Sina Saves

Chapter 14: Ymir Doesn't Hate Me!!!

I worked hard under Ms Ta's crippling glare and had to assure Nico several times I was fine. Finally, Reiner came back. He took me by the hand and led me away from the kitchen. "We're going to visit Ymir." I nodded.

As we got closer to the dungeons, I drifted closer to Reiner. He put his arm around me, and I wasn't sure if I absolutely hated the assurance this time.

Reiner opened the locked door to Ymir's dungeon. Inside, a slab had two thin blankets on it and a flat pillow. Ymir was sitting across from us against the wall. She smirked at Reiner's arm. "Did you finally manage to find a girl that's even remotely interested in you?" She laughed. "I never thought that was possible!"

Reiner looked kind of angry but stayed silent for a moment. He took a deep breath and calmly said, "I did." He smiled at me like all of the stars were in my eyes.

Ymir looked at me and asked, "Did your parents drop you on your head quite a few times when you were a baby?"

"No. Did yours or are you naturally like...ehm...that?" I asked sweetly.

"Fair point." She laughed. She must've indulged in her rudeness. Fairly enough, I'm the same.

The door opened, and a guy about Reiner's age started yelling at him. Reiner hurried out, and the other guy slammed the door behind them. I retreated to the nearest corner and slid down the wall. "You're lying about your memory, aren't you?" Ymir asked immediately.

"What?" I snapped. I was truly taken aback; there was no rudeness in her voice, only interest.

"You're lying. You almost wish you weren't, but that changes nothing. You're lying," she said simply. I didn't answer. "Come on, you've seen some shit, like human beings in human being form acting like asshats for no reason."

"Wow...okay, sure," I said slowly, sarcastically.

"You seem like a street rat in arms."

"You used to be one?"

"Yeah. Borrowed stuff to scrape by."

"Did you steal from rich people or anyone you saw, no matter how bad off they were?"

"People with more. They had better stuff anyways."

"Good," I said quietly, staring at my shoelaces.

"You agree with stealing?" she asked, shocked. She must've believed I truly was sweet regardless of what she had figured out.

"I'm okay with nicking something your victim won't miss if it's for your survival."

"You don't seem the type; you seem like you'd beg for things and suffer rather than take the initiative and help yourself."

"I don't seem the type to do a lot of things, don't I?" I asked, looking up from my boots.

She cocked her eyebrows at me, but the door opened and interrupted us. Bertholt stepped in, looking extremely uncomfortable. I decided I better swing back into wifey mode.

"Is Reiner okay?" I asked as I stood quickly.

"Yes; he just needs to do something. I can't really tell you what. Sorry," he said shakily.

I took a piece of hair and twirled it around my fingers. I looked down and shifted my weight. "Okay."

"Reiner asked me to take you back upstairs."

"Okay," I said quietly. Bertolt opened the door for me and closed it behind us. He locked it and started walking back. I followed behind him.

After a few seconds of silence, he stopped in front of me, stared me in the eye and asked, "Sina, can we really trust you?"

His bluntness threw me off slightly, but I tried to look shocked and forced innocence into my voice as I said, "Of course you can."

"Reiner's my best friend, and he doesn't care if you're on our side or not. He just wants someone to fill the void in him. I swear, if you hurt him..."

Sure, Bertolt was a murderer, but I couldn't imagine him doing anything to me. He was an order-follower, submissive.

"I wouldn't hurt him; I love him." I forced myself to think of Nico as I said that so he couldn't tell I was lying.

"Good. He deserves someone who does."

Those words hurt me more than lying. I was a shitty person. I forced my eyes to remain fixed on the end of the hall. "He's incredibly sweet."

Bertolt stayed silent for a few minutes. "When will you turn sixteen?"

"July 28."

"You're going to get married soon then, only a few months."

"I'm nervous."

"Not much will change other than more people will trust you."

"I know, but it's still a big deal."

He nodded, and we started toward Reiner's room. The guy that made Reiner leave came over to us. "Hey Bert, why don't you take a break? Go do something you want; I can make sure she isn't a naughty girl." He smiled at me mischievously, his eyes dwindling over my chest.

I could've killed him then and there. At least Reiner didn't look there to my face.

"No thanks. We're good, Chase," he said quickly.

"Come on, I could handle her."

"The question isn't whether you can handle her or not. I don't need a break." Bertolt grabbed my wrist lightly and pulled me away from Chase.

"What's his deal?" I asked in a whisper once we were out of earshot.

"There aren't many women here, and him and Reiner don't get along in the first place."

"I'd rather not be talked about as a prize," I said quietly but forcefully all the same.

"Sorry. Men just want a woman that loves them and only them, and there's just not enough here for that right now."

"What about you?"

His face flushed rapidly. "There's this girl I like a lot. She, uh, isn't here anymore. I don't think she liked me anyways; it'd be a miracle if she did."

"Well, if she comes back, I'll help you if I can. Maybe it's just hard for you to understand her. Lots of girls and people in general tend to be that way."

He looked at me quickly but didn't ask.

Once we got to Reiner's room, Bertolt left me there, but Reiner was back in a few minutes. He didn't tell me what happened. I couldn't care less; plus, it was getting late. Reiner mumbled goodnight to me before lying down on the couch and almost immediately passing out. I laid down on his bed and forced myself to stay awake by thinking and talking to Nico.

This cycle of boring days continued for a month without change. Due to my extreme lack of sleep, I got sick and started dropping pounds. On the plus, I got closer to Bertolt and Ymir. On the minus, Chase wouldn't leave me alone, and I struggled to not break his nose. One day, I told Reiner about it in passing. He got angry and told me he'd be back in a few minutes. It was an hour before he came back, freshly showered. Chase had a few new bruises and scars. He never bothered me again.