Seraphine

sixteen

Seraphine

"What?" Seraphine asks incredulously, her mind racing almost as fast as her heart is. Dr. Reeves swipes his thumb over her bottom lip, tugging on it gently, and she wants to know what it tastes like.

What he tastes like.

"You heard me, Seraphine." It's not a question, but she nods anyway, compelled to agree with him.

Maybe he's a hypnotist, and I'm under his spell.

Shaking her head, she pulls away and his hand drops to the seat. Seraphine lifts her hands up to her face and presses harshly into her eyes with the palms of her hands, trying to think clearly and stop her head from pounding.

"Seraphine--"

"Seraphine!" Seraphine pulls her hands away from her face, now red and puffy eyes finding the door opposite her. It's suddenly wrenched open, and a familiar head of curly black hair and bright green eyes pops in the space. Dr. Wern regards her with concerned eyes as he slides into the back of the car, closing the door shut behind him.

He lifts a hand to her face, wanting to caress her, but Seraphine catches Dr. Reeves' subtle shake of his head and it falls.

"Are you okay?" Dr. Wern asks, and Seraphine looks between him, Dr. Reeves, and the door of the club. She doesn't answer, and the other two doors open.

"Seraphine," Dr. Brummer breathes as he gets in the passenger seat and immediately turns his head to find her. She's so overwhelmed that all she can do is stare at him until Dr. Michaels opens the driver's side door and looks at her through the space between the back of the seat and the side of the car.

"My dove," he says, and Seraphine's eyes widen. My...dove? "Are you alright?" He asks as he gets in, tearing his gaze away from hers only to start the car.

"I-"

"Drive, Nico." Dr. Reeves snaps from underneath her, and Seraphine shifts on his lap. He grunts softly, his hands tightening on her body, and she immediately stops moving, her cheeks flaring with heat.

Seraphine doesn't realize she can't breathe until Dr. Wern reaches over and places a hand on her thigh, a little higher than where Dr. Reeves put his. A wave of air rushes into her lungs as she gasps, and Dr. Wern smiles over at her.

"You're safe now, Seraphine." He reassures her, but, like Dr. Reeves, she doesn't believe him. All she can think of is Derek, how he's been left battered and bruised--so similar to how he leaves her--and how angry he'll be when she goes back to him.

Because she is going back to him. She has to.

The silence inside the small sports car is defeaning, and Seraphine has a hard time breathing with all of them so near to her. She can't focus, even without any noise.

Then, the beginning notes to Clair de lune softly play, and her eyelids flutter shut at the soothing piano. After a moment, she relaxes into Dr. Reeves' hold, finally giving into her desire to feel more of his warmth, and lets her head fall into the crook of his neck.

"I love this song," she murmurs, knowing all four of them heard her. The tension in the car lessens, and she smiles appreciatively as Dr. Brummer reaches over and turns up the volume.

Seraphine has her eyes closed the entire drive.

She hums along, getting louder at the crescendos and quieter at the diminuendos, following the pattern of the music.

Seraphine's eyebrows furrow as she suddenly has a memory of slender fingers dancing along a grand piano in a cozy room with sunlight splashing over the ivory keys. She remembers long, blonde hair, similar to her own, cascading down a slim back and big, brown eyes following the fingers' movements.

She sees herself sitting at the bench, too, next to her mother.

Her mother?

Just like that, the vision is gone, leaving Seraphine staring into the black abyss behind her eyelids. She has the urge to cry, missing the warmth the memory brought her.

Instead, she snuggles deeper into Dr. Reeves and sighs, bringing a hand up to rest over his heart. He tenses under her, and she goes to move it away when one of his hands comes up and covers hers.

His hand is large in comparison to hers, long fingers sliding between her own and curling so they're attached at the palms. She keeps in her gasp and tries not to think too hard about how inappropriate this is.

Even if for just a moment, Seraphine allows herself to enjoy Dr. Reeves' presence, his warmth, his strength. She opens her eyes once Chopin's Nocturne No. 1 starts playing, and breathes deeply.

She smells Dr. Reeves' citrusy scent first, then cinnamon, and her eyes flick to Dr. Wern, who's already staring at her with concern. Wanting him to stop looking at her with so much pain and heartbreak and pity, she smiles softly at him and looks away, finding Dr. Brummer.

He's not looking at her, just staring out the windshield while his fingers tap on his thigh impatiently. He's stock still, and Seraphine wants to laugh at how awkward he looks in a car.

She surprises herself when she does, surprises all of them.

Again, it hurts her to laugh, and she brings a free hand up to massage her neck.

"What's so funny?" Dr. Michaels asks from the driver's seat, his eyes flitting between the road and the rearview mirror. Seraphine smiles and sits up in Dr. Reeves' lap, looking at Dr. Brummer with an amused expression.

"Dr. Brummer, you seem very uncomfortable. Would you prefer a horse and carriage?"

It's completely silent for a few seconds before Dr. Wern and Dr. Michaels burst into loud, joyous laughter, making Seraphine's smile grow. Dr. Reeves even chuckles into her hair, while Dr. Brummer's eyes narrow playfully at her.

"Damn, she got you with that one, old man," Dr. Michaels says from in front of her, and Dr. Brummer reaches over to shove him. Seraphine giggles, the sound foreign to her, and Dr. Brummer's face breaks out in a grin.

"I am not old, I'll have you know that Luca over there is older than me," he counters, and Seraphine looks up at Dr. Reeves, studying him, before turning back to Dr. Brummer.

"He's not the one looking like they would fit in a renaissance painting, sir." She smiles sweetly up at him, even as his blue eyes darken just the slightest.

"You know what," he says after a moment, and Seraphine's smile drops as she pictures him reaching back and grabbing her neck with the same force Derek did. Her hand unconsciously goes to the bruises lining her throat, and she swallows.

Dr. Brummer's gaze follows the movement, and she watches as his eyes flash with recognition, and then anger. He shifts in his seat before turning around fully, and Seraphine drops her chin to her chest, thinking he's pissed at her.

"I'll take that as a compliment, darling." He finally finishes, his voice taut, and Seraphine looks up to see him staring out the windshield once more. There's a ghost of a smile on his lips, though, and it causes her to smile back.

Dr. Reeves suddenly leans forward, his lips dangerously close to her ear. Seraphine freezes, the air leaving her lungs.

"We're here, sweetheart."