apathy (sequel to fervor)

Ձ୨ | ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ.

Ձ୨ | ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ.

My eyes fluttered open, my head pounding. It felt like I had been hit by a 2x4, or a brick. Whatever it was, it was aching, and it made me feel dizzy. I was sure that I was bleeding. My vision was blurry, and I blinked a few times, trying to adjust. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, the lights dim, with gold accents. I sat up, looking around at my environment. 

I was laying on a white, fluffy bed, the headboard and footboard golden.  The room was decorated poorly in my opinion, only a shabby dresser in the room. A high window let some sunlight in, green hills and lush trees the backdrop outside the window. Looking down at my apperance, my clothes had been taken from me, and I was in a long, soft green maxi dress. I wasn't free to get up, however, my wrist was handcuffed to the headboard. 

"Good morning, sleeping beauty."

M.

He approached my bed, smiling at me. I watched him closely, as I didn't want him touching me. He cocked his head to the side, and the way he looked at me made me sick to my stomach. I felt like he was undressing me with his eyes, and I shuddered at the thought of his hands on my skin. "I didn't formally introduce myself. I'm Martin." I stared at him blankly, and he sat on the bed, in front of me. "Now, the reason why you're here has nothing to do with your family. You father doesn't owe me money, or anything like that," he smiled, "you're simply here because I want you all to myself."

He placed his hand on my leg, and I whimpered, earning a frown from him. "There's no reason to act like that, Monae," he began to creep over me, his hand rubbing my thigh. "I'm not going to hurt you," he grinned, staring into my eyes, moving to my ear, "only if you don't give me a reason to, that is." I felt the handcuff slip off my wrist, and Martin rose off of me, licking his lips. "You look cute," he nodded, "Jose does fine work."

My stomach churrned at the thought of either one of them seeing me naked. 

He got off the bed, beginning to approach the door. "W-Wait!" I stopped him, making him turn around and look at me. He raised his eyebrow, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. "W-Where's my s-son..Amir?" I asked. He smiled, "He's eating breakfast. Would you like to join?" I nodded as a response, getting off the bed. I followed behind him as we exited the room, and I took in the decorium of Martin's home. It was exquisite, gold and dark wood fixes everywhere. My fingertips trailed the banister, the wood soft and cool. 

I followed Martin down the steps, and we walked through the living room, and into the kitchen. The sounds of food cooking could be heard, sizzling bacon, microwaves beeping..it reminded me of home. Amir was sitting in a high chair, looking content and unharmed. Martin stopped in front of me, smiling. "I wouldn't hurt that little boy..now go ahead and eat." I stepped to the dining table, and Amir cried out. "Mama!"

I smiled, kissing his forehead. I took his out of the high-chair, hugging him. I kissed his cheek, and he smiled. I placed him back in the high-chair, taking a seat next to him. Jose brought me a plate, and sat it down in front of me. I looked up at him, taking in his facial features. His face was sharp, his eye a deep brown color. He had lips like Martin, but was more of a light brown color. We didn't make eye connection for long, his vision shifted back and forth, almost like he was..nervous. I gave him a soft smile, starting to eat. 

I didn't eat much though, and Martin noticed. "You don't like the food?" He asked me, his feet up on the table. "I'm just not hungry.." I answered. Amir on the other hand, he was eating like he hadn't eaten in days. I placed my hands in my lap, looking through the window. I could see a driveway, all types of cars parked out there. Farther out, I think I saw a patio, with a large pool. I sighed, and looked at Amir, pushing his now wild hair back. I was going to have to do something with it soon enough.

I looked up, Martin's eyes on me. "Jose's my brother," he nodded, "he doesn't talk much."

Looking at Jose, he didn't seem so happy with the joke Martin made about him. The muscles in his arm flexed, and he slammed the glass cup he was holding down on the counter, and it broke, pieces of the glass shattering everywhere. He left the room in a huff, and Amir began to cry. I picked him up, hugging him. "Shh, shh.." I cooed, rubbing his back. "It's okay, baby.."

After the incident this morning, Martin let me wander around the house- with supervision of course. He had one of his "workers" follow me around, and it was getting annoying. The woman kept telling me that I needed to relax, and that taking Amir would help me. I gave her a look, and that shut her up quickly. "You don't have to follow me, I won't run." I assured her. It was true, I had checked for spots where I could escape and try to find my way back to civilization, but this place was in the middle of nowhere. 

I splashed Amir's feet with a little bit of cool water, and he squealed. He kept staring into the pool, and even kicked his feet. He enjoyed the water, I could tell that he wanted to get in. I wasn't going to let him though, to me, he was far too young. When he was 3 or 4, I would get him swimming lessons. It was his first time being around this amount of water; I wanted to make sure that he was safe. Amir's feet began to get wrinkly, and I stood up, choosing a hammock chair to lounge in. The fresh air felt good against my skin, and I had time to think.

Amir had fallen asleep, sucking on his thumb, his head on my chest. I rubbed his back, looking out into the scenery. This time, something had to be different. I wasn't going to mope around and wait for my family to find me. I had to be resourceful, and plan. I just wasn't fighting for myself anymore..I had Amir to worry about. He deserves to have a normal life. 

The sun started to set, and I entered the house. I passed by a window, and I could see Jose standing there, watching me as I walked through the door. I don't know..it was something about Jose that make me feel weird. He was the one giving me the weird packages, but there was something..off about him. I was in "my" room, staring out the window when Jose came in. He was holding a dry erase board and marker, and also a first aid kit.

He extended his hand to me as he sat on my bed, staring at me. There was pieces of glass in his hand, and he had some open wounds. I suspected that it was from this morning, judging by how some of the blood was dried up. He made a gurgling sound, pushing the first aid kit towards me. 

"You want me to..clean your hand?" I questioned.

I had barely gotten "settled in", and I was already being asked to clean hands. This was weird. Why did he come to me? I'm sure there's someone in the house who can do this..why me? Jose nodded, and I stared at his hand before scooting closer to him. I gently touched his hand, and he flinched. I opened the first aid kit, and began to clean his hand, first getting the pieces of glass out. He watched me like a child, observant and curious. He didn't like the rubbing alcohol, flinching when I cleaned his cuts. 

"Okay..all clean."

I looked up at him, maintaining some kind of eye contact with him. He smiled, showing his straight, white teeth. I watched him as he picked up the dry erase board, taking the top off of the marker. He wrote something on the board, closed the marker, and showed it to me.

You're beautiful. Thank you.

AN: What do you think of Martin and Jose so far? Picture of Jose on the side ~>