Split- The Company She Keeps

Chapter 3- The Chair

The floorboards creaking by Casey's bed woke her from her unpleasant sleep, face still buried in the jumper that swamped her body. Eyes opening slowly, the view she was met with made her jump, flinching back into the covers. Dennis was sat on a fold out chair next to her bed, clothes perfectly folded in his lap. His glasses reflected the light coming into the room from the open door, but did not hide the stern frown that seemed permanent on his face. It made the teen realise he would not have seen much through the lock hole without his glasses. Casey leaned up onto one elbow, lifting her face from the jumper and swallowed hard.

Dennis glanced over the bed before leaning forwards towards Casey's legs. She sucked in air through her lips and held it as he reached towards her thighs. He very slowly pulled the blanket over the exposed skin that was there, careful not to touch the skin itself, following his rules. Casey didn't dare look away from his face, letting herself breathe once he had leaned back once more.
"I have your clothes." His low voice pointed out the obvious, looking down at them. They were folded in order, from underwear; to her shirt and top; to her jeans to her socks. Her cheeks reddened at the idea of him hanging up her underwear to dry.
"Th-Thank you." Casey replied, moving to sit up properly, wrapping the sheet around herself. The silence echoed around them, questions that were aching to be asked hung in the air as they let the nothingness continue. "Patricia said you would be upset with me. F-for telling her ."

Dennis frowned in response, brushing dust off the head of the bed as he listened. "For telling her what?"
"About the shower." Casey began to shake, "I didn't tell her you were watching, I promise." Dennis met Casey's eyes before looking down, clearing his throat. Clearly he didn't know that Casey had found out what he was doing. He raised from the chair, putting the clothes on the seat and looked down a her, hands balled into fists.
"You should have. Keeping it a secret makes it more fun, which is not what we want." He spoke in plural, as if he was the chairman of a board. But he wasn't the leader, that was obvious. What had Barry said? He's unstable. "I'm not allowed- You're here for the beast."

Casey had heard that before. The Beast. In whispers outside the door and she had seen it somewhere too. The Beast. Before she could ask about it though, Dennis had walked to the corner of the room with his back turned. "Get changed." He ordered. Casey didn't trust him, couldn't trust him being there. But she had to remind herself she had no say, she was the captured not the captor. Reaching for the underwear, she dressed her bottom half under the blanket so Dennis had no chance of seeing her body, even with his glasses on. She got out the bed and turned her back to him before pulling off the jumper, letting it fall on the bed. She had worked her way into her bra and tank top before she felt the heavy breathing on her shoulder. Unable to do anything but shake, Casey stood very still as a hand hovered over her shoulder and then floated down her arm. He was so close she could feel his fingers brushing the small light hairs on her forearm, breath giving her goosebumps. They stayed very still and very close for almost twenty seconds, his hands moving over her body without touching it, thought it felt like they were. She felt smothered in him, completely covered by his non-touches. After those twenty seconds he backed away, picking up the jumper. Casey turned her head as if she was facing a lion, her mouth open, bottom lip trembling. Dennis was stood by the end of the bed, face in the jumper, eyes closed. It sent shivers down her spine, a small part of her brain reminding her she was doing the same thing before he walked in. Casey nervously tugged on her shirt and sat on the bed, eyes never blinking, staring at Dennis. He eventually opened his eyes and lowered the jumper, looking back at her with that cold face. "The beast is real. And he's coming. I can't- I'm not allowed to touch you."

The words were so controlled and thought out. One had to wonder if he had made those rules or if they were made by whoever was in control of them all. Dennis was struggling. "Okay..." Was Casey's reply as she did not know what to say. When Dennis approached the bed again, Casey pushed herself away from him, only to see him pick up the chair to take with him out the door, locking it as he left. Casey sank in on herself and covered her face in her hands, shaking furiously. She wasn't going to get out. The beast was coming. Whatever that was. Maybe it wasn't real. If not, then what would happen, would she just rot there? How long before the beast arrived? What if It was real? Could she outrun it? Fight it? There was nothing in the room that could help, she had already looked for something to use against her captor. Perhaps she could make a run for it once the beast had arrived, it seemed as though Dennis at least would be distracted by it. And the others. She could save the others. If she knew where to go. If they were still alive. The nasty thought jumped into her head and made had her let out a small whimper from between her hands. No, thinking like that wouldn't do any good. She had to have a plan in place for any eventuality. It's not like she didn't have the time to think it all out, only interrupted by her visitor every so often, whichever one it may be. Casey missed Hedwig.

//An update is coming soon, thank you so much for reading this far. I would love to hear what you all think and what you think is coming. I should be updating tomorrow with one or more parts so keep your eyes peeled! More is on the way!//