Change of Heart

Chapter 30

**

Hours passed before I finally calmed down. My body still trembled, but I still held it together. Alex sat with me in silence, watching over me as I relaxed. Out of nowhere, he took a hold of my hand. It was so warm compared to my block of ice. "Serine, what happened?" I instantly looked away.

"I-it was...just a bad dream...that's all." My words were scattered. I couldn't tell him, as much as I wanted too...I just couldn't.

Taking a hold of my shoulders, he forced my body toward his and held my face in place. Alex stared intently in my eyes piercing straight through my head. "If that's all, then why can't you look me in the eyes and say it?" The corners of his lips curled down as his eyes grew bigger. My mouth dropped, but I froze. I couldn't even tell him even though it was true...well, part of it. "What happened?" He asked again, more firmly.

Zander's words replayed in my mind again, and I pulled my head away standing to my feet. "I can't-"

Alex took a hold of my wrist pulling himself up. "Can't what? Tell me what happened, Serine." Just as he tugged at my arm to get me to turn, I yanked my arm away with force.

"I just can't!" Without thinking, my body thrusted itself forward and I ran out the door. I didn't know where I was going, nor why I ran, but I couldn't stop. The wind was pushing against my body like a strong force field, but my body didn't care. My legs kept stepping forward one after another.

Unaware of my surroundings, my leg was caught and I came tumbling down onto the cold, thick pavement. A shockwave of pain traveled through my body causing me to cry out. Luckily, I refrained from receiving any scratches. Though, I'm sure a few bruises will pop up later.

Rolling over on my back, I sat up untangling my foot from someone's hose just lying around. When I threw it to the side, the light from the sun grew dim. I didn't even turn around to look, I already knew it was Alex standing over me. "I can't...Alex, I just can't take it anymore..."

Alex's arms wrapped around my back and legs. I was lifted into the air, held close against his warm body. He was silent. Not even a simple reply. I laid my head up against his chest and grabbed his white shirt into my fist. Dammit! It hurts inside, the fire brewing in my body. I just can't contain it. "I...I'm scared.." The words spilled out of my mouth. Even then, Alex still hadn't said a word, but I could tell the words made him uneasy with the way his body tensed up.

I was brought into Alex's room where he laid me on his bed. "Don't run off like that again." He finally spoke to me, but he ended up looked away.

"I-I'm sorry..." That was all I could say. I mean what else could I say?

Taking off my shoes, Alex threw them to the floor. "Wait here, I'll go get ice to put on your ankle. I can tell its swelling." As he pointed that out, I glanced at it to see for myself. Suddenly, I could feel the pain coming from it. How did I not even realize I messed up my ankle until now? Lightly stroking the swelling, I could feel the difference from before. It began to tingle, feeling so numb.

Falling back, my head bounced on the pillow while my eyes fixed on the ceiling. What should I do? If I tell Alex, what will happen? If I open my mouth, Zander will know that instant. But if I don't tell him...he could easily tear me apart from the inside out without Alex ever knowing what happened.

I shut my eyes tightly for a moment. A small moment which turned out to be a mistake. When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in Alex's room but in some kind of dark room. The ground I laid on wasn't soft and warm like before, but now it was a cold, cemented ground. My body shot up like a rocket, and I stood to my feet. The pain in my ankle shocked me causing me to winced.

Looking around, I noticed it wasn't that big, almost the size of a small kitchen. There were no doors, nor windows, but somehow there was still a little bit of light. Maybe coming from cracks in the wall? I couldn't tell.

Taking one step forward, shackles locked onto my wrists pulling me back down to the ground. I landed on my knees catching myself with my hands. What just happened? Rotating my head, I noticed the chains that were attached to the shackles were coming from the ground at my sides. Pulling my arms in, they wouldn't budge. I'm being held in place. I began struggling trying to rip away from the shackles, but it was pointless. "Somebody, help me!" I desperately cried out even if it was useless. I don't know what's happening, but I just want to go back. "Alex! Please, hear me! Somebody!"

"I'll gladly take Alex's place." My body froze in fear. Zander did this to me, once again, and so easily too. He slid his hands down my arms causing my body to twitch. "You've been a good girl holding out from telling him our little secret."

"Please...let me go." My whole being trembled. Please body, wake up...wake up!

"I can't let you go, look at how much fun we're having." Zander's claws grew and he quickly slid them all the way up my left arm. Just as I screamed out, Zander covered my mouth with his other hand. "Shh, as beautiful as your voice is, I can't risk letting you cry out like the last time. It may end up cutting our precious time together short."

I thrashed my head trying to somehow make him lose his grip, but it never wavered. My arm trembled as I began to feel the blood trickle down my arm. I pushed my eyelids together so tight it hurt. Please! Wake up!

"Now that I think about it, I've got a little present for you." Zander's voice sounded more psychotic than usual. Slowly opening my eyes, he held up some kind of white cloth covered in blood stains. As he brought it close to my face, I pushed my body back away from it. With the shackles on my wrists I couldn't move back any further. Zander quickly replaced his hand with the cloth around my mouth and tied it tightly around. "You better not scream out so loud before I come back with your gift." He kissed my neck before disappearing.

I began shouting out even more, but my voice was still only just a mumble. If what he said is true, all I have to do is scream out and I'll wake up just like before. I began running my chin against my shoulder trying to push the cloth off. Just as I came close to peeling it off, Zander showed up in front of me. My heart filled with dread as I dropped my head. It's no use, he isn't going to let me wake up no matter what I do.

Zander lifted my head, and his eyes met mine. They began to change from red to pitch black. He gave a sniveling smirk the second they went black. "This time for sure, even if you do get away, you can't escape me." He wrapped a small chain around my neck. It was small enough to barely escape choking me. A perfect fit around my neck. "With this, you are bonded to me with no choice. This is a symbol that you truly belong to me now." As his eyes turned red again, he finished. "The contract is sealed now."

Contract? What the hell does he mean? This little chain? I bit hard on the cloth. The taste of blood filled my mouth, I wanted to throw up.

He squatted in front of me and put his nose up against mine. "Before you leave," Was he letting me go? "I want something else from you." Zander grabbed the cloth with both hands. Pulling it down, he pushed his lips against mine and I couldn't resist. My body wasn't in control anymore, and my lips pushed back against his. No, why is this happening? My body won't respond to my mind's commands. But why?

Pulling away, Zander wrapped his hands around my neck. "You can't escape me, and not even Alex can save you this time." He disappeared into thin air, and the second I blinked I found myself sitting in the same position on Alex's bed. On my knees, my arms held out as if they were still shackled. I began to breathe heavily.

Alex wasn't in here. How long was I out of it? As my arms dropped, I looked down at my left arm and my eyes shot open. Those scratches...they were real. Past my arm, I noticed the sheet was stained with my blood. How? It was just a dream right? It had to be! Bringing my arm up, I ran my fingers against my neck, feeling the cold metal of the chain against the tips of them. This can't be happening! Dragging my fingers down, I tried breaking it off, but it wouldn't budge. Feeling around the whole chain, I tried to find the latch on it, but there was no way to take it off.