Mark of the Phantoms

Chapter 7: Dirty

Romero was quickly mounted and she returned to the residence of the gang. She hardly glanced at anyone on the way there and up to her room.

She needed to write a letter to him. She had not spoken to him since her recruitment with Aleixo, and he was likely concerned about her well-being. She looked for paper on her desk and in her drawers but found none. She went to Aleixo's office and noticed a pen on his desk, so she looked for paper. To her astonishment, she found no paper on his desk, either. She turned around and saw a typewriter with blank pages on it.

     "Ah ha," she said, reaching for the paper.
     "You could've just asked," Aleixo growled.

Keris turned with a paper and pen in her hand, a grim expression on his face. She had known he was a horrible person, and she had been bound to him. The three months had seemed an eternity, and every day she wondered if she would ever be free from him. She resented the way he regarded her as if she were nothing more than a good to him. He regarded her as if he had sinister plans for her future. Most of all, she resented the way she felt, as if trapped in a nightmare from which she could not escape and it was her fault.

     "Needed to write," Keris said.

She began to move to the door he leaned against and pushed past him as she did with everyone, but he held a hand out in front of her, blocking her.

     "Write what, exactly?" He questioned.
     "A letter," she replied.
      "To?"
     "A friend."
     "What friend?"
She said nothing. He raised a brow but when she remained silent. He only fluttered his eyes and snatched the paper out of her hand.
     "You aren't sending any letters to anyone," he hissed.
     "Why not?"
     "Because you could be telling someone information about the gang. And even if it truly is a friend, it could be intercepted by Edward. I can't risk that."
     "I'll hand deliver it then," Keris replied.
      "It may resolve my second point, but certainly not my first."
     "I don't have anyone to talk to here. I'm relatively new to Aclea," Keris informed.
     "I don't care if you only have the voices in your head to talk to. You're not sending out a letter."
     "Okay," she said flatly.
She began to walk away again, but she knew that he wouldn't let her go just yet. Not if he saw through her at that dinner today, especially when the wine spilled, which still was stained on her vest and blouse.
     "What happened at dinner today?"
     "A waitress spilled wine, what does it look like?"
     "Well, Damyan and Adel brought up your family and then you turned sour. Then, you told me to kill myself, t-"
     "Adel cut me off, I didn't fully say it."
     "You still said it. Don't cut me off again."

Keris' anger grew to the point it was suffocating, but Aleixo would pay to see her drown. She couldn't break, but she couldn't necessarily be strong either and end up hitting him, so she chose not to respond. Not to fire back. It wasn't necessary for her to do so. There had been a tendency for her to be less careful with her words as time went on. Another thing to worry about.

     "Something is off with you," Aleixo said, eyebrows furrowed.
     "Don't do that," Keris groaned.
     "Don't do what, exactly?"
      "You're trying to bait me. Stop trying."
     "I'm not baiting you. I don't give a shit about what you're going through. It's the question if it'll affect your skills and your job that concerns me."

Keris scoffed and walked out, but Aleixo's footsteps followed as she walked down to her room.

     "Well, will it?"
     "No."
She opened the door and walked into her room, Aleixo doing the same.
      "Is there a reason you're following me around like a puppy? Like you need me?" she asked.
     "I do not need anyone, let me make that perfectly clear," he started.

She grinned and turned to face him, crossing her arms. Suddenly she was aware of every detail on his face. The way he stood and the way his head was angled to the side, made him look a bit more-

     My god I can feel the germs on my hands from earlier, she thought.

     "Why do you hate when someone touches you?" he asked.
Her grin faltered which he no doubt noticed.
      "I'm not following," she said, hoping he'd allow her to dismiss the topic.
     "When the waitress knocked into you, your hands snapped back. That is before you looked at them like they were new."

So he did notice. She hated him, hated being a part of his gang, hated it more than anything. She closed her eyes and tried to escape the predicament she was in, but she could feel him even though he wasn't touching her.

     "What is wrong?" Aleixo pressed.
     "Go. Away."
      "Not until you tell me what's wrong," he replied.

Ignoring him, she switched on the bathroom faucet and activated the sink. She washed her hands, dried them, and washed them again realizing once wasn't enough.

     "You are cautious of dirt?" Aleixo questioned.
She did not respond.
     "Okay," he said, almost in a whisper.

He exited the room. There is no question that he attempted to induce her to confide in him for his own benefit. He may have used it to torment her if she did not comply with his wishes.

She started to undress with a sigh, knowing that he would never let her go. He will never forget the events of the dinner, and she knows that he will reflect on them throughout the day and night, trying to comprehend them.

She then submerged herself in the water, allowing it to take away all the dirt she had acquired during the dinner and subsequent meeting with Aleixo. If only it could wash away her sins.