Don't Say a Word

Five

Her dreams seemed to play in a constant replay, as if she could rewind and re-watch a movie. What is this instant replay of the second worst day of your life? What had she seen? What did she think she saw? What is he? Then she wondered if he was controlling her train of thoughts even now as she slept, just as he had forced her to go to sleep.

She felt disconnected from her dreams, which happened sometimes. As if she was a passenger on a flight watching a movie about her life. She didn't like it. She felt pushed as if she wasn't the only one watching this particular story. She stopped the film that was her thoughts and looked around. Was he on the roof watching her? Had he been on the roof watching that night? She looked down the alleys for a sign of him. Her eyes trailed back up to the roof line and she whispered. "get out of my head."

She woke irritated, no more sure of anything than she had fallen asleep. Only now she was hungry, covered in sweat from her nonstop nightmares and stuck in this stupid bed. Even now as she wanted desperately to grab her things and run away she couldn't seem to move. Sure she could sit up, roll over, and scoot all she wanted. But her feet could not touch the floor no matter which way she tried or desired to do it. Just when she thought she would scream in frustration a faint knock was heard at the door before it was opened. A young girl walked in carrying a tray.

"Hungry?" Nicolette stared at the girl, she was small in frame, dark curly hair. But you could see the strength she had, it was in the way she carried herself. "You must be, you've been asleep for two days." Confusion crossed Nicolette's face turning quickly to anger.

"He said you don't talk.."she said this as if she was informing her, very matter of fact. She placed the tray of food in front of Nicolette. Her eyes made contact briefly before she moved back, they appeared almost golden. Strange. "my name is Amber."

Amber looked over the mess of the sheets. "Nightmares?" Nicolette reached down grabbing the glass of orange juice, ignoring her question, sniffing it before taking a sip. "He wont drug you, there's no need. You can't leave till he says so, and he won't till he figures you out. Do you have another sponsor?"She was pacing around the bed, watching Nic's every move. "Who trained you?"

Nic looked up at her, obvious confusion in her eyes. But most importantly her mind was clear. She didn't know what this chick was talking about, but she didn't want her poking into her head like that..man did, if she even could. When Amber frowned and turned toward the door Nic had her answer.

"He'll break you. You might be stronger than I am, but he'll break you. Then he can move on with his life without you distracting him from his duties." Not likely, Nic thought. Too loudly apparently since the staring Amber smirked on her way out the door. What circus freak side show did I walk into? What is wrong with these people, and what did they want with her.

She looked down at the tray. Yum, she would probably be mad that her favorite strange foods were on the tray but she was starving so she just ate them. Grill cheese with pickles, bacon on the side crispy and slightly burnt, and a little watermelon for desert. She ate greedily as she thought over everything Amber had said. Why would she cause trouble for him? No trouble, let me go, problem solved. Somethings were so simple and people had to go and complicate it. She waited in frustration, pushing the tray to the end of the bed before falling asleep again.

He sat at the edge of her bed staring. How much trouble was he willing to get into over this girl? Amber said she could close her mind completely to her. How is that even possible. He knew she could sense his presence while she slept. So who did she belong to? He reached out to move her hair from her face, raising a brow when she instinctively grabbed his wrist, reaching for a knife he remembered removing from her, before realizing where she was.

He watched her every move, from the tightness of her grip to the clenching of her jaws, to the change in her aura as she pulled all her fear, frustration, and yes rage back into herself. Her emerald eyes turned up to him and she shoved his hand away from her and sat up scooting away from him in the bed. She glared at him, unsure how to demand her freedom, tell him off, all while keeping him out of her head. It was amazing to watch her change, surely she belonged to a Brujah, that temper of hers. It sent flares of heat from her body.

"Amber brought some more clothes for you, they're in the bathroom. I'm sure you would like to shower and change. You've been cooped up for days recovering. I am pleased you stayed and rested, but I was surprised you've slept as much as you have. I would like to inspect you for any additional injuries, but I want you to clean all this dirt off first."

"Screw you" is the first thought he got from her, which didn't surprise him, but did make him smile. She was scooting away from him to the edge of the bed, pleased when her feet touched the floor. This time slowly raising to her feet to make sure she didn't end up in his arms again. Even if they were nice arms, she glanced back at him to make sure he was giving her her space. I guess if you were going to be abducted by someone, it doesn't hurt if they look like him, dang he was easy on the eyes. He was wearing jeans that looked as if they'd seen better days. They were low on his hips where you could follow that line down...no don't follow that line, stop staring at him like a darn fool and get in the bathroom.

She wanted, no needed, a toothbrush, a shower, and more importantly to pee, but mostly she was just happy to be out of the damn bed. She was half way across the room to the bathroom before she realized he was following her. She froze. She felt him close in behind her. She spun to face him, staring up into his eyes. God he had beautiful eyes, focus woman. "NO" she projected up at him, meeting those beautiful eyes with her very determined gaze. "You may have kept me in that bed but you WILL NOT watch me pee."

He stopped as she turned meeting those emerald eyes. Mistake on her part, she had opened up too much, met him too directly. He pulled her into his gaze, held her mind and wanted to know everything. He reached out into her mind only to hear her scream in his head, "Get out!" She screamed this into his mind, gasping as she stumbled back from him, only to turn and run into the bathroom slamming the door. "How?" he whispered. She was mortal, he knew for sure. But she slammed him out of her mind anyway. Willpower that strong, if she didn't have a master, would be his. He turned and walked out of her room, a small smile crossing his lips.