Queen Of Green Dahlia

Four

The feeling of something soft and warm was a welcomed change to the cold hard floor of the factory floors. I buried my face into the cloud I dreamed of sleeping on since I was a little girl, feeling the sunlight on my skin as light filled the terrifying darkness I had fallen into. The feeling of something soft and solid in my hands made my eyes flutter open. I saw that I was gripping the fabric of the sheets of a bed. A blanket covered my entire body and yet it still looked like more of it could be used.

Confusion soon washed over me and I quickly sat up to find myself in a bed. The sudden movement made my head spin and I fell back onto the cloud that I was selfishly disappointed to find was just a regular pillow. I should have been elated to find myself in a bed, but instead I was just beyond confused. The throbbing in my head making the helplessness of whatever situation I was in worse.

When the pain slowly began to fade, I began searching the room I was in. It looked like something out of a magazine for rich people, with paintings hanging on the walls, white curtains that hung over giant windows, a fireplace across from the gray, white, and black bed I was lying in, the floor was carpeted with a soft gray, and the fan above me twirled slowly, the ends of the blades curved downward with one kit hiding-- from what I could see-- five light bulbs.

I was still wearing my worn clothing, but my shoes were missing. I felt sore, but I wondered if it was because of after days of sleeping on the streets and suddenly waking up in a comfortable, warm bed made my body want to beat myself up for not having getting in a bed like this sooner.

I wasn't even sure of where I was anymore. The last thing I remember being under the bridge watching three guys get shot by the guy they were beating up. Waking up in this kind of bed in this kind of room was not what I had expected to come next. At most, I had half expected to wake up under the bridge with just a coat over me with Edwina standing over me with her I-told-you-so attitude.

Footsteps approaching the room made me sit up in bed again, my head yelling at me for moving so fast again when I was clearly still too weak to even move. I frantically looked around the room, hoping to find my shoes as I searched for my pockets for my pepper spray and taser, but they had been taken too. Panic began to creep in as I realized that I was completely naked when it came to my ability to protect myself from whoever had brought me here. I had no clue as to who would own a fancy place like this and I worried they would want money or something for "all their troubles."

I pressed myself up against the wooden headboard of the bed behind me as the door slowly opened and a figure walked in. He was tall and his dark shirt accentuated his muscular build beneath it. His black hair was short and ruffled, as if he himself had just woken up himself. A bandage was taped over one eye while the rest of his face was visibly bruised. In one hand was a slice of toast and in the other was a glass of water, his one eye looking over me as he entered the room. He was charming in physical feature, save the injuries he had on his face, but that didn't calm me down as he closed the door behind him with his foot.

"You're awake," he greeted as he stepped closer to the bed, "how are you feeling? Our family physician told us that you are malnourished." his voice was smooth, a slight accent hidden in the familiar American accent I had been used to hearing. He circled around to sit on the bed closer to me.

I reacted by scooting away from him, my body pressing up against the head board that it bent slightly against the wall. I gripped the covers to my neck, terrified what he was planning on doing with me. He looked me up and down before setting the items he had brought down on the night stand next to the bed.

"Don't worry," he soothed his whole attention on me, "I'm not going to hurt you. I'd be one hell of a son of a bitch if I allowed harm to come to the girl who saved my life."