Wicked Desire

6: in a strange land

Him

"Is she alright?" My brother Patrick asks through the radio of the plane. "Would you be alright if someone turns up in the middle of the night and knocks you out?" I repeated back annoyingly. "It didn't have to be this way, there were other solutions" I didn't want to hear this again. "Yes maybe so, but this is the only way I can get her to completely depend on me, I need her to see me as someone she can't live without. It's imperative to the plans I've made." He didn't have a reply, I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"You always know best don't you, Benny" I cringed at the sound of him calling me that, my mother may call me that but I can't stand my brothers poking fun at it. Patrick is a repairman so he handles all of our engineering, plumbing and building work too which comes in handy not having to pay for those little things. "Of course I know best. I'm the oldest, I'm a doctor." I said confidently. "Yea yea, as you usually tell me. Look I'll leave you to your flying but it's good to hear it all went smoothly. Ring the house when you land though, mum wants you to check in." " yea I'm on it, see you when I get back."

I turn the radio off and look out at the sky. It's 6.30am so the sun is faintly lighting the horizon with tones of pink striking across the sky, I may be exhausted but this is truly a beautiful sight. The plane is on auto pilot and I take my head gear off and make my way into the carriage. She is fast asleep on the seats, I can see goosebumps on her shoulders so I grab a blanket from the cupboards and drape it over her, tucking her in so only her head is showing. She is stunning, even more so than how she looked on her social media accounts. Her curly brown hair sitting perfectly on her head, she's definitely a stereotypical Irish with her pale skin. It looks like she's never seen the sun but in a gracious, angelic sort of way.

I sat with her a while and checked my phone for updates as I traced circles over the blanket on the small of her back. I half expected her to stir awake anytime soon but the dose I gave her should last until we land in Canada. I'm due in at a private runway in Quebec and I've been assured that nobody is going to be there as I refuel the plane. The owner will be over at some point but by that point I'll have left the money and be gone. It's basically an equally as long trip to get to our final destination. I'm going to need some serious sleep when we are home.

She's going to adjust to this. I know she will, she's very smart. She will know how things work in no time, I make our decisions and she does whatever I tell her to. Coming from her life she's going to find this restricting and backwards but she's going to adjust, even if I have to force it into her. We are going to be a proper family, in the place where she belongs.

***
Clodagh

I wake up to the feeling of being lifted up. I'm in somebodies arms, being carried gently out into the cool air. I can see the sun, it looks like late morning. I haven't been asleep for too long in that case, it was only 5 or 6am when we arrived at the runway earlier on. Am I somewhere in Europe? France, Germany perhaps?

It feels too cool to be mainland Europe in June though, my body tensed up at the sharp breeze. "Shhhh" soothes a voice in my ear as I feel the arms around me tighten. For whatever reason I listen, and I allow myself to relax and melt into the heat radiating from his chest. Forgetting in that moment who he is and what he has done.

I catch a blurry glimpse of his face and for a brief moment I thought I saw my dad. I took a short inhale as I reached out and traced my fingers along his rough stubble of his jaw. He looks down at me and smiles. My vision becomes clearer as I adjust to the light. It's not dad, it's him. I drop my hand in disappointment and embarrassment as I keep my head down. I've seen my dad twice now, what is going on?

I remember something while I was asleep. The inside of the plane, a blanket wrapped around me, a large hand resting on the small of my back, rubbing up and down gently sending me back to sleep. It's just like how my Dad used to send me back to sleep when I had a bad dream. He sat beside me humming low tunes until I slept. I loved when he did that, it reassured me how much he loved me that he would sit with me nearly every night and do that. Did I wake up? Was i imagining it? I know it wasn't dad, it is just a memory of a dream.

I've been strapped into a car seat once more as I sense him beside me once more. The heating is on. Good. The blanket is a welcome gift but I'm still shivering.

I still feel half alive, but I turn my head to get a better view of him. Dark brown hair, short stubbly beard, his brow looks very serious as he focuses on the road. He notices me staring and turns his head as I see those piercing blue eyes once more, remembering and being blinded by them in my room.

"Good Morning. We are nearly home just a little longer." He said with a smile as he took and squeezed my hand reassuringly. My body tensed at his touch, he's acting as if we know each other. As if I will accept his gestures with open arms. I was glad he let go of my hand, I hid it under my blanket immediately.

"W-where are we" I said nervously hoping he wouldn't be angry like earlier. "About an hour outside Anchorage." He said not taking his eyes off the road. Anchorage... Anchorage as in Alaska? "What? A-Anchorage is ...Alaska..." I quietly uttered as my lip started to tremble. "Yes, the house is about an hour and a half out of Anchorage, it's really quiet. No one for miles and miles. Never has been for generations." I'm shocked by what I'm hearing, I was in york, England, just hours ago... it's only 12 in the afternoon, that's not possible! "You will feel a bit out of it for a while, time difference and all that, plus the drugs I gave you to sleep. We can both get some sleep later and wake up feeling refreshed in the morning" he notices a tear trickling down my cheek and reaches out to wipe it away. I shudder at his movement and keep my eyes staring forward at the road. "Just Another 20 minutes" he says as he lowers his hand back to the wheel. Where is he taking me...

The drive wasn't so bad, although I was scared out of my mind, in a foreign country apparently. I watched my surroundings to focus on something else. We were surrounded by pine trees as tall as the buildings of cities. The sky was the most spectacular blue I've ever seen. The sound of an eagle calling over our heads, a river running beside us as clear as glass. It took my mind off the disturbing stranger seated next to me.
The pain in my head was apparent from the incident earlier on, a small gash at my hairline surrounded by bruising. The cut across my cheek inflamed and hot. My waist hurting from the pressure of his hand pinning me to the door of my bedroom. I've had quite enough injuries for one day and definitely don't want to warrant anything more from him. But I cannot stay with him. No way in hell. I have to find a way out.