Stockholm Syndrome? ✔

S.S 34

~2 weeks later~

I woke up to the sound of raindrops hitting the roof of the room I was in and the low sound of murmuring at the window. It was as if someone was whispering sweetly in the air. The drops were a musical chime. The sound was peaceful. I could smell wet wood in the air and the smell was heartwarming.

It was late in the morning. Having accustomed to waking up early in the morning to jog, I could tell when I had slept longer. Clearly there was not going to be any jogging done that day. I wasn't worried. It had taken me a while to get back into my jogging routine after the incident and though I tried to be fit for soccer, I wasn't uptight about my solo jogging. I would eventually get into the rhythm of things.

I raised my hand out of the duvet slowly and it protested as the coldness around engulfed it. Winter was knocking on our doors. It didn't help that I was in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing but trees.

I wasn't complaining. I loved being there. It was serene and just beautiful. Sometimes it got so quiet that the only sounds were the chirping of birds. If you listened carefully you could hear the sound of rushing water from a nearby stream. That stream was no doubt being pelted with cold raindrops at that time.

I reached for my phone on the nightstand; finally deciding to open my eyes when I realized what I touched wasn't my phone. It was another phone, which looked eerily similar to mine. Two phones were lying next to each other on the nightstand. I pressed mine and the time was displayed in bold as the screen came to life.

10.03 am.

I yawned and stretched my arms before turning my body away from the nightstand. I snuck and arm around the waist of the person lying next to me on the large bed. I heard soft grunting. I lay like that for a while, deciding to get out of bed eventually. Obviously my bedmate wasn't waking up anytime soon.

I sat up and kissed the man on the cheek, removing a few black hairs for better access. The eyelashes fluttered, but the eyes did not open. It was a good thing, I had something in mind. I finally got out of bed, put on my dog-shaped fluffy sleepers and walked to the drawer. I pulled out a large grey sweater and put it on. It was too big for me, but I loved the instant comfort it brought me. It smelled like sandalwood too, which I found alluring.

I made my way to the kitchen and set on the task of making breakfast. I had brought a lot of flour and eggs with me. My boyfriend had a taste for pancakes and apparently I made the best pancakes in town. I didn't think I was a chef by any means, but I intended to make him happy, in every possible way.

It had been two weeks since Felix was stabbed in the heart. He'd taken a knife to the heart for me and nearly died doing so. I had always thought the idea of near-death experiences changing people was ridiculous, but I wasn't so sure anymore. I knew the incident changed me. It was a subtle change, but it was significant. It scared me enough for me to admit my feelings to Felix and not think about Ricky.

Some would say it wasn't a big deal, but if I hadn't I would have lived most of my life wondering what would have happened if Felix had felt the same way. I didn't have to wonder anymore. I knew.

Felix spent a week and a half in hospital. I visited every day. I became sort of a celebrity at the hospital, which was funny to say the least. The nurses thought I was brave to stick my finger in Felix's chest not knowing much about human anatomy. They thought it was sweet, and even more when they found out Felix had taken the stabbing in my place. I felt like I had just been thrown onto the set of a medical/crime drama. I was glad it was all over now.

I spent the other half of the second week at home with mom. I explained some of the details. I didn't tell her the true nature of my relationship with Felix. I hoped to tell her some other day when things had settled down. She was so shaken by everything that happened; she was reluctant to let me leave. She even suggested me moving back and transferring to a nearby college the next year and I told her I would think about it. I didn't want to leave California. Sure some bad things happened there, but bad things happened everywhere.