Stolen By Him | ✓

day seventeen

||DAY 17

It had been seventeen days since the accident, or so he'd told her, and she was recovering as expected. Her arms were able to move now, so long as she didn't push herself too much and she could finally feed herself without having to silently accept Matthew's help. Yesterday, she managed to wash herself, even though she could only do it while sitting down.

The water had been cold and refreshing as it slid down her neck and arms. For the first time since being there, she felt free from his hovering eyes and it was as though she would finally breathe again. She stayed in that bathroom for as long as her strained arms would let her- to the point that her fingers and toes wrinkled up.

Over the last few days, Matthew had made sure to take her outside or around the little cabin house and she'd learnt it had only 3 rooms- a bedroom, a kitchen and a bathroom. From outside, the house was quaint and small. Innocent-looking.

A perfect ruse.

Despite learning this, Lana felt she was at no greater advantage than without this information. Her mind still wouldn't leave the fact that nobody knew about this place.

Move past this, she kept telling herself. Just keep digging until you find something useful.

And so, that's what she tried to do.

"Are we still in Connecticut?" She asked as they sat outside of the house.

She was starting to realise that there was something he liked over here, just sitting and looking out into the great expanse of green canopy. Though, much like with everything else, she couldn't figure out what it was.

He breathed out a slight chuckle. "Of course. The military base isn't outside of Connecticut."

"How can I believe you? Prove it."

"I know what you're doing Lana." His voice was suddenly serious- deadpan even. The instant change caused her stomach to flip uneasily. "I guess you'll just have to take my word for it."

His clueless words sounded so clueless, she almost wanted to laugh at them. "But I don't trust you."

"You can though, you know? I wouldn't lie to you." He was looking at her- she could feel the tender burn of his gaze. She knew from the tone of his voice that he wasn't peering at her harshly. However, she also knew the trap she'd fall into if she returned his gaze. Despite falling for his younger brother, she'd never been blind to what beauty Matthew had. Lana had always thought it went deeper than that- that his core was just as pure as his allure.

She didn't really know what to think now.

"You lied about this being a safe house."

He sighed lowly, as though he didn't quite know what to say. "That's... different."

"How?"

She was met with silence.

"How?" She said once more.

"Because this place is special to me. I can't explain why, or at least I don't know how to, so it was easier in the moment to say that."

She didn't know what he would say, but she wasn't expecting this. It unsettled her even though there was nothing eerie about his statement at all. Maybe it was the way that he said it- so helplessly and unadulterated- that her pause. Or maybe it was because his words contained something of a much deeper capacity than he let on.

It reminded her of the one thing that she wished to forget- that he was human too and felt things just like her. But that wasn't the way she wanted to view Matthew. 

It only made it harder to hate him.