Nescience

Chapter 5

Aiden escorted her upstairs to the living room, claiming they would get out. Perhaps even if he didn't state it himself, she might have earned some of his trust for her actions, but he didn't let her roam on her own yet.

It was too early for their relationship to shift. A day hasn't even passed.

Both of them still wore the same attire, hers started to stick on her skin. His usual slicked back hair was sticking to all places, but he managed to look even more ethereal. Tabitha hurried, walking past the door to get it all over with. She expected the body to be there, tugging at her conscience.

She needed her dead, she assured herself. Reminiscing would get her nowhere. She closed her teary eyes. Sorry, Stella. If only things were different you would have been alive.

The room was at the same state they left it a few moments ago, her corpse remained unmoved.

"Come, don't bother looking at a useless speck of dirt," he spat in disgust. His expression lacked the concern of a former friend. His gaze was cold, the slight uplift of his lips barely noticeable.

"I'm giving you too much freedom, Amelia. Is it worth it?" he added, beckoning her to come close. She followed, letting him engulf her in a false sense of embrace.

"You gave me a chance to redeem myself, I am grateful," she replied. He smiled at her, his hands on her waist as he peeled off the cover for her scar.

How could he tell the reality from a feigned interaction if he himself ordered her around to use such words whenever he would ask?

"I want to see you barefaced. Did I train you well?"

She answered him with an empty grin.

His touch didn't serve her warmth. She had to grow accustomed to their little intimacy, but she would always flinch when his hands reached for her.

Tabitha closed the door behind them. She shielded her eyes from the sun, once she removed her hands her sight became much clearer.

The house was surrounded by trees and vast greenery. They were no cabins other than the one next to Aiden's and a residence from afar she nearly missed. There was a faint trail leading to the deeper part of the forest across, a path possibly could cross a civilization.

Leaves crunched beneath their feet in every step they took. Her eyes absorbed every detail it could; his neighbour's windows were boarded up, a rundown home that no one lived in. Her countless screams would have alerted them.

An old model of car was barely seen from the leaves that accumulated, unused. Aiden sauntered towards it, clutching her wrist.

He slammed the door open and told her to hop in beside the driver's seat.

"Where are we going?"

Her legs were tingling, it compelled her to make a dash for it. Instead, she obeyed him. Her chances wouldn't exist if she failed with her patience in the first place.

"To my family's house not far from here. Don't worry about looking presentable, they just want me to have a woman for myself. They are all excited to see you."

A family just like him? Tabitha stopped on her tracks.

"I..I don't know anything about them," she confessed. Anything could get worse than what she anticipated from this point.