Death's Captive: Will she escape eternal confinement?

CHAPTER 13

I leave the garden and head back to the hospital; dawn is winking over the horizon and I realise I have once again lost time. Another day has begun and I don't recall the time passing. I walk into the doctor's mess and into the on-call room with the heavy blinds covering the windows, and usually a few exhausted occupants within.

Much like showering, I don't need to sleep any more. It's very much a human thing to do, and I suppose that I'm not human anymore. I stretch out onto one of the beds – it's actually clean and freshly made for once. I suppose the cleaners must have been and gone last night. I stare at the ceiling into the darkness and churn over what Niklaus has said to me. Suppose he does have some answers – am I prepared to prostitute myself for them? If I am, how far would I let his hands explore me, and what acts would he want me to provide for his entertainment. Could I ever have sex with Niklaus?

A small flicker of a memory inflicts my mind. I'm naked and wrapped against Niklaus's sheet-clad body. Is it a memory? Or my imagination? A smile, a whisper, a kiss and it's gone.

I ask myself if I am I willing to sleep with Niklaus. Perhaps I already have? Memory beguiles me. I roll onto my side and through the darkness is a sleeping Reeves, his breathing is so deep and slow that I didn't even realise he was here. The beds are squeezed close together, designed to provide as many doctors as possible with the opportunity to rest when exhaustion takes over.

All of the faint lines that usually show Reeves' concerned, stressed or exhausted expressions have all faded into nothingness, leaving only a relaxed peaceful expression in its place. Reeves seems younger now than I've ever seen him. I realise he is in fact a handsome man, with his straight nose, full lips, chiselled jaw and smooth skin, although he does look a little pale. Somehow his light hair matches his pale complexion and suggests angelic features. I haul myself up and lean over his peaceful face. Yes, I can see why Nicole flatters him and takes every opportunity to be close to him.

I find myself wondering if Reeves was popular at school. I decide not; he's a reserved, shy, intelligent man, not the usual criteria for teenage popularity among peers. The older nurses say he looks like his father, and they're right. I remember Elwood Reeves quite well ­­– he was tall, handsome and had a bravado that he coasted on; quick with a joke or a sidelong leer at the young nurses on shift. His son doesn't have these qualities, although he's smart like his father. His lack of self-confidence is probably a combination of living in his father's shadow, as well as the limitations of his recent graduation from medical school.

Warm feelings return to me when I think of Reeves Senior, and I wonder if we could have ever been close if we'd been in the real world together. I did harbour a crush on him for many years, and I was grateful to be invisible to him so that he couldn't see me blush when I watched him work. I convinced myself that he would look in my direction sometimes, as if he knew I was there.

I sink to my knees and can feel Reeves Junior's breath on my face through his slightly parted lips. I can see he's taken the trouble to shave before crashing into bed to sleep for a few hours, and I can't resist running my fingers along the smoothness of his cheek. He groans a little and rolls onto his back, leaving enough room for me to perch on the edge of his bed. I lean over him and watch his chest rise and fall in slumber. Consumed with longing to be close to someone other than Niklaus I lean over and brush his lips against mine. It's not the same as being kissed by Niklaus; with him I can actually feel his lips against mine, but with Reeves I just feel the lightest flutter of a butterfly's wing, causing a tiny zing on my lips, like an electric spark that reverberates to my core.

Suddenly, I have a flash of Elwood Reeves, locking lips with me passionately in a similar room. It must have been many years ago – the old hospital! I struggle to cast my mind back through the mists of time. Panting to taste Elwood's lips again... feeling his erect member pressing into my thigh through my starched uniform.

"Wait, not here," Elwood whispers urgently.

"Why not? Nobody will miss us if we're quick," I breathe back.

Elwood locks the door and turns back to me, with one quick swoop he hoists up my skirts and is unclasping my suspender clips.

Though I desperately try to cling to the vision, it fades to nothing, but I've worked out what happened. I realise I've had an affair with a married man, and this memory was sparked because I was kissing his son! How many other memories are locked away in my mind, waiting for the right trigger to set them free? Maybe I don't need Niklaus as much as he thinks I do? Although, it could take an eternity trying to fill in the gaps on my own, and it seems my morals have been questionable in the past. Perhaps I could give a little more to Niklaus to gain a little more insight into who I was before I came to this place? With much to consider, I leave the room and soon find myself drifting after a nurse on her rounds.

A/N: Sorry, I've been very sick with the flu (NOT COVID, I got screened) I'm still sick but managed to put theses chapters up late.