Crazy In Love | Buggy

f o u r t e e n

I was so used to Buggy always smiling, grinning or laughing that when he was completely serious, it filled me with absolute horror. It just seemed unnatural for him.

After a long silence, he finally told me, "I hear everything, Betty."

That just made me angry. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists by my side, fighting the urge to attack him. Honestly, I was far too tired to fight anyone anyway.

"What do you mean?" I questioned, but I was met with silence. That made me snap. "Tell me. Tell me now! I deserve to know, at least."

All his little secrets and tricks were starting to drive me crazy. I couldn't take it anymore. He was such a mystery to me.

Back in my home town, everything had been so simple. What you saw is what you got. People were just people. They were honest, they hardly lied - not in anyway that had an impact.

On this ship, with Buggy and his crew, reality already seemed to have shifted in a way I could never had imagined. It felt like my grasp on it had slipped, like I had gone absolutely mad.

When I finally looked back up at Buggy, I found myself immediately regretting my decision to say what I did. His face changed, being suddenly so full of anger

His eyebrows tightly furrowed together, his sea green eyes seemed to almost darken in an instant. Before I could say anything whatsoever, I felt his hand grab my face roughly. He wasn't gentle with me, not at all.

"Firstly, you don't ever speak to me that way again. I own you. You're just a map to me. Understood?"

The tears that I had been managing to hold back spilled out then, running down my cheeks. I didn't even attempt to stop myself from crying now.

"I'm sorry, I just... I can't take this. My head hurts. It's spinning. I feel like I've lost my perception of reality and -"

"Jesus, Bets, you've not even been with me for a day, and I've somehow already broken you."

He didn't sound particularly proud of that, nor did he sound angry anymore. He let go of my face, letting his hands drop onto his lap.

"I thought I was strong enough for this, but... I overestimated myself."

"Don't say that. I mean, I haven't exactly made your first couple of hours easy. I just wanted to test you. See if I could trust you."

"And I failed."

I wondered how different things would be now. If I had passed his test, I could have had a lot of freedom - slept without cuffs, perhaps been allowed to roam freely on the ship.

But now what? Would I been chained to people twenty four seven? Locked in this bedroom when I wasn't of any use?

Honestly, I wouldn't blame them if they took those sort of precautions. I had proven myself untrustworthy.

Buggy shrugged his shoulders. "Yes, but for what it's worth, I would have done the same as you. It was stupid, but you were desperate. I understand that, but I am going to need you to behave from now on."

After tonight, the last thing I wanted to do was betray him. I had learned my lesson. Whatever strange powers this clown had, they were beyond me.

Plus, maybe I could get his trust back. If I showed that I was willing to play by the rules, maybe I could earn my freedoms - be allowed to to roam and explore as I want. It was a nice prospect.

"I'll behave. I promise," I told him, trying to sound as genuine as I could.

He gave me a sympathetic smile. "I appreciate that, but I'm sure you understand that I can't trust you now. You'll be sleeping in cuffs."