Tainted | Hannibal Lecter

22. Split

Hannibal's eyes were fixed on Madison throughout the night. He hated seeing her this way, but feared that if he looked away, even for a second, something would happen to her.

When she finally woke up, she realised that everything in her hospital room had been cleared.

"You have been released, we can go home as soon as you are ready."

She smiled and sat up in her bed, the quick movement made her feel slightly dizzy.

"Steady"
He said as he held his hand out for her to take

Madison took his hand and stood

"It's weird..."

"What is?"

"I feel... fine"

"Physically?"

"Mentally. I thought it would feel worse than this."

"You will feel fine, up until the precise moment you don't."

"When will that be?"

Hannibal handed her a pile off clothes, which she took and began to put on.

"We cannot know for certain, but when it hits, you need to trust me - i know what's best for you."

Once Madison had changed, Hannibal escorted her out of the hospital and into the car.
Throughout the car journey, Hannibal kept an eye on Madison. He noticed that she kept touching the purple, circular bruises around her wrists.

When they finally arrived at Hannibal's, he lit the fire and left Madison to read while he made dinner.
After reading for an hour, she became bored. She got up and made her way over to the kitchen.

"Hello"
She said with a smile

"Hello"
He mirrored her warm expression

"Can i help?"
She asked

"Do you remember how that ended last time?"

She giggled

"That's a good point, maybe it's best if i just observe"

She watched as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, revealing his toned forearms before he began to cut into the meat. She saw that he'd look up to her after every cut, smirking once he looked back down.

She then walked over to where he was. She stood on her tiptoes to look over his shoulder at what he was doing.

Her lips pressed lightly against his ear as she whispered, "Hannibal..."

He turned his head, their lips inches from each other.

She dropped from her toes, allowing Hannibal to tower over her.

He placed the knife down and moved his hand to her face. His face inched closer to hers.

"Yes Madison?"

"I'm bored..."

He guided her face forward and closed the gap between their lips.

Despite being away from him for only a day, she'd missed him more then she could ever explain. This was the moment she had longed for throughout everything that had happened.

Hannibal's hands moved down from her hair to the back of her thighs and lifted her up. Madison's legs wrapped around him while her hands buried into his hair. Her cheeks flushed as she could feel him beneath her.