Sempiterno VI (AlanxJeff)

Confusion

Jeff

In the end, I decided on a long soak in the tub. The water was warm, wrapping around me like a gentle caress that, for a moment, almost made me forget everything happening around me. The bubbles floating on the surface seemed so out of place, so disconnected from the chaos in my mind, creating a contrast so strange that it unsettled me. I closed my eyes, letting the steam wash over me, but even then, I couldn't shake off the exhaustion that clung to my body. Everything hurt; every muscle seemed to remember the recent struggle, the fight against the fate being forced upon me.

It had been days since I'd had a decent night's sleep. I couldn't close my eyes without thoughts attacking me, without the weight of this day looming over me like a storm. And then there was him, Alan... that alpha. What did he want from me?

His face immediately appeared in my mind, and I shuddered in the tub. Everything about him was confusing, from his gaze to his scent. Alan was different from anything I'd ever expected from someone like him. He said he wouldn't torture me, wouldn't extract information from me, wouldn't use me to blackmail my family. But then, why did he kidnap me? Nothing made sense. There was something in his words I couldn't quite figure out, as if everything I knew up until now was beginning to crumble. What did he mean by earning my...?

"Ahhhh, it'll never happen! I'll never give in!" I thought with determination, but that conviction wavered every time I remembered his gaze, the way he spoke to me, as if he knew something deep within me that I didn't even understand. No, no, no, it will never happen. Not after everything he's done.

And then, I remembered. Charlie... Charlie was alive. My heart skipped a beat at the thought of him. I had seen him, but the joy that should have overwhelmed me was drowned out by the confusion swirling in my chest. My head began to pound with intensity, everything was too tangled. The tub was no longer a refuge, but a place where my thoughts attacked me even more fiercely.

Feeling dizzy, I stood up, drying off quickly. In a moment of desperation, I briefly considered that ending it all in the tub might be the way out, but I shook that thought from my mind. I didn't want to die naked.

As I opened the wardrobe, a new wave of confusion hit me. All the clothes... everything was my size, my style, and most unsettling of all: in my favorite colors. "How long had they been planning my kidnapping?" This wasn't what I expected from captors. None of this made sense.

I settled on some comfortable pajamas, a long onesie and a loose gray shirt. My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn't eaten since yesterday. Then, three soft knocks at the door startled me, the sound I had always known as Charlie's. My heart raced.

Shortly after, the door opened.

"Jeff, can I... can I come in?" Charlie's voice was cautious, almost as if he feared disturbing me.

"You're already halfway in," I whispered in response.

Charlie stepped inside and closed the door behind him. We stood there, staring at each other for a few moments, and I felt tears welling up in my eyes, threatening to spill over. I couldn't believe he was standing before me, alive.

"I brought you dinner," he said with a cautious smile as he placed a tray on the table beside the couch. Then, he turned to me, his gaze nostalgic, as if in those seconds he was reliving the memories of everything we had shared.

"You're alive..." was all I managed to murmur, my voice trembling.

"I'm sorry... I never should have left you alone," he replied in a faint voice, his eyes shining with a hardness I hadn't seen in him before, as if recalling something terrible.