Creature (CENTURIES series: Book #7)

16

The clock on my wall was the only thing that broke the silence as I sat across from Charlie at my dining table, trying to find the words to start. He was staring expectantly at me, clearly waiting for me to say whatever I wanted to say so he could move on to take a shower, but the words got stuck in my throat.

The image of what I had seen minutes ago still played clearly inside my head, way too fresh to even fully have been absorbed. More than ever, I wished I'd never seen what was on that video. Wished that I was still ignorant and oblivious to what they had done to him.

It was like I couldn't look at him the same way anymore. Charlie rose a slow brow at me from my prolonged silence, but all I saw was the full grown man being strapped to a chair with endless streams of electrical volts zapping through him when he couldn't solve what they presented to him. The silence only further heightened the screams I still heard ringing in my ears, the screams of someone scared and in indescribable pain.

And the owner of those screams was sitting stoically in front of me, still waiting for me to speak.

I tried to open my mouth, but my throat closed up. How did I possibly begin telling him? I hadn't been trained for this, hadn't had any experience in this field. Looking at him now, I just wanted to leap out of my chair and hold him in my arms and comfort him for the stuff he didn't know had happened to him. He had been so strong since he had come here, had bounced back from every disappointment the world had given him, every blow and every kick.

But this might just be what tipped the cup.

Closing my mouth again and swallowing, I felt a change of mind coming. I couldn't tell him. It really would break him. There was no saying how he would react to this news, and with me and him not being on the best of terms right now, there was no guarantee I could calm him down. C.E.N.T.U.R.I.E.S would be forced to swoop in and... who's to say they wouldn't press that vile little button that triggered the chip inside his head.

So I decided quickly. It wasn't the time nor the place to tell him this. What good would it do him anyway? It would only scar him further. What was done was done, and nothing could change that. Why not let him live obliviously like I wished I could do now? He didn't deserve what had been done to him, but as long it hadn't scarred him...

"Carly?"

My silence had finally run its quota. Charlie implored me with a look and studied my probably pale face. I shook it off and tried my best to snap out of it. New plan. "I'm sorry. I just needed a moment to gather my thoughts."

Charlie's creased brows eased up and he slowly leaned back in his chair. "Okay."

I gulped nervously again. Sitting relaxed and reclined in my chair with his purple eyes looking at me, he looked like a Marvel superhero just coming back from a training session, sweat dripping off his body; too sexy, too drop dead gorgeous and too mouthwatering.

And yet all I saw was the man tied to a chair in a lab.

I shook my head again and tried to focus. "Alright. We need to talk, Charlie. About... a-about what happened," I explained, quickly agreeing with myself to continue the plan I had started earlier this morning; discussing our mistake. "These last few days there's been some lingering tension between us, but I'd like it to go away. If we're going to be able to work together again properly, we need to be candid and clear the air. You understand?"

A small muscle in his jaw clenched, but he nodded and looked down. "Yes."

"Good," I sighed with relief, but in truth I was still stiff as a board. My stomach was taut with anxiety and my lungs were stuttering on their exhales. Looking down at my folded hands, I realized they were slightly trembling as well.