Entangled

Chapter 4

Waking up after passing out is a rather disorienting experience. Which should have been obvious to Liatta by now, but as she woke up in yet another unfamiliar place, she found herself surprised by the extent of her confusion.

This time, she was laying on something that was impossibly soft. The surface enveloped Liatta, gently curving to every inch of her body. It felt like she was being held up by the air. Liatta would have assumed that she was on a bed, but it was so many times softer than her bed at home, that the idea that they could be the same thing felt outrageous.

She let her eyes flutter open to a field of white. It felt to Liatta's half asleep mind like she teleported to a new world. A new world made of pure warmth that smelled of fresh linen. Liatta lifted the sheets over her face and snuggled closer into the softness, savoring the comfort. It was wonderful.

For a few seconds, at least, until the balance of her resting place was displaced by a new weight sitting beside her. Her new soft world had been invaded. Liatta moved the sheets that covered her to see who was there and blood red eyes stared back at her. Liatta felt tempted to lift the sheet back up and hide.

"Mr. Arach?" Liatta bit her lip in thought. On one level, it shouldn't be a surprise that Mr. Arach would be there seeing as he was the only one around when she passed out. Liatta didn't know Mr. Arach very well. But the memory of his shoes as he walked away when she fell wouldn't let her truly believe that he would waste any more time with her, whether she passed out on his floor or not. But there he was, towering over Liatta's gaunt frame a foot away, just as inscrutable as before.

Liatta sighed. She was being too harsh, the fact that she was on this bed meant that for whatever reason Mr. Arach had decided to help her. It wasn't fair of her to decide that didn't count because he didn't fit the model of what she believed a good person acts like.

The reason why she passed out the first time was pretty obvious. The second time, on the other hand, was a mystery to her. She had felt fine until that strange drowsiness took over. But whether Liatta knew the reason she passed out or not, one thing was clear to her. She had been helped both times by Mr. Arach and so she owed him a thank you.

She still felt guilty about not saying thank you to the person at the station. Even if she was afraid, Liatta didn't want to be so far gone that she couldn't swallow her fear to thank someone for helping her.

She cleared her throat and looked up at Mr. Arach's towering figure, careful not to meet his eyes.

"Thank you for helping me. Twice actually, you helped me twice, so thank you for helping me both times." Liatta hesitated before asking the question that had been burning on her mind since she woke up.

"Where did you take me?" She quickly corrected herself. "I don't mean to blame you- like I said before I'm very grateful for your help... I just would like to know where I am."

In the time that Liatta had spent rambling, Mr. Arach had closed the distance between them until there was barely an inch between them. She could feel Mr. Arach's body heat rolling over her skin his scent, a heady spicy scent with something else underneath a metallic Liatta could almost recognize, cut through the comforting scent of fresh linen.

He drew his long pale fingers down along Liatta's throat to her collarbone and let them rest there. Liatta wanted nothing more than to disappear. Her years of seclusion had left her with no opportunities to be touched by other people and Liatta was quickly finding that she was more than fine with that.

She barely stopped herself from flinching, it would be rude. Mr. Arach was just checking on her. She had just passed out after all, twice. He was probably just worried that he would have to deal with a third. That was it. There was no almost imperceptible change in Mr. Arach's expression. She didn't see his eyes darken as he touched her.