Caged Byrd

Chapter 17 - Happily Ever After

When I woke, I was alone.

It was still early. The sky was still gold with streaks of pink and purple. I pressed my face back into the blankets, breathing deeply. Sleep clung to me like a second skin. As I drifted between sleep and awake, the scent of coffee teased me. With a sigh I sat up, eyes still mostly closed.

My stomach was in knots. As much as I didn't want to talk to Alex, I needed to. Even if it was just to say I didn't want to.

As my toes brushed against the thick carpet, I realized that I was still wearing my leggings and shirt from the day before. Alex must have fallen asleep too. I followed the scent of coffee to the kitchen to find Alex in front of the stove, a plate of sausage and eggs in his hand. I blinked against the light streaming in from the window. I wasn't sure how to break the silence as he set one plate down and started to load the second one. My voice was rough as I broke the silence. "I don't remember falling asleep."

His eyes met mine briefly before I lowered mine towards the plate of food in his hand. I couldn't look at him. Not yet. He knew. I told him about... about the memory and now I couldn't take it back. He must have picked up on my thoughts because his words were soft. "You were exhausted."

I tried to put my thoughts into words as I reached out and plucked a sausage off the plate in his hand. I took a bite, buying myself a few more seconds. "Can we just..." He wasn't going to let it go and I knew it. Not just the therapy session. All of it. "Could we just not talk about yesterday or the night before?," I asked. A quick glance at his face told me that even hoping had been pointless.

"You'll have to be more clear. What specifically don't you want to talk about?" he asked. Fucking asshole. Why not just come out and say, 'No, I'm going to make you talk about it even though you obviously don't want to'?

"Alex..." It came out as a half groan, half whine. My chest tightened and I tried not to let anxiety take over. I shifted on my feet and then reached for the plate on the counter, needing something to occupy my hands and attention as I spoke. I just wanted to get it over with. "The kiss on the camping trip." The words came out in a rush.

"Yes..." His voice was low and silky and my face flushed. Why did he play with me like this? Was it for amusement?

"That was a lapse in judgment. I didn't want you to be angry at me about the cliff diving incident." I was startled as Alex half laughed, half choked on his coffee.

"Cliff diving incident?" I looked away at the tone in his voice. I tensed a little. There was a mix of humor and frustration on his face, and I wondered which one reigned dominant. His voice took on a slightly darker tone as he said, "You pushed me, Jamie."

I bristled. Damn right I pushed him. "You said I wouldn't." I laced my tone with the same dark edge he had given me. He didn't have the right to be angry at me for thinking about running. Not in this situation. At the end of the day, despite all that had happened in the last forty-eight hours, he was my kidnapper and I was his captive. So yeah, I pushed him.

"So you don't want to talk about the kiss?"

"No." The word was short and curt and I gave no room for argument as I glared at Alex.

"Okay fine," he said, eating a forkful of egg. "What else?"

I tried not to let the surprise show on my face and instead held my silence for a moment. I hadn't expected him to yield so easily. Honestly, if I had to pick anything to talk about from the last few days, the pushing Alex over the waterfall or the kiss that followed after were probably going to be the easiest options.