Prisoner

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

The nightmares were getting worse.

Ever since the weird hypnosis thing, it was like something in my brain had short circuited. The nightmares came one after another, but in none of them was I able to see who was attacking me or hurting me. Just when I thought I could figure out who it was, I would wake up in a hot and sweaty mess, so I had completely given up on sleeping.

Ryk would come in the morning and I would be laying in bed, pretending to just wake up. He'd do his song and dance about eating a healthy breakfast, which now I could only pick at once again. I didn't have much of an appetite anymore. The nightmares usually made me nauseous.

"You're not hungry?" Ryk asked one morning as I stirred the porridge around in the bowl.

"Not particularly," I muttered, watching the thick goop slide off the spoon back into the bowl with a gross wet plop. Ryk cocked his head and looked down at the electronic tablet in his hands.

"Hm. You have gone down in weight again," he murmured thoughtfully, making me look up with a frown.

"What'd you mean?"

"You were getting closer to your goal weight of sixty-eight kilograms, but you dropped from fifty-four to fifty-two," Ryk mused as he clicked around on the tablet, "I'll make sure we start adding extra protein and fats to your meals." I didn't say anything as I looked back down at the food on the tray. It was strange. I should've felt angry. I was expecting it, expecting that heat to boil through my veins and set my chest on fire so I had the energy to lash out. Instead, I sat there in silence and just pushed the food around in the bowl until Ryk decided it was time to give up and go for a walk instead.

"What's the point," I muttered, watching Ryk frown, "It's not doing shit. Eating isn't helping. Walking isn't helping. I'm still fucking small and weak. I couldn't get married even if I fucking wanted to." Ryk looked at me curiously, but said nothing as I got up and got dressed anyway because I was too fucking exhausted to fight Ryk on this.

"You did that without much complaint," Ryk commented as I tugged a short shirt on over my head.

"Tired," I said under my breath. Ryk inclined his head and thankfully didn't bitch about it as we made our way down the lobby to head out for our walk. Much to my annoyance, River was waiting for us in the lobby. He stood up the moment we entered. As usual, he wasn't dressed for a fucking walk in the woods or a garden. He was always dressed like he was going to some fancy rich guy party with his three piece suit and his perfectly styled hair. He looked like someone out of the magazine that Three was in.

"I suppose you won't mind if I join you again?" River asked. Ryk smiled and seemed to subconsciously touch his phone in his pocket, making me look at him curiously.

"Of course not. It would be a pleasure to have company," he said.

"What am I, dog shit?" I asked dryly. Ryk ignored me and gave River that smile, which River returned with automatic politeness.

"Excellent," River responded. I shook my head and just walked out ahead of them, but they caught up much faster than I anticipated, making me frown down at the ground as we walked.

I was getting weaker. I could feel it in my bones, feel it in my rubbery lackluster muscles. I felt like I was teetering on an edge and just one sneeze away from splattering on the pavement below. It was strange to feel like this, strange to feel... depressed, I guess.

I was weak. I was helpless. It felt like I was sinking deeper and deeper into this pit of darkness and I wanted to claw my way out, but I was finding it harder and harder to find something to hold onto. I kept reminding myself that asshole who hurt me was still out there, still wandering around freely, but at the same time, what the fuck could I do about it? I had no idea who'd even done it. I couldn't find him myself the way I was, and everyone else was so concerned about running around and feeding me and making me walk. How the fuck was this supposed to help anything?