𝐎𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 [Venable X Reader]

19 | Dark Shadows

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At some point I was jolted awake by the sound of muffled voices. Half-awaken, I slowly stretched my arms and blinked. My blurred vision slowly cleared and I found myself lying in bed in my own room. My heartbeat quickening, I sat up with an abrupt movement and scanned the entire room. A few candles were illuminating the dark room. I was alone.

What had happened?

Miss Venable and me...- Was it just a dream? No, that's impossible - everything has felt way too real, hasn't it?

I could still feel the touch of her fingertips on my chest, her soft lips on my cheek, I could still smell her faint scent - a barely smellable mix of lavender and lilac. There was no way I could just have imagined all of it. Right?

I swallowed but my mouth remained dry. My gaze lowered and I started to scan my body. I was still wearing the panties from my memories but I wasn't sure if I had worn a bra then. I noticed a few small cuts near my hips as if someone had dug their fingernails in my soft skin. My grey dress was lying at the end of the bed, carefully folded and probably washed.

No I hadn't dreamt, I was sure. But why was I in my room? Who'd brought me here? How long had I been asleep?

I slowly got out of bed, grabbed my dress and put it on. I still felt a bit dizzy, so I sat down at the edge of my bed and rubbed my eyes. That was when the door suddenly opened and Miss Mead closely followed by Miss Venable entered my room. They both stopped dead as they saw me sitting on the bed, eyeing them with wide opened eyes. Seeing Miss Venable's slim figure lingering near the doorframe and her brown eyes fixing me caused my heartbeat to quicken immediately. A series of pictures including showing her motioning her lips harshly against mine while pushing me against her closet shot through my head. As I blushed against my will, I was forced to lower my gaze immediately.

"You're awake", Miss Venable remarked.

"Yes..", I answered in a raspy voice and cleared my throat, still facing the floor. Due to Miss Mead's presence there was an unpleasant tension in the room I couldn't define. Or maybe I was just afraid and ashamed of the possibility that she could know what Miss Venable had done to me.

"You've been asleep for about two days. Seems like you've blacked out due to malnourishment", Miss Mead stated with a cold stare, advancing towards me. Until now I hadn't noticed the plate in her hand covered with a big voluminous lid. "When did you last eat something?" The woman placed the plate on the bedside table next to me. There was no sympathy in her words, her empty eyes just stared at me.

"I don't know...There was a time I sometimes skipped my cubes", I slowly admitted, playing nervously with my fingers. I remembered those days of endless mourning back then when my world had collapsed and I couldn't see any kind of food without the need to throw up.

Miss Mead just raised an eyebrow and slightly shook her head in disbelief like I was the most stupid human being. "Smart move, missy. Starving in our current situation in the Outpost is the key to death. Don't think I wouldn't have welcomed that..."

I could just stare at her in disgust, not believing what I'd just heard.

"...but unfortunately, your work as a Gray is still a necessary component of our system..." Miss Mead hissed and removed the lid from the plate, revealing a jelly cube. I eyed it skeptically. "...So you need to eat"

"No thank you. I'm not hungry" I mumbled.

"That wasn't a question, Miss (Y/N)", the authoritative tone in Miss Venable's voice rang. I slightly flinched at the sound of it, having completely forgotten about her presence. I dared to look at her. She was still lingering in the doorframe, both hands on her cane, making intense eye contact with me. "Eat!"