War of the Sexes

Chapter 7

"Alright" He said awkwardly. "I just wanted to say... I'm uh... you know... trying not to make your stay here awful."

My heart plummeted once I realized he was not apologizing. I thought I was about to be set free, but no. I'm still here.

My thoughts were confirmed when he spoke again.

"You aren't leaving here ever, I think we both know that much" He said.

A tear leaked down my cheek. Now all I could hope for was that Jim would rescue me from here, take me away, back home, we would live forever

together.

Clayton noticed, his hand moving slightly.

Oh no, please don't.

"I'm s-sorry" I muttered, wiping it away.

"What are you sorry about?"

I looked down, not sure if I should answer or not. After a few moments I opened my lips, stuttering out a response "F-for c-cry-ying"

He bit his lip "So... Ellie"

I was surprised he remembered my name.

"I've been doing some research" He continued. What kind of research? My mind raced through the possibilities. Research on how to kill someone

without getting caught? Research on how to torture someone until they kill themselves? Research on what?!

He coughed once "And I'm trying to make it more comforting for you to live here. At least when John's not around."

My face must've shown the confusion I was expressing.

He fidgeted in his seat, not used to this. What 'this' was, I didn't know. But it was clear that this was awkward for him. I didn't dare say anything in

case I got in trouble.

"Basically, I'm trying to tell you I'm going to make your life better." He said, looking at me.

I kept my expression blank, refusing to let out any emotion. A small part of people was waiting for John to come in and yell at me for reacting badly.

"So the first thing I came across was..." Clayton trailed off, thinking "Do you want a shower?"

I started to nod eagerly when I remembered. "I can't walk"

He blinked, his eyes quickly shooting down to my ankle and back up. "Doesn't mean you can't shower. You have to keep your injury clean so you

don't get infected"

Wow. He was worried I was going to get infected. What the hell was up with that?

I nodded slightly, letting him know I agreed. Clayton stood up. Finally, I saw just how tall he truly was compared to me. It had always been too dark

before to get a good estimate, or I hadn't been standing.

We stood a foot apart. I didn't look up at his eyes; only forward into his chest. Clayton was at least six inches taller than me, and I was moderately tall

to begin with. He had to be at least six feet tall to tower over me like that.

"I'll help you there" He said, causing my eyes to look up at him. I felt small, microscopic, next to him. A feeling I wasn't used to.