An Unbreakable Heart

V.

"I'll let you rest. Actually, wait. Let me get you something to wear. That way you don't have to wear the same thing."

Suspicions arose for a moment until I realized anyone would be able to tell. My clothes were stained and ripped, almost to shreds. She returned a few minutes later with a light yellow nightgown and black shorts. "I tried to find a large t-shirt but this was all I could find."

"This is great, thank you," I replied, taking the clothes.

She walked out closing the door behind her, I turned the lock and removed my ripped clothes. Damn I liked that shirt. I got into the nightgown. It almost went to my knees and then I slipped on the shorts. I picked the clothes up then unlocked the door and walked out.

I threw the tattered shirt away but the jeans didn't seem that bad so I just folded them over my arm to take back to the room. She got up from the couch, "I can wash those for you." she said taking them. I followed her.

The laundry setup was nice. It was stationed in the garage and was sitting on a wooden platform. It seemed that originally she was planning on removing the door to make an extra room. It was an assumption based on how the side closest to the door leading out there was a huge hole. Most likely from removing the bar holding the door in.

"They will be dry before morning so there's no need to worry. My promise still stands." she then looked down at her hands and then at mine. "Would you like some aloe for your burn?"

"Will it help?" I asked. I heard about it, but sometimes things were all talk and there was nothing to back it. Almost like the time this lady told me that if I ate broccoli my pinky would grow back. Sometimes I like to think of her face when I told her I was on an all-broccoli diet and it hasn't worked at all. Truth is I did start eating more broccoli after that, even though I knew it was nothing but a tall tale.

"It should. It does for me when I get sunburned. I burn quite easily. It doesn't always work for everyone though. But I don't think there'd be any harm in trying. "

"Okay, then sure. I'll take some."

Give me are second" then she took off. I stayed
where I was assuring myself that's what she meant by her words. She came back with a bottle of green liquid. She handed it to me.

I opened it and tried to squeeze it onto my hand. The liquid was thick and not particularly easy to squeeze out. I did a few quick squeezes after giving it a sharp shake. I used the back of my hand to rub it in. 

She took the bottle and left. A few moments later she came back. "Is it any better?"

"Yeah, I think so." I looked at the burn. It was bright red but wasn't as painful as before. There was a little sting, but it was already working wonders on how bad it was. It was starting to get to me in a way that was hard to ignore but in the nick of time, she seemed to know what I needed. 

It was getting harder not to feel the slightest bit uneasy again. The anxiety was rising in my chest. I was trying to push it aside. She couldn't be more dangerous than the other guy. I wasn't captive or tied up which was already a million times better. So that could be a good sign, right? 

But in my head, I keep hearing the saying 'The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he's in prison.' But she did seem like a genuinely nice person, my mind said again. Maybe it was my heart instead of my mind. Either way my head and my heart were at war. At the moment I had no idea which one was winning. Every time I thought I had the answer I began to question whether I had the answer or not. 

Smaller footsteps approached me, "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Of course," I replied, still deep in my thoughts. "Why do you ask?" 

"You just seem really sad," he said. Then he stood up straighter, "cookies always make me feel better. Would you want to to grab some?"

"A cookie does sound nice," I gave a small smile. "Should I accompany you?"

"If you want." 

"Are you allowed to just grab cookies as you please?" I decided to ask before the kid got himself into trouble. 

"She's okay with it. She lets me have one when I had a bad day," he replied. We walked into the kitchen. He pulled the blue cookie jar closer to the edge of the counter, then he grabbed several out. Chocoloate chip. He handed me three of them then pulled out three more. "Do you want some milk?" he asked. 

"Sure why not," I said. He pulled the milk out of the fridge and grabbed two cups out of the cupboard. He poured milk into each of the cups before handing one to me. "So why do you want to see Evelyn so bad anyway?" 

I thought about it for a moment, "someone really important to me told me I need to see her. I don't really know why I'm supposed to see her though, just that I do."

"Okay, doesn't make a lot of sense. But I guess it doesn't have to." was his reply. 

"Yeah, I guess it doesn't make much sense. But I don't have a better explanation."

We finished the cookies while he told me about his favorite movies and songs. After he asked if I wanted to watch a movie with him. Of course I said yes, there was no possible way I'd be able to tell the kid no. 

The movie ended around nine-thirty and immediately his mom came out and told him it was time for bed. I decided to listen too. Mostly because I was tired and couldn't wait to get some real rest. In a bed. Not on the ground, or in a chair. Though I wasn't exactly sure if I should count the chair or not since I was knocked out. But rest was rest. So I counted it anyway.

I crawled into the bed after turning off the light. There was a small lamp beside the bed. I turned it on. I wasn't afraid  of the dark but after the last few days I've had I didn't necessarily want to be alone in the dark. yes, maybe I wouldn't be completely alone but sometimes the mind feels lonely so you think you're alone even if you aren't.  Most of my life I was alone, so even after I was no longer physically alone I still felt alone.

It took a awhile to get to sleep. My heart was full, or maybe it was empty. It was my mind that was full. My mind was full of doubts, and my heart was empty waiting for the day I finally find a piece to fill in the gap. 

Something the kid said had me questioning who Evelyn was. How did Michael know her? And why did he want me to seek her out? What did she know? Who was after me? Did she know? Then optimism took over. Maybe she knew my parents? Maybe she had all the answers. It was stretch but once it's night and you're laying in bed, your mind takes over everything and you think about all the what-ifs. Sometimes they end up on the optimistic side and the other half of the time the thoughts end badly. At least this time they were good thoughts. 

She'll meet Evelyn soon. I just don't want to rush everything to fast. I hope it's not dragging too much.