War of the Sexes

Chapter 12

My body felt the best its had since I could remember. I was warm, comfy, and in very little pain. Honestly, I couldn't feel any at the moment.

Something was on top of me. I could head a steady breathing pattern in my left ear.

In...out...in...out...

Slowly, my eyes pulled apart, the sunlight streaming in gently from a window hidden from me before. I rolled over.

The arm trapping me down fell off.

The breathing pattern stopped abruptly. Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced over.

Clayton's eyes were on me. I turned my head slightly.

His eyes widened, mouth opening slightly. And then he disappeared off the side of the bed. I gasped slightly, quickly looking over .

Without any warning, Clayton grabbed my bra strap, pulling me onto the ground on top of him. Surprise paralyzed me as he quickly pulled me up against the

wall. My feet were a few inches off the ground, our noses almost touching.

"What the hell were you doing in my bed?" He growled.

My eyes widened, fear spread out across my face. He.. he told me to come sleep with him. Was this all a trick? Was I supposed to have refused?

"Answer me, dammit!" he yelled

"You..you told me to!" I whimpered.

He pulled back slightly, looking off in the distance. Clayton blinked, looking back at me.

"oh" he whispered, setting me back down on my feet.

I calmed my breathing, realizing how fast it had gotten

"Well. How did you sleep then?" His change of tone scared me. I didn't know whether this was a trick or not. Everything about this scared me.

"ok" I whispered

He nodded, backing away further. Clayton met my eyes one last time before looking away. He gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down in his throat.

"You should uh... go back to the basement" Clayton said, his voice shakey "Before uh, John comes back"

My breathing hadn't calmed much. I scrambled up, walking hesitantly after Clayton as he led me through the house down to the basement. He was careful

not to touch me. I was grateful for that.

He opened the door to the basement, the looming darkness before me. I avoided his eyes as I walked past him, my feet gently stepping on the cold stairs.

Clayton stayed at the top of the stairs, watching me as I walked down. My eyes searched for a shadow, a tail, anything that would signal Luke being here. I

found the familiar area of the wall I had come so accustomed to, leaning my back against it. I looked up at Clayton.

With a slight nod, he shut the door, sealing of my source of light. I sat down, curling into a ball. I wasn't tired.

In fact, I was filled with energy. I wanted to do something. I felt like moving, not just sitting around, curled into a ball. I'd done that so many times before. I just

wanted to run. Somewhere. Anywhere.

I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. My gaze darted towards the area, catching the end of a tail.

I smiled slightly, patting the ground next to me.

"Here, Luke" I whispered, my voice echoing off the walls of the cellar.

The tail froze. I could feel myself being watched. Cautiously, I patted the ground again, hoping Luke might come over.

A few moments later, I heard the scampering of paws on the hard floor. I reached my hand out into the darkness, searching blindly for fur. My fingers nudged

something wet, quickly recognizing the tip of a nose.

I rubbed the top of Luke's head has he walked closer, sniffing my belly. He pressed his nose into my side, causing me to shift away in discomfort.

Luke set his paws on my leg, resting his head between him as I scratched below his jaw.

The energy was still inside me, but I pushed it away, more focused on petting my dog than anything else.

My dog.

Luke was my dog.

I closed my eyes, leaning my head against the cold, hard wall behind me.

~*~

I could feel the time passing. Every second of every minute. Every minute of every hour. Luke had fallen asleep on my leg. I couldn't bring myself to move him.

He was so tiny and in need of love. I let him stay there, absently petting him.

My mind had wandered off to many things. I was trying to put together what the hell was going on. People were acting so were. I'd only seen two people since

I could last remember. Neither of them had an approachable appearance, but Clayton was...nicer, to say the least. John still gave me goosebumps.

The door slammed open at the top of the stairs. Light flooded into the room, spilling on me and Luke. The poor dog jumped, scared out of his wits. His claws

scratched my leg, drawing six lines of blood. I gasped in pain, grabbing at my leg.

Luke scampered away into a corner, trying to hide from the light.

Clayton and John stood in the doorway, their large frames filling up most of it. John pushed past Clayton, heading down the stairs first.

I pressed myself against the wall, knowing this could only be bad.

John stood in front of me, arms crossed. Clayton walked next to him, mimicking his position. I coward below them, fear beating my heart.

"You need to start talking, bitch" John said. "We want to know what the hell it is you want."