Reckless

Chapter 15 Part 5

2022 AD

Character POV: Roxanne

His hand is reaching for me, bringing the torch to the pyre, and I know what's going to happen next. I know the pain that is going to shoot up my leg as the fire makes contact with it. The scream is frozen on my lips, tears beginning to well up in my eyes due to a mix of emotion and the smoke as the wood begins to catch fire. My own scream eventually rises and engulfs me as the flames begin to consume me.

There's a shaking that doesn't come from my body as I am forcibly awakened. For a few moments, I lay there being rocked back and forth by an outside force, trying to figure out where I am and what is going on around me. I see a popcorn ceiling above me, the walls stark white and sterile around me. My mind goes through all of the many places that I have called home and stayed in during the thousands of years that I have been around, bouncing around from each in a desperate attempt to figure out where and when I am.

I feel a hand on my shoulder, the source of the movement, and this relief washes over my sleepy brain as I tell myself that I am not alone, that Ariadne is here beside me and she's going to know exactly what it takes to get me out of this state. But, when I turn, I see the stubbly face of David staring back at me, his black brows drawn together in concern as his blue eyes run over me. I jolt away from him, my heart hammering in my chest.

For a moment, it's not David looking at me. Instead, I see in his male form the faces of the men who have tried to kill me for things I cannot help about myself throughout the years. A wave of nausea rises inside of me, and it takes all of my limited self-control to reign it in and not vomit all over his sheets. I shift as far away from him as I possibly can, nearly falling off of the edge of the bed. I lean over, holding the sheet tightly to my chest, as I scrounge around on the floor for my clothes in a desperate attempt to get out of here as fast as I possibly can.

I feel the bed shift underneath me as David moves, and I cast a quick glance over my shoulder to be sure that he is not coming to follow me. My shoulders sag with relief at the sight of him just sitting up in bed, resting his back against the headboard. The sight of his bare chest and one of his bare thighs makes me almost vomit again, and I force myself to look back at the dark floor and double my efforts to find my clothes.

His voice is low as he asks me, "Roxy, are you alright? You were having a nightmare, you were screaming. I didn't know what else to do but to wake you." I ignore him, a rush of satisfaction and relief flowing through me when I snag my jeans and T-shirt that I wore in here. The bed groans as he pushes towards me and says, "Talk to me, Roxy, are you alright? Do I need to be concerned?"

I pause then, knowing that if I don't give him an answer and I just run out of here as fast as I possibly can, he will not allow me to leave this apartment or do anything that will dim the memories in my mind. There's nothing that he can do to calm me down, to fix the past. All being around him right now does is make me more edgy. I'm not sure that I ever got to a point where I felt like I could trust a man completely after so many of them have tried to have me killed for having a mind of my own. Nothing much has changed about them, really. The Supreme Court of this fucking country trying to roll back protections for women just goes to prove that, doesn't it? It's all still bubbling away under the surface.

Taking the shirt in my hand and pulling it over my head, I turn towards him and say to him, "It was just a dream, David." I try my best, most convincing smile and I see the lines around his eyes as he smiles back at me softly. "Everyone has bad dreams from time to time. You did the right thing, though, waking me up. It helped a lot. I just need to go back to my room and get out my computer, maybe watch something on a streaming service until I get tired again and go back to sleep."