Stolen

Chapter Seven

-chapter seven-

àKATERIß

"Over here," Farid said, pulling me through some kind of brambly plants. There was a small, abandoned house behind it. It looked black through the thick water that poured from the sky. Farid quickly ran over to the door and pulled me inside.

I was glad to be free, out of the rain's reach. Farid let go of my hand to search for some kind of light.

He swore, in Arabic, then switched to English. "Dammit, the powers gone."

"Where are we?" I managed to ask. A breeze came in through the wooden boards, making me shiver in the cold. I pulled up the sleeve of my shirt, glad that it was dark so Farid couldn't see.

Farid took his time to answer, set on looking for a source of light. "This is my house." he said finally. “I live alone.”

"Your house?" my voice cracking as I shivered. It never occurred to me that Farid had a house. Suddenly Farid seemed a lot older then I had imagined. Then fear hit me the same time realization did. "Won't they come looking for you here?"

"They don't know I have one. They think I live at the manor." he said. "Aha."

In a second, a light flashed at the palm of his hands. A flashlight. He used it to look for more. I looked around the house and tried to notice the features in the dark. Water was dripping from the ceiling. Pictures hung on the walls. I made out a couple bikes and a poster for a Bollywood action movie. The wooden floor and the walls creaked as the wind shook the one roomed house.

I looked at Farid as he searched for a flashlight. I stood where I was, shivering and unsure whether or not to help him.

Farid sensed my unease. He shined the light at me. "You know you could-." he froze as he looked at me, and I realized that the sleeve of my shirt had fallen off, revealing a good part of my bra and skin below it. I quickly covered myself up with my arms, embarrassed.

"He tore my clothes." I said quietly. Thankfully, Farid turned the flashlight away, and rummaged in a new drawer.

"I don’t think I have any clothes here...ah, wait." he shoved open another drawer only to find it full of not only clothes but rainwater. He grunted and pulled out a dark wet material. He shoved the wet clothes back in and searched another closet.

"Found some." he said. He passed me the flashlight, without pointing the light at me. "Hold this."

I gratefully took it, glad to have something to do. I directed it at the closest and couldn't help but notice the light shaking in my hands.

Farid pulled out a giant flannel shirt. He smelled it and then threw it away behind him. He pulled out a pair of sweatpants and decided they were fit to wear. There was nothing else in the closet.

He came over to me and pushed the flashlight down. His hand slid over mine as he pressed to power button, leaving us in darkness. I froze in fear for a moment, but then realized that he hadn’t turn the light off so I wouldn’t see him, but so he couldn’t see me. My cheeks flushed.

He pressed the pants into my hands and lightly held my shoulders.

"You're shivering. I don't have a shirt for you, but you should change your pants at least. Otherwise you'll catch a cold.” I held the crisp sweats in my hands and met his eyes with the dim moonlight. He was shivering too.

"What about you?" I shoved the pants back into his hands. "You'll catch a cold too. You wear these, and I’ll wear that." I pointed to the flannel shirt he had discarded. I needed a shirt anyways.