Patient Twelve

Chapter Eleven

"Please don't hate me in the morning," he said. "We have to practice again, and it needs to go better this time."

Ben's breath tickled the nape of my neck. His hand left my waist and traveled up to my arm. His fingers dragged down the bare skin of my arm causing a shiver to run up my spine. The dress I had on earlier had covered my arms. They must have changed me while I was unconscious.

"You know, you're right," Ben said. "It's disgusting that I sleep with Bethany."

His hand went back around my waist. His nose was resting against the crook of my neck.

"I was complying with what she was saying, and it snowballed faster than I anticipated. I guess she thought she broke me," he said. "Once it started happening, it was hard to stop it. I was using it to gain privileges. It was an awful thing to do."

Ben let out a deep breath. My eyelids crashed down. His fingers ran across my stomach. I was falling back asleep as we lied in silence for a few minutes. His voice brought me back, but I couldn't open my eyes.

"This is nice," he said softly. "I never thought I'd be able to do this again."

--

I groaned as someone was shaking my shoulder. My eyes flew open, and Oliver was leaning over me. He held my eyelids open and flashed the light into my eyes. When he let go, I pushed myself up so that I was sitting. I rubbed my eyes with the heel of my palm.

Ben was sitting in the corner of the room. He had taken the bench from the vanity and was leaning against the wall. He had changed into jeans, and a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His mop of dark hair was slicked back. He glanced up from the novel in his hands to look at me.

"Here are your pills," Oliver said.

He held out a small plastic cup with three pills and a glass of water. I swallowed the pills without arguing. I looked over at Ben to see him raise an eyebrow.

"Thank you," I said.

Oliver's lips twitched into a smile.

"Open your mouth," he said.

I opened my mouth as he looked to make sure I swallowed my pills.

"Good," he said. "How are you feeling today? I'm hoping there won't be any more tantrums."

"There won't be. I'm sorry."

Ben was looking down at his book, but I could see him smirking. I was doing what he wanted. He was right. I needed to gain Oliver's trust, and fighting back wouldn't do that.

"I like to hear that," Oliver said. "I have brought breakfast for you and Benjamin. Eat and get ready. I'm going to check your vision in an hour."

"Thank you," I said.

Oliver placed his hand on top of my head.

"I can already tell it's going to be a better morning," he said as he dragged his hand down my hair. He turned and walked out of the room.

Ben closed his book and stood. I clutched the sheets to my chest as he walked toward me. I looked down to see I was wearing a thin nightgown.

"Are you hungry?" Ben asked, but he didn't wait for a response. "Oliver left breakfast on his desk. I'll let you get changed. Just come out when you're ready."

"Okay," I said.

Ben closed the door when he left the room. I looked to see that the plastic bags full of clothes were no longer on the floor. I opened up the closet to see a row of dresses on hangers. A shelf had a few small bins. I pulled one out to see that it was full of stockings. I pulled out a pair and grabbed a dress off the hanger. I searched through the dresser for underwear and a bra. I got changed into a new set of clothes and ran a brush through my hair. I avoided looking in the mirror.