Control » l.h

Chapter Two

I tried to shy away from him, but I was unsuccessful. The ties on my hands held me in place. I curled my legs up, and his hand fell away, as well as his smile.

"You're all I have, Jemma. I wouldn't do that if I were you." he threatened.

"Let me go," I demanded, trying to keep my voice from wavering. "I want to go home."

"Jemma, I don't think you understand what-"

"Take me home!" I shouted.

Luke was standing at the end of the bed in a flash, the bed shaking violently. His eyes were glowing white and his right arm was raising, his hand open to the bed.

"You will do what I say!" he yelled.

"Luke!" I cried over the loud banging. "Luke, stop it!"

"You can't leave me, Jemma!" he shouted, but his face looked torn. Tears were beginning to fall down his face.

"You can't keep me here." I told him.

"Why not? You were just going to kill yourself anyway. You can't leave."

The lights started flickering, the door started opening and slamming shut, along with the closet's sliding doors. The drawers were flying open and closed, and the bed shook harder and harder.

"Luke, please!" I screeched, tears running down my cheeks and dripping off my chin. "Luke, you're scaring me! Please stop! Luke!"

His eyes began to dim and his arm lowered slowly. The lights stayed dimmed and the doors and drawers carefully and quietly went back into the place. The bed stopped bouncing. I was left in a huddled heap by the headboard, trying to shield my face with my arms.

"I'm sorry." Luke whispered, absolutely broken. His cheeks were wet with tears. I was never going to get out of here.

"Don't." was all I said to him.

He went to touch my leg, but I pulled it towards myself. He dropped his hand. "I'll go get you some food." he decided.

He walked towards the door, but stopped. He turned, his eyes glowing again. He raised his hand, and I flinched away. The ropes on my wrists loosened and I pulled them down. They prickled from the blood going back into them. When I looked back at the door, it was closed, and Luke was gone.

I decided to stretch my legs. I got up from the bed and looked around the tiny room. There wasn't much to look at. I went through the drawers and saw it was filled with Luke's things. Until I reached the lower half and found it was completely empty except for a picture. It was me, sitting on a bench outside at school. I was looking off into the distance somewhere with a curious smile on my face. I couldn't recall the memory of what happened when it was taken, but I put it back and jammed the drawer shut.

I walked over to the door and placed my hand on the knob. I twisted it, but it was locked. Of course. Luke didn't want me to leave, so why would he leave it open? I sighed and bit at my bottom lip, walking over to the closet. I slid one of the doors aside and looked inside. It was dark, so I couldn't see much. There wasn't a light inside either. I closed the door and sat back on the bed.

It felt like forever when Luke opened the door and walked back into the room. In one hand, he balanced a pizza box. He sat opposite me on the bed, crossing his legs. He opened the box and handed me a slice, along with a napkin he had stuffed into his pocket.

"Thanks." I mumbled, taking it from him and biting into it.

"Sorry about earlier." he said, his cheeks turning pink.

I shrugged, but didn't say anything. It was obviously far from okay, but I couldn't tell him that. I didn't want to upset him any more than I already have.

"But did you see what you did?" he questioned.

I shook my head slowly, chewing the bite of pizza thoroughly before swallowing. "What did I do?"

"You made me stop," he pointed out. "No one was ever able to do that."

"Not even your family ever could?" I wondered.

"I don't know why it's you, though," he continued. I figured he just didn't hear my question. I was being pretty quiet when I talked to him, after all. I was terrified he'd go off on me again. "I'd never met you before except that one night. Why is it you?"

Luke studied my face, his blue eyes captivating me. I couldn't look away no matter how hard I tried. He looked softly at me, the corner of his mouth pulling up into a slight smile. I was finally able to look away, my lips parting slightly. I was wondering the same thing he was. Why was I the only person who was able to keep him under control?

"You know, I could take you out sometime," he mused, looking off somewhere behind me. "I just don't want you running off."

He was acting like he owned me. What was wrong with this guy? I only knew his first name and that he can somehow do these strange things. What was his deal?

"You don't own me." I blurted, but my voice still low.

He nodded. "True. But you still can't leave."

My burst of courage made me feel even more rebellious. "You can't control me."

"Oh," he said, with a sly smile. His eyes dully glowed as he moved the pizza carefully to the floor. He raised his hand towards me and pulled it towards his body, pulling me along with him as if I was tied by an invisible rope. I was sitting right in front of him, our knees touching. "But I can."