Taken

Chapter 19 (Part 2)

The eyes flicked our way, glancing over me to place the bulk of their scrutiny on Silas as they scanned him up and down. The slit snapped shut before the scrapping of metal and a thump followed. The door creaked open. The boy jumped backward to avoid getting hit by the swinging metal. He turned to give us a nod before continuing through the door that a tall and broad bald man held open. The bulging muscles of his arm were as wide as his shining head.

Ducking my head to avoid the man's cat-like eyes, I stuck to Silas's side as we made our way into the long hallway that continued into the dark building. It was dimly lit by scones lining the walls on each side, one beside each doorway. Most had closed doors, while some were parted and others had curtains. Like the ones the boy led us to.

"Tia," the boy called as he slipped through the curtain of metal beads. The hanging strings clinked together melodically at his disturbance, allowing harsh noises from inside to escape into the quiet hallway. "I brought customers-"

The noise and the boy's voice grew silent as the weighted strings swung back into place, keeping the noise inside contained.

I peeked at Silas when he hesitated to follow him in. His skin was still pale, showing he hadn't recovered from his injury as much as he kept telling me at my questions of concern. 

The sight had my worry for him spiking again like it had all day when I caught sight of his sickly appearance. It manifested as a physical reaction. My hands grew damp and shook, wanting to reach for him but refraining. It had been this way since the moment I saw blood bloom on his thigh and I had a feeling it wouldn't go away until the color returned to his cheeks.

But his health wasn't the only reason I felt so unnerved. It was the intensity of my concern. The only other person I ever felt worry this strong for was...

Ash.

And that was after years of watching the boy I was falling for turn into a man shrouded in darkness and pain. After he had gained my trust.

It had taken longer than I even knew Silas for Ash to do more than watch me silently from the dark while I huddled in the corner in fear, not yet knowing that my parents had been scaring me with lies they had spun about him. All I knew was that he was bigger, stronger, and older than me. That he could easily hurt me.

But he didn't.

The first time he spoke to me, was the first time I was shoved down the stairs with a split lip and busted brow. Dad usually avoided my face, doing nothing that would leave more than a bruise that I could easily cover with makeup, but sometimes he was too drunk or angry to remember.

That night, he was both.

Ash had a front-row seat to witness the aftermath as I pulled myself together. He watched as my tears began to dry and my sobs turned into hiccups that had pain flaring where my body was tender and soar from being hit. Then he spoke, asking me one question; one he continued to repeat whenever he saw so much as a bruise.

What happened?

I told him what I always told anyone who asked that.

Nothing.

And like everyone I had given that answer to before, he didn't believe me.

But unlike them, he didn't stop asking. Didn't start to ignore the less obvious marks. The ones I hid better than the broken skin. 

When I continued to keep lying, just like my mom had drilled into my head, he started guessing; guessing what had caused the damage he saw.

And he was guessing right.