Holding on (Vampire Diaries~Enzo)

Chapter 5: Number Three

~ Number Three ~

17 April 1950 ~ Enzo

 

I had almost broken my promise yesterday. Ruby’s screaming had been so much worse than any other screaming I’ve heard. I had almost turned my humanity off, but then after about an hour, maybe two, the screaming stopped. I was sure she had lost consciousness. I could hear her uneven breathing while Dr. Whitmore went on with his test like nothing had happened. Ruby had woken up a couple of times, but every time she did it didn’t take long until she fell back into her unconscious state.

Now she's asleep, lying on the other side of the cell where I can’t reach her. Whitmore had dragged her down stairs after he was done with her and had thrown her on the ground like a doll. She has slept since. Morning must be coming and I hope she will wake up soon, before he comes back to take me away.

I remember Maggie’s face when she found out what was actually going on down here. She thought I was just held captive and I didn’t tell her the truth. She was so innocent, sweet and caring and I didn’t want to take away the smile every time she entered my prison. I had never thought I would find a way to survive here. But I did. I clung unto Maggie’s face, her smell, her smile and our conversations. We never touched of course. I’m still a vampire and she a human. Augustine would never allow it and Maggie wasn’t stupid. She never took off her Vervain bracelet and always kept safe distance, just out of my reach. Not that I would ever hurt her.

But the moment she found out about the torture, her face turned into pain, anger and worst of all; guilt. She felt like she had helped accomplish it, like she had helped the devil. That was what she thought when she tried to free me.

Helping the devil get out of hell, I think bitterly.

Then I hear a noise next to me and I snap my head in that direction as Ruby groans and opens her eyes.

17 April 1950 ~ Ruby

 

My head pounds like crazy and I groan trying to reach my head, but the movement actually makes it worse. I feel dizzy and have the urge to puke even though there is nothing in my stomach that can make its way up. Every part of my body hurts and pounds, like I have been in a terrible car accident and just got out of my wrecked car. But I know I didn’t have a car accident, but I can’t remember what it then was. Now I open my eyes and I remember. The bars, the cell, Enzo. The torture.

Oh my god.

 Somehow, the fear comes back and settles in my stomach like ice cubes and my heart pounds like there is no tomorrow. I scrabble backwards against the wall, even before I realize what I am doing, my back hit the wall and I almost begin to hyperventilate. I start to run my hands over my body to find the wounds and to stop the blood from running down my body, but there is nothing. I must’ve been here for long. At least long enough to be healed. My breathing slows a bit after that revelation.

‘Ruby…’ Enzo says now and I hear and feel his concern for me. ‘Are you okay?’ he asks just to say something.

When I don’t answer he tries a different tactic.

‘Ruby, just say something.’ I hear the frustration mixed with concern in his voice and I realize he had been hearing every scream and every heartbeat, just as I have two days ago. He deserves an answer. But it is hard to get my head to form a sentence and even if I could, I doubt it would make its way out of my dry throat, which is rough of the screaming. Finally, something reaches my mouth and it sound wrong and not like mine.

‘En-zo.’ I say – it is more like a whisper though – with a creaky voice and I reach my hand out for him, without moving something else and I put my head against the cold stone wall and close my eyes. I don’t look if he takes my hand, but he does. He takes it and his warm hand encloses my cold one.