Untamed: Book one

Chapter two: Undeniable

"Its so cold in here, where am I? Is this a dream.. or reality? Everything is so dark and I'm so alone." Aarabella starts to run trying to find a light in the darkness of her dream. Panic sets in as she realizes she isn't moving, only running in place, stuck in time.

"Damn it all to hell!" Owen curses as he drops the glass of orange juice on the floor, he quickly grabs a towel scrambling to get it off the floor before it dries. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" He curses quietly trying not to wake Aarabella in the next room. He had spent the entire night making sure she was recovering and sleeping, though he hadn't slept for even a minute. He cleans up the juice and then places the glass shards in the trash-can, grumbling to himself about how clumsy he was.
Owen picks his book up off the counter then quietly walks down the hallway back to his room where Aarabella lies, still sleeping, on his bed. Her long dark hair, her full rosy lips, and her pale, cream colored skin making her appear like a sleeping angel.
Damn it, quit thinking about her like that! It's not possible and you know it, she deserves better than some fucked-up asshole. Besides, if she knew...

He chided himself mentally but then he gazes at her admiring her. When he looks at the wound on her head, covered by gauze, he grows angry and he wants nothing more than to go back to that alleyway where that drunk drug Aarabella and beat the man within an inch of his life. He shakes himself again trying to focus back on Aarabella, when he notices the expression on her face and the fine sheen of sweat covering her skin. Her expression is of paralyzed fear and then he notices her breathing is rigid and shallow. Owen rushes over to her gently shaking her trying to wake her up, when all of a sudden Aarabella starts thrashing about and screaming.
"AARABELLA, wake up sweetheart! Wake up! It's only a dream!" Owen pleads with her, "Please! Wake up!" Aarabella goes completely still again and her eyes open and he can see them filled with fear. "S-so..dark." She says in a voice that is so quiet it's nearly inaudible. "No, sweetheart, you're fine." He says gently, "I'm here with you. I promise I won't let you be harmed again." He looks at her with tenderness for the first time.
Aarabella looks at him, her savior. She remembers the man in the alley, the smell of cheap liquor, the thoughts of this making her stomach roll with nausea. "You.." she trails off, but then picks back up a few moments later "Thank you.." Owen looks at her and his eyes shift from gentle to hard regaining his composure, then gently wipes a strand of hair from her face tucking it behind her ear. He leans down and places a feathery kiss on her forehead and walks out of the room, saying nothing in response.
Aarabella lays there, perplexed.

What the hell just happened? He was being so kind.. but... then..

Her train of thought drifted off and she sits up, assessing herself quickly. She looks down, noticing she was wearing a plain black shirt that was two sizes too big and her hair was a disaster, but at least she wasn't covered in blood anymore. She looks to her right and notices there's a glass of water and two tablets of aspirin.

Guess he knew I'd need this.

Her mind rambles on until she pops the pills into her mouth and takes a sip of the water, realizing at that moment she's completely parched. Aarabella downs the rest of the water greedily, groaning when it's gone.
Tossing the blanket to the side of her she stands up, her movements cause a wave of dizziness and nausea to wash over her as her vision goes black and she falls forward, nearly hitting the nightstand on her way down. She lands with a hrumpf on the thick carpeted floor. She waits a few moments for the waves to pass, then pulls herself onto all fours before standing back up.
Aarabella lets her mind wander as she clasps her hair back into a ponytail, flattening it as much as she can with her fingers. She looks around the room, it's beautiful, the mahogany furniture, the dark chocolate colored walls, the mahogany trimming, and of course, the centerpiece of the room, The canopy four-poster bed. She looks at the cream colored blankets and sheets noticing the contrast between them and the rest of the room.

This ties the entire room together, making it seem... enchanting.

Aarabella walks to the door, turning the handle quietly, and walks down the hallway. Her footsteps are completely silenced by the thick, brown carpet, that lines the hallway. She turns the corner and nearly runs head-long into Owen, who grunts and drops whatever was in his hand. "Oof! Shit!"
      Owen growls slightly irritated that he keeps dropping things, his expression a deep scowl. "What are you doing out of bed!" He demands, his words harsher than he meant for them to be. She gasps at his voice, her eyes filled with silent fear. "I mean, why aren't you still in bed?" He quickly recovers realizing he's just frightened her. "I-I-I was thirsty!" She stammers, falling over herself as she backs away. Owen catches her before she falls and the sudden closeness of their bodies sends another shock through them.
      Aarabella's breath hitches and her heartbeat pounds in her ears as she tries to regain her composure, frantically standing up and pushing Owen away from her.

What the actual fuck was that?! He touched me and It felt like my entire being needed more of him? I don't even really know him! But..

She looks up to see him staring at her, he looked shocked, like he didn't know what happened either. She quickly tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. "I'm sorry.. I should have asked.." she whispers. Owen looks at her, regaining his composure, he clears his throat. "No no. You're not a prisoner, I'm sorry I just didn't expect you to be up roaming around. You caught me off guard." His voice husky as he speaks. He gently touches her cheek and she leans into it out of reflex, her body relaxing a bit when he touches her. Then as quickly as he touched her, he dropped his hand like it was on fire, his body tensing up as his eyes harden again. "I'll grab you some more water. Please. Go back to bed, you do not need to be up right now." He says, his voice slightly cold and clipped. Owen turns away from her and walks away, leaving her standing there alone in the hallway perplexed.

What... just... happened...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey guys! Sorry that this chapter is so short! The next one will be longer so be patient with me! I will be continuing it shortly so stay tuned! 🤗 oh and if you have any ideas on pictures or comments I'd love them!