Thirteen

10

Relax by Vacations

"You know you can trust me... right?" Vlad asks, a small frown forming.

He knows my answer.

I don't need to say it.

My eyes fall onto his desk. It's been tidied. Papers stacked up in neat piles, the calendar nowhere to be seen. Nothing to give me even an inkling as to why I am here.

He sighs, leaning back in his chair, and crosses his arms.
"Grace told me you were sick a few days ago."

My ears suddenly prick up.
My heart stings. It twists and contorts as I try to figure out what this feeling is. Betrayed is a strong word.

But I never thought she'd actually say something to him.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

No. Hell no. I'm not telling him shit. I convince myself he doesn't truly care about my well-being. He needs me to complete his job. I am nothing but a pawn. A lamb to the slaughter.

"Don't go silent on me. I know how frightened you are, and that's understandable, but we need to rely on each other." He sits up in his chair and leans over the desk. "You need me to live, and I need you to simply do as I ask. You need to realize that. Okay?"

I'm in a deep fucking hole.
I'm stuck, and I see no way of getting out of this . . . yet.

If he won't tell me the reason why I'm here, then I'll figure it out myself. I could gather enough information, as time goes on, to find out the reason.

"Fine," I answer, the tiniest bit of hope forming. I hide it in the back of my mind.

Vlad nods once, "Good." He drums his fingers on the edge of his desk and stands up, gathering his clipboard.
"Come on. Let's get going then."

I furrow my brows. "What? Going where?"

"Your first test," he explains, walking around the table. I go to take a small step backwards but my heel hits the door.
"Relax. It's not as bad as you think." He opens the door behind me and nudges me out into the cold hallway.

"Don't fret about it, the first test is easy. It's not really a test anyway..." Vlad digs into his pockets and takes out the ring full of keys and starts locking his office. "We just want to see how you interpret certain things. . ."

I scrunch my face up in confusion. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

He straight up ignores me for a second, walking to the double door. He swipes his keycard and it flashes green.
"Liebling, no more questions. Come on." He gestures for me to follow, holding the door open.

I reluctantly move my feet. I can figure it out. The first test will surely explain a few things, even if he won't.

We walk in silence for a few minutes, and the corridors we take are starting to look familiar to me. Though everything looks the same, I'm starting to learn how the floor is layed out and I try my best to retain this information.

He stops at a door that doesn't need unlocking and pushes my shoulder.

I realise it's the same room as last time. The same room with a table, chairs, and the one-way mirror. The same room where the voices got too loud.

I'm grateful that I can't hear them anymore, but the quietness only draws my attention to the thump thump thump in my chest.

Vlad's harsh accent slices through my thoughts. "Alright. Take a seat and wait for instructions," He says, disappearing behind the door next to the mirror.