brian nodded and walked away silently. As I gradually came to my senses, I remembered how he had thrown me around like a ragdoll and then left me to suffer and starve almost to death. He couldn't possibly care about me if he did such things. I reminded myself that he was, after all, a half demon. And I also reminded myself that I had tripped him off by doing something stupid. I knew he could snap at any moment, but I had still let myself loose. I found myself thinking of him like the ocean; it was something I greatly feared but respected and found intriguing at the same time.

A few hours later, I was strong enough to get up and eat something. I was awfully hungry. It hurt my ribs to walk, but going into the kitchen felt so good. I saw a basket of fresh berries on the table and I looked around quickly before devouring them. But when I was done, and downed three glasses of water, I turned around and walked face first into Brian's chest, which felt like a wall. "Ow!" I held my head and then my injured arm.

I stared up at him. Brian was wearing his yellow hoodie and mask, so I couldn't see his face. It wasn't like he showed much emotion anyway, but still, an eyebrow twitch or something would have been helpful. He just stood there and stared at me for a while. I gulped. He raised his hand, and I let out a little scream, crouching and turning away on instinct.

But he simply stroked the bandage on my head. I breathed out and regained my poise. I remained quiet as Brian loosened my bandage and replaced it. He then tried moving my arm, which still hurt to move. I had damaged my shoulder and elbow on the stairs. As I remembered what happened, I shut my eyes and turned away from him. This monster, this manipulative creature was touching me and pretending to be nice. But I had no choice other than to be good to him. If I wanted to stay alive and be found someday, I had to.

Brian gave my arm fresh bandages and a clean sling, and I shied away as he was about to raise my - his (I was still wearing his white sport tee)- shirt to replace the one at my middle. "I'll do it myself..." I said softly, still not looking at him. I heard him grunt and put the roll of bandages on the table beside me.

"Good luck." He didn't go far. He sat right there on the table and crossed his arms, crossing his legs the way men do it.

I sighed and raised my shirt, holding it with my teeth as I unloosened the bandage. I desperately needed to wash. I felt so dirty. "Um... I'm going to wash before I do these bandages." He shrugged and gestured for me to go ahead.

Going into his room, I stared at his bed. It looked like he hadn't touched it since the morning after we both slept in it. I remembered how his glove was bloody, and I wondered if he had gone to kill someone for the two days I was left in the basement. I turned to look back at him, to see if he was waiting for me to call him for help, but he was no longer there.

I went ahead and started stripping, starting with the fresh sling. Whether he was there or not, I didn't really care, because he wasn't a rapist (thank goodness). But, it was hard. Pain shot up my side as I tried bending to take my underwear from my legs, and I whimpered as I tried raising my shirt over my head with one arm.

But even though I gave up and started lowering my arm in pain, the shirt slid over my head and down my arms. I looked as it was taken by a gloved hand, and soft yellow sleeves brushed my arms. Brian probably saw me struggling and came to help, and he was probably snickering at my failed attempt at independence.

As I felt my bra unclasp and saw that being taken too, I gasped and hugged myself. Sure, he saw me naked before, but... somehow, I felt violated. He actually took the clothes off me. And as if that wasn't degrading enough for me, I yelped as he picked me up carefully and set me in the tub. I stared at him nervously as he moved.

Brian put the tub to fill up, and the water was a bit on the cold side. I still stared at him as he took off a glove and tested the water. He turned off the tap. "Hey it's not-" I started, but he put a finger to my lips. I watched as he left the room. I heard him moving around in the kitchen, and after about half an hour he came back with a big metal cup of steaming water.

Carefully pouring the hot water, I noticed how he regulated the temperature of the cold water as he let the tap flow again. Before I knew it, I was in a tub of warm water. I made sure to brace my injured arm on the tub out of the water. It hurt, but the warmth felt so good that I sank down despite the pain. I closed my eyes, but gasped and quickly opened them as I felt some of the water being poured on my head.

Brian was pouring water, from the tub, with his two hands, on my head. And he untangled and helped me to wash my hair. There was no conditioner or even shampoo, but the soap did its job. My hair and scalp felt clean. I didn't protest as his fingers gently washed my face. He was being careful not to hurt the swollen areas where he had hit me.

"Th-thank you." I told him, when he was finished.

Brian just shook his head. "This is my apology. Tell me when you need to come out," he replied, and walked back to the bedroom. I heard the bed creak as he sat, waiting for my call.

When I had finished washing, he helped me stand and step out, and even helped me dry off with the towel. Even though he was in my personal space, I no longer felt violated. Brian helped me bathe, washed my hair, helped me bandage myself and even dried me with a towel. And yet, he never once touched me inappropriately. He didn't even seem to look at me in any perverse way while he helped me.

As he slid another one of his new tees on me, a black one with blue seams, I started to feel comfortable again. When he was done replacing my bandages, I actually smiled at him, genuinely. "Apology accepted," I told him.

=============================================================================

A/N: Annnnd boom! Just like that, she's fine with him again. Talk about Stockholm Syndrome! Hoodie got what he was aiming for; her obedience and dependence on him. Read on to find his thoughts on the whole situation, and a bit of a backstory. It's just my personal tweak for Hoodie!