Captive

thirty one » p l e a s e

"Let us remember: What hurts the victim the most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander." — E. Wiesel.

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Octavia

       "Kalani? I like it, where you from girl?" I ask, watching as she wraps her arms around her chest. She stands in front of me, swallowing a bit harshly and looking at me with wide and cautious eyes.

       It isn't like I'm gonna kill her or anything.

       "Uh, Texas." She nods and I whistled lowly.

       "I'm from New Orleans, damn, what are you doing so far away from home? Did you run away or something?" I joke, smiling at her as I watch her with amusement.

       She flinches slightly at what I said and shakes her head, clearing her throat. "I don't wanna talk about it," she says. I furrow my eyebrows in slight confusion, but nod anyway, not wanting to push her to say anything she doesn't want to say.

       "Okay, okay, fine by me girl. Sit down, you're making me nervous. I'm not gonna kill you." I say, patting the space beside me but she only raises an eyebrow.

       Okay yeah she probably doesn't believe me.

       "Honey, the only person you have to fear is the woman that brought you here, not me. If I wanted to hurt you, I would've done it already." I tell her, pointing first to the door and then at myself. She doesn't have to worry about me hurting her at all. She seems like she's been through alot and I don't want to add anymore pressure on her. Besides, it looks like we're gonna spend a lot of time together, and I don't wanna scare her off.

       "Who is she anyways?" she asks me, motioning to behind her and I frown.

       "Your worst nightmare." I say, watching as the color drains from her face but I quickly continue, wanting to reassure her. "I won't let her touch you, okay? I don't know why she brought you here but I won't let her hurt you at all. Don't worry too much about it, alright? Just take a seat. You look like you're about to faint." I chuckle and she nods, sliding down the wall and sitting down, she pulls her legs to her chest then wraps her arms around them. From here, I can see that she's trembling slightly, possibly from fear or from the cold air.

       "What happened to you?" Kalani asks as she studies me with worry.

       "Ah, yes, I know I look like crap but it's not my fault, really. The woman, or otherwise famously known as La Diabla, did this to me." I motion to my body, the dried blood on my skin and clothes, the dark bruises, cuts, and scars on me.

       "Why?" She tilts her head, confused.

       "I killed her son." I frown.

       "Shit." she mutters, her eyes widening.

       "It was an accident of course, as much as she tries to convince me otherwise, I know that what I did was an accident but she doesn't see that. It's hard trying to get into that thick head of hers." I shake my head, shrugging my shoulders slightly as I look over at her, and smile at her lazily.

       "Tell me about yourself." I suggest, wanting to know more about her.

       "There's not much to know." she says and I nod.

       "Alright, then is there someone special in your life?" I wiggle my eyebrows at her, grinning at her teasingly.

       "Just a girl." She blushes and I laugh, grinning widely at her.