The Cure To A Broken Mind

Chapter 7 ~ Love You Too

        6...

         The way he held my wrist so tightly in his hand made the fleeting journey from the city limits that much more antagonizing. The minutes seemed to turn to hours, but I knew it was just my thoughts wandering. It seemed like the short term trip could potentially last forever. The foreboding thoughts of the night's events had left me horribly anxious, fearing what may be to come. Eventually, I found his boney fingers coiled so hard around my arm that my skin turned white, then progressively into a hue of pink. It hurt, but I didn't dare argue against him.

         It was only now that I noticed he was leading us a different direction than the one we had come, leaving me completely confused as to where exactly he was taking us. Upon asking, though, he simply responded it was a quicker escape. We'd be in hiding sooner, and work our way around the forest borders to return to our base.

         Soon, though, as we strode farther and farther from the crime scene, his motives seemed to alternate. We walked off the street, over the sidewalk, and out passed the high fencing. The forest drew close, and we disappeared into the edge of the vegetation.

         He narrowed his eyes as the grass squished beneath our worn shoes, developing a look of frustrated concentration. We delved deeper into the woods, farther than I had assumed we would ever need to.

         "Doctor, where are we going?" I murmured beneath my breath, nervous as the words tumbled from my lips. He neglected an answer, remaining as silent as he'd been for the past ten minutes.

         Somehow, it seemed he knew where he was going, though. It was almost as if he had a destination preselected in his mind. I was still beyond afraid to question his actions, and thus, I lapsed back into silence alongside him.

         Eventually, as we weaved through the underbrush, the outline of a fairly large structure became visible in the distance. The small proximity to it made me nervous, but it only seemed to motivate the doctor to move faster. Finally, 049 had stopped. Only once he was a good 10 feet from the building, he halted, studying the premises.

         It looked much like a wooden cabin, dusty and old. It appeared to be beyond abandon, left empty for the taking. I could catch onto the doctor's thoughts, but I grew more and more curious as to how he'd known it was there in the first place...

         The cabin sat sturdily in the middle of a small clearing that was just big enough to fit the limited volume of the house. The doctor stared it down silently just a little ways from this area void of trees.

         "Stay here," he commanded, "Don't. Move." he spoke sternly, slowly letting his hand release from my wrist. He turned silently, walking out into the open and toward the cabin. As his back turned, I almost considered abandoning him, but something within me still had me gravitating toward his ambiance. I still loved him, despite what he'd done, and thus, I believed in him to change...

         I watched as he disappeared through the door of the cabin. Silence quickly ensued afterward, leaving me alone in the quiet vegetation. I could still feel the rock jumbled in my throat, clenching my chest into a tight constriction. It felt horribly difficult to breathe because of it, almost feeling like the last year of anxiety had finally caught up to me. It came hard and strong, leaving me heaving now as I struggled to find peace.

         I locked my arms around myself, teetering on my heels as I attempted to focus on the dirt beneath my feet. I could only watch now, finding my soles had been glued in place. There was no leaving him.

         He took about fifteen minuted before the cabin door opened and 049 emerged. He merely leaned out the door, raising his hand to gesture me to him. Clearing my throat once more and steadying my nerves, I came forth, walking back over to him in a slow manner.

         He stepped aside once I'd come to the front door, allowing me into the abode. He held the door for me silently as he waited for me to join him inside. How gentlemanly.

         I nearly hesitated, though, to step past him. It took me a conscious moment before I could bring myself to brush past him and look around the building. It was comfortably small and homely; comforting in its own way. There was a worn looking sofa, in the center of the room, positioned in front of a stone fireplace. Fire licked around the edges of some burnt looking wood inside of it, the light dancing against the wall. To the right the kitchen accompanied the room, a bar twisting from the countertop alongside three chairs. In front of me, there was another door, presumably leading to a bedroom and accompanying bathroom.

         Best of all, though, it didn't look abandon in the slightest. There was no trace of dust, insects, or dirt. Nothing out of place or left to rot. In fact, the room seemed lively, as if it had been inhabited nearly moments before our arrival.

         As I glanced around the room, taking the space in, I heard the front door close shut behind me. The thought wouldn't have put me on edge if I hadn't heard the doctor fumble with the lock afterward, the door clicking in success.

         I should have felt much safer knowing that nobody could get in. It was more in the towering question 'what if someone needed to get out?'

         I cleared my throat again apprehensively.

         Slowly, he brushed up behind me, pushing his chest against my back in silence. I tensed, praying to whatever higher deity there was that he wouldn't notice. He folded his arms around me in a light, amorous hug, ducking his face into the curvature of my neck. Lips touched my skin, but for once I wasn't comforted.

         "Love you, darling," he whispered.

          "Love you too, doc..." I had no choice but to comply.