Heartless?

Chapter 11

I lay Arsenic down on the bed and lay the sheets over them. I walk over to a small window and watch as the rain pours outside. The cool air bites at my skin and I wrap my wings around myself protectively.
I watch the rain patter on the sidewalk outside of the building. The rain obscures anything that's more than fifteen feet away but I can tell that we're in the middle of nowhere.
I sit down on the ledge and lower my left wing so I can keep looking out the window. I wonder what Polly meant by that. 'Even just born demons know their gift.'
I sigh and brush my hair back from my face. I look up at the ceiling of my cell. What if I never find out my gift. Even worse what if I don't have one? I hear movement over by the bed and I look over.
Arsenic lays peacefully on the bed. I'm going to get then out of here, I conclude, gift or no gift. I watch as they frown and pull the covers tighter over themself.
Even if I never find my gift. My vision goes blurry and tears trail down my face. I reach up and wipe them but they keep coming so I sigh and give up, leaning against the wall.
Suddenly a car's headlights pierce through the rain for a moment before disappearing again. I hear Arsenic move around and sit up. They walk over to me, their hair sticking up in random places.
I quickly wipe the tears from my eyes and sit up. They sit down across from me on the ledge and cross their legs. They hand me a sheet and I gratefully take it, quickly wrapping it around myself.
"Why were you crying?" They ask me sadly. I stare at them in shock. They heard that? I mentally groan and slap myself.
"No reason. I just miss my friends and my boyfriend," I tell them. They nod shortly. They look away from me and out of the window. I watch as they reach up at their hair and pull at it. I lean over and take their hands out of their hair.
"What's wrong Arsenic?" I ask them softly. They wrap their wings around themself and start shaking. I get off of the ledge and move beside them. They flinch and close their eyes.
"Hey. It's okay. I'm right here. I promise I won't hurt you," I tell them. They look up at me skeptically. I smile and put my arms out. They jump into my arms and I use my wings to brace myself so I don't fall onto the floor. They hold onto me as if their life depends on it and I gently stroke their hair.
"They killed them," Arsenic suddenly says. I stop stroking their hair for a moment in surprise. I hear then sniffle and I carefully wipe the tears off their face, trying not to touch any of the cuts and bruises.
"My parents killed my siblings and now they're keeping me down here. I don't think they even remember me," they say quietly. I pull them closer to me. I'm not letting anyone touch them.
"I'll protect you and I promise, I will get you out of here," I tell them. They sigh contentedly and relax. I wrap my wings around them as a guard walks by. They curl up in my lap and wrap their wings around themself.
The guard looks into the cell but then seeing nothing that concerns them, continues walking down the hall. I wait a minute before unwrapping my wings from around Arsenic.
I look down and see them asleep in my lap. I smile and pick them up, walking over to the bed. I sit down and lay a blanket over them. They use my lap as a pillow and curl up beside me. I smile softly and lean back against the wall the bed is against.
Another guard walks by after an hour or two and opens the cell door. Arsenic wakes up when the door squeaks. They warily watch the guard as he puts the food on the floor. He closes the door and locks it. Arsenic loosens their grip and looks over at the food.
They get off of the bed and walk over to the trays of food. They pick them up and bring them over to the bed. They set the trays down and sit next to me.
The trays have some crackers, bread, cheese, and meat on them. Two glasses of water sit on the floor. I go to grab then but Arsenic grabs my hand and shakes their head.
They grab two glasses from under the bed and fill them up with tap water. Then they take the trays and rip apart the food, taking out small white pills. I gasp in horror and they look at me sadly.
They finish what they're doing and hand me a glass of water. I chug it down, the coldness soothing my throat. They drink theirs and hand me a tray of food.
I take the tray and eat it slowly, making sure no pills went unnoticed. Arsenic leans against me and starts to eat theirs. They finish it and put our plates back by the bars.
They climb back into the bed and I get up quickly and dump out the glasses as a guard walks to the cell across from us to pick up the trays. I run back to the bed and cover Arsenic with my wings.
They smile up at me gratefully as the guard opens the cell and takes the trays. He walks out and I slowly uncover Arsenic. They sit up and lean against the wall.
After a couple of minutes I hear them breathing softly. I look over and see them fast asleep. I lay them down on the bed and cover them with the sheets.
I stand up and walk over to the bars of the cell. A demon lays in the cell, her clothes ripped and blood pouring out of her head. She lifts her head up and looks at me sadly.
"Good luck," she tells me before her head hits the floor with a sickening smack. I wince and look away. I walk over to the window, quietly wishing that Will would get here soon.