Amelia

Chapter Twelve

A/N: Apparently Wattpad had made this chapter private and it never publicly got published so this book went from chapter 10 to chapter 12 for a long time and that's fine I'm just slightly dying of embarrassment that's cool anyway it should be fixed now if you want to go back and read it or something yeah okay enjoy

Chapter Twelve

It became a kind of ritual for Alexander and me.

It didn't happen all the time, but every so often Alexander would call me into the bathroom at night, hand me the glass already filled with the thick "medicine," and then lock me in the room until morning. He rarely gave me as much as he had the first two times, which had been enough to leave me retching for hours. Instead, he gave me just enough to "cleanse" myself of whichever meal I'd had that day that he'd deemed unworthy. This still left me with nausea and vomiting, but I least I didn't pass out from exhaustion halfway through.

It was a pain to sleep on the tile floor, though.

Alexander seemed proud of the change the drug had caused in my body. I was definitely skinner, with my clothes almost seeming to hang off me in places. Alexander stated that I'd never looked better, but the few times I could bear to face myself in the mirror, I thought I just looked sick.

This was one of those few times, after the nausea had finally passed and I was able to brush my teeth without having to worry about them just getting gross again. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, the sunken-in dull eyes stared back at me. My skin was paler than usual, with a sight gray sheen to it, and my hair hung lifelessly around my face. Overall, I looked like a person who'd just thrown up in a toilet for the past hour.

Getting out the blanket and pillow I'd stored in the bathroom for these occasions, I made myself as comfortable as I could on the cold floor. My body ached and my stomach growled, churning internally in search of more food. I tried not to think of the dire consequences this could have on my body. Instead, I focused on Fin.

Fin.

I hadn't seen him since that night three weeks ago, when my family had walked into his shop and I'd left him standing there with that awful look in his eyes. We'd spoken, mainly through text, but I felt that the both of us were still reeling from the close encounter. Although nothing bad had happened and Fin and I had given no indication of knowing each other, I still felt as though we were being watched.

We'd made sure to keep the conversation on lighter topics, including the projects Fin often worked on for his clients. A few times, he'd tried to get me to agree to meet him somewhere. Not the house, nor his town, but somewhere no one else would find us. I'd been tempted to say yes, but one look in the mirror told me it was better if Fin didn't see me just then.

Best to wait until I could figure out how to hide this.

When morning came, Alexander greeted me by unlocking the bathroom door. I stepped out, grabbing my robe as Alexander search through the closet for his tie. I had taken to showering in the spare bedroom's shower, as looking at much of anything in the master bathroom made me feel queasy.

Alexander frowned, but said nothing of this.

When I was finished and dressed in a pair of navy slacks and a off-white sweater -I'd forgone the dresses, as they often bunched around my smaller frame- Alexander entered the room and sat at the edge of the bed. Something disturbed me about him sitting there, so calmly, claiming it as his own.

How dare he just barge into my room and act like he owns the place.

Except, he did own the place. This was Alexander's house, and therefore his spare bedroom, not mine. That fact made my shoulders slump, and I felt a lot smaller in this grand mansion.