Decipher | Watty's 2017

LIII. Enthrall

Enthrall

/inˈTHrôl,enˈTHrôl/

verb

capture the fascinated attention of

Melissa's POV

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A couple of days had gone by since that intimate moment between Luke and I, and despite our lack of self control around each other, we were both elated to be in the others presence once more. His aura sent chills through my spine and left me tingling when he left the room. Our time together had grown scarce though in the past few days as we were both needed in separate areas.

The tactical team had needed Luke almost on a daily basis, requiring his feedback as to how they should proceed when the code was finished being deciphered. Only one thing stood between them and raiding the major cities: me. Actually, it was more of the code not being deciphered, leaving them defenseless against all scrutiny and unable to deliver the promises of freedom they had been quick to make, but the only person with the ability to decode it was me as I had quickly been informed.

Over the course of the past few weeks many things had been revealed to me such as the fact Janice was back from the laboratory only a few days after my disappearance, which immediately led to me finding out that she and Calum were together as I did find out she was back by walking into Calum's room to see her straddling his waist. I had also learned the extent of Luke's depression while I was away, and while I tried to convince myself that it wasn't my fault, I still felt guilty for putting his heart through so much pain.

Evidence of his shattered heart lay in pieces of his bedroom floor when I had finally taken the time to look around his room. While I had been in search of him when I walked into his room that day, I never expected to find this. Old tee shirts had been scattering the floor, looking worn and dirty as if they had not been picked up for a long period of time.

His bed that he usually never made was lying in perfect condition as I had left it the last time I tidied his room for him, which was subsequently before I was taken. There was virtually no evidence of Luke sleeping in there since my disappearance.

Despite my knowledge of him being within his room from the small amount of time we had spent in there, the aura of the room mocked me as if to say that he would have never returned had I not been returning with him. Therefore, when I finally gathered enough courage to ask him why the evidence supported my theory, the answer only seemed to tear my already weak heart.

Luke lied tiredly on my bed that was no longer made due to his tired antics, his head buried in the pillows as my hand ran delicately through his growing hair. I hadn't made a sound since we walked in, not trusting my voice to speak and communicate the words I wanted it to. There was no tension, however, only gentle hums of appreciation fell from Luke's lips as he turned his body to lie on my outstretched legs.

"So what did you want to ask?" The sound of his voice caught me off guard, causing me to jump a bit in apprehension. "Are you okay?" his concerned voice questioned as his tall body shifted on the bed and sat up to give his full attention to me.

"I'm-" I paused, not knowing how to exactly ask the question probing at the back of my mind. It wasn't necessarily easy to ask your boyfriend how destructive his habits had gotten when you were in captivity. Especially when you were the one that positioned yourself in that situation in the first place.

At this point, it felt like nothing in my life was easy. Recovering from the trauma of what had happened wasn't easy and noticing the changes in Luke's, and everyone else's for that matter, attitude was starting to build up inside of me and getting ready to explode.