Stockholm Syndrome? ✔

S.S 22

Later on Felix and I had a late lunch that he prepared. I loved the vegetables, the fish not so much. He hadn't put anything besides a little bit of salt. I knew that was good for me, but I didn't like it. I finished my helping either way. The food kept me warm and gave me a little bit of strength.

Felix didn't feed me this time. He allowed me to sit up and eat on my own. He sat next to me and cleaned off his bowl of food. He didn't have to eat the same bland food as me, but he elected to do so. I couldn't fool myself into thinking he was torturing himself because of me. It was probably because he didn't know how to cook anything else.

I put my bowl on the small wooden table in front of us when I was done.

"That was a step up from beans and bread", I said enthusiastically.

He chuckled slightly. "You are lucky there was food here to begin with".

I looked at him in shock. "You go into town every day?"

"Pretty much. This place would probably be nonexistent if I tried cooking every day", he replied, placing his bowl on the table.

He pulled the blanket to cover us both.

"Your house...did you sell it?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No, didn't put it up for sale either".

"And the cars?" I asked, remembering that he had 7 cars including the one I'd left in the middle of nowhere. 3 of them were sports cars. So far I'd only seen the Jeep near the cabin.

"Still in the garage", he said.

"You left your house and cars? You are two states away!" I said.

"They are secure", he said dismissively.

"You must really trust your security", I said.

He gave a small assured shrug. His confidence was amazing. I suppose he had a backup plan, he had to have one. I knew his house meant a lot to him. No one would spend so much money customizing it only to just leave it.

"So why are you in Cali?" I asked, snuggling closer to him.

He gave me a closed-lip smile and put an arm around me. "I had business".

I narrowed my eyes. "What kind of business?" I asked, in a tone that suggested I thought he was there because of me.

"Art", he said simply.

"Hm", I mused. "I don't quite believe you".

He stood up and gave me a grin. "You seem to have a theory of your own on why I'm here", he said picking up our bowls and heading to the kitchen. The sun had just set, the cabin was darker.

I watched him as he returned to the living area, lighting some candles randomly placed and illuminating the room in a warm orange glow. It made the place look romantic, and just the thought of that made my cheeks burn.

He joined me on the couch.

"There are brighter lights, but I prefer the dimness of the candles. If you want bright light..." he said and I cut in.

"It's fine", I said quickly, willing the redness undoubtedly on my cheeks to go away.

He got inside the blanket and made himself comfortable. We weren't lying together now so I missed the feel of his skin against mine.

"So, why do you think I'm here?" he asked with a teasing smile.

"I don't know, it's just odd", I said.

"Unless you give me an alternative you'll have to believe me", he said.

I sighed. He wasn't in California because of me. We were right back where we started, where we rightfully were supposed to be, but it didn't feel right. I couldn't accept us meeting as a coincidence, because then everything would mean nothing. I didn't know what I wanted it to mean, but I wanted it to mean something.