Taking What's His

Chapter 11

The sun was high up in the sky, glaring at its very peak in the early afternoon, so bright I had to squint my eyes just to look outside. The window through which I stared at the sky preventing me from feeling the warmth that often accompanied the brightness, goosebumps rose all over my skin as though in protest of the absence of the natural warmth.

Warmth was one of the many things that were taken for granted, the warmth of sunshine, the warmth of a hot meal in your belly after it had been growling for hours, the warmth in the smile of someone you loved, the warmth of their embrace, their gaze. Sitting here alone in his room after having not felt any of those for more days than I could have kept track of, I felt the cold down to my very joints, resonating hollowly in my bones.

The heat running in the house was a poor substitute for the sun. The food he brought to me unwanted when I couldn't remember the last time I had felt even remotely hungry. But not nearly as unwanted as his gaze or the memory of his forceful embrace.

The hunger in his eyes was pushed down beneath the worry at seeing me this way. He spoke to me still, tried to prompt responses but got very few. He had stopped sleeping in this room however and for that I was grateful. The first night I had sat awake in the far corner of the room, waiting for him to come in but he never had. The next morning upon finding me sitting against the wall he had pleaded with me to sleep in the bed, reassuring me he wouldn't try to sleep there with me.

I startled as the door was opened suddenly, my hands spasming a moment as though reaching for a protection that wasn't there before they stilled again. After staring into the brightness of the sun so long I could only just about make out a black silhouette at the door. I watched blankly as it came closer to me, wondering if it was lunch time already.

He stopped at the foot of the bed, and only then did I notice that he was holding something. He placed it down on the foot of the bed, and I had to stare at it a moment while my eyes readjusted to realize that it was clothing. Light blue denim jeans, and what I assumed was a crème coloured knitted sweater though I could only see the material as they were folded.

"Shower and then wear these mate. I bought them for you" He said. I continued staring at the clothing unmoving. It would be nice to not have to wear his clothing anymore, but I didn't feel like moving. My limbs felt as though they weighed a ton each.

"Please Athena, I want to take you somewhere."

My eyes flew up to his face at the words, heart rate picking up. The first possibility that came to mind had to be too good to be true, I hoped with all my being but I couldn't let my hopes get too high or having them diminished would hurt too much. For now I would have to settle for finally being outside, feeling the sun against my skin and the wind in my hair.

"Where?" I asked, my voice coming out hoarse after all the disuse, his tense shoulders relaxing in response to hearing it.

"It's a surprise. I'm waiting downstairs, come out when you're ready."

He turned and left, closing the door after him quietly. I could feel his gaze on me until the door had shut but refused to look up again. Pushing aside the covers that lay over my lap, I swung my legs around, pushing myself out of the bed and making my way over to where the clothing sat. The knitted material of the sweater soft and fluffy, and as I raised it to my nose inhaling deeply it smelled only like cloth and had none of his gingerbread and earthy scent much to my relief.

I grabbed the jeans as well before making my way over to the closet grabbing a pair of underwear, my legs a little wobbly beneath my weight. I placed the clothing down on the counter next to the sink in the bathroom, shutting the door behind me.