Stolen Treasure

Chapter 10

I turned my head towards the door and saw Alex open it and step into the room. His eyes raked up and down my body, appraising my outfit. I faced the mirror again, trying to hide my blush and extreme discomfort. Why did he have to walk in while I was wearing something so short and tight? I thought, mentally rolling my eyes and scolding myself for trying on the short black skirt and tight red shirt. I heard the soft thud of the door as he closed it behind him. In the mirror, I saw him appear at the foot of the bed. He glared at my reflection. I crossed my arms over my chest and pointedly looked at anything but him.

I waited for him to speak, but he didn't say a word. Eventually, I couldn't stand the silence any longer. Without looking at him or his reflection, I spoke.

"What do you want?" I snarled.

He took his time before answering.

"You tried to escape," he declared.

"No!" I gasped, heavily emphasizing the sarcasm in my statement.

"You promised you wouldn't," Alex refuted.

"I lied," I responded, finally spinning around to face him, my arms still crossed over my chest.

"You don't lie. You're Raphaelle," he stated, as if that summed up my entire being.

"Well, then I guess you don't know me as well as you think you do!" I snapped, putting my hands on my hips defiantly.

"Hmm..." he hummed, eyeing me in a way that made me uncomfortable. He took a few steps closer to me. I responded by promptly moving away from him and situating myself on the bed. "Then maybe I should get to know you better," he finished, taking a seat right next to me.

"Whaaaat are you doing?" I asked, scooting away from him.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he replied, following me. He put his hand on my bare thigh, and I understood immediately what his intentions were. I gave him a disgusted look and shoved his hand off my leg.

"Not gonna happen," I said, standing up and moving away from him. "And where did this sudden interest come from? You were always so mean to me back at the orphanage! I know it wasn't because you liked me. And I certainly don't like you, so don't even bother trying."

"Come on, Ginger Snap," he purred in what he thought was an alluring voice. "We were silly kids back then. And we've both grown up quite a bit; and rather nicely, if I may say so." He eyed my figure approvingly again. "Plus, we are the only people in this dimension from the same world. Clearly the universe is trying to tell us something. We obviously belong together," he tried to persuade me.

"No we don't," I scoffed. "I belong with Jim."

"What makes you think you two belong together?" Alex asked skeptically.

"Because I love him," I replied.

"And you think he loves you back?" he sneered.

"What kind of a question is that? Of course he does! He's told me so!" I shouted.

"Does he even know where you're really from?" Alex inquired.

"Yes! He knows I grew up in an orphanage and never had a family!" I snapped.

"Yeah, but does he know that you're from Earth? From a different dimension?" he repeated.

"No, I...I never told him," I faltered.

"He wouldn't love you if he knew," Alex concluded.

"Yes he would," I argued.

"How do you know? If I were him, I would be furious! You basically lied to him," he stated.

This made me stop and ponder for a moment.

Would he be angry with me? Would it really make him stop loving me? I asked myself. I shook my head, trying to disband the thoughts.

"Get out! I don't want to talk to you!" I told Alex, pointing towards the door.

"Fine, but this isn't over," Alex said before strutting out of the room and locking the door behind him.

That night as I lay in bed, thoughts of Jim once again filled my mind. But this time the thoughts were much less pleasant.

Would he hate me because I never told him? I hadn't meant to lie. I never told him because I didn't think it was important. I never thought it would come back to haunt me like this! I thought.

I fiddled with my locket as these thoughts and more raced through my head. When I eventually drifted off to sleep, I had reoccurring nightmares in which Jim was angry with me and left me all alone in the world. When I woke up the next morning, I felt dried tears on my face.

For the next two days, I remained stuck in that room, absolutely bored out of my mind. I had already tried on everything in there, so I couldn't really do that anymore. Mostly I just practiced doing different things with my hair in the mirror, from buns to braids and everything in between that I could think of. Early in the evening on the second day, Alex opened the door and informed me that we were headed towards the Coral Galaxy. I don't know why he told me that; it's not like I could use that information for anything.

I kept waiting for Jim to burst through the door and save me, but my hopes of rescue diminished with each hour that passed. Jim probably had no idea where I was or where we were going! I don't know why I thought he would be able to find me. But I had to believe that somehow he would come for me. It was the only thing I had to hold on to anymore. I couldn't let that small hope slip away.

Two days later, Alex again opened the door and told me we were a day away from our destination. I didn't reply, so he just closed the door and locked it again. But before he did, he stared at me intensely, a strange look in his eyes. I wasn't exactly sure what that look was, but it made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

Hurry up Jim!