CHAPTER FOUR.
If I didn't feel any fear being in unknown places before, I do now.
I think it's because I'd never felt so trapped. All my life I'd been so careless. Never held against my will. I was Raven Wilde after all. The girl that had many admirers but had never been the one to be tied down and be settled for commitment. The girl that loved adventures and the dark and bad jokes and was afraid of nothing. It was strange having this aching feeling in my chest that screamed fear and desperation. Something that was so foreign to me.
Now I was in trouble. The word had been said to me so many times that it shouldn't have had affected me. But coming from this brooding and unnerving stranger, it was like a rock sinking down my heart.
"What do you mean?" I was sure my stare shoot daggers at him. "And how do you know my name?"
His dark hair was over his forehead and he pushed it back slowly, still looking at me. There was something in his gaze that both eased and alarmed me. "You need my protection," was all he said, his eyes drifting to my leg on his lap. He slowly placed the ice pack on my ankle. I flinched slightly and winced but stubbornly stayed in place.
His answer just rose more questions, "Why? Last time I checked, I didn't do anything to earn your protection." The word earn was dragged out of my lips. The cold pack on my ankle felt strange.
He looked back up at me. His eyes as blue as the ocean. Mysterious and full of things I didn't know. "You just need it." He said.
My eyes flickered to the older man sitting on another couch. He had a look of slight concern as he looked from the blue-eyed man to me. He'd radiated something as soon as I'd seen him but I didn't know what. Maybe it was his aura and how serene it was.
I tried to wipe away my glaring eyes and silently begged him to tell me.
He shook his head right away. "I can't tell you. At least not now."
Anger flared up inside me and I threw my leg off the blue-eyed man's lap in another desperate attempt to escape, but my leg was caught in a deadly grip before I even had time to move off the couch.
"You've got the wrong girl--I don't need your protection!" I screamed, at the verge of pulling out my hair. "Let me go!" I tried to twist my leg around his grip, making the ice pack fall on his thigh, but it was useless. The pain in my ankle was too much.
His face was expressionless. His voice gave him away, "I can't,"
"Who are you?" I screamed at both him and the older man. I could feel my heart hammering uncontrollably in my chest. I was beyond angry, frightened and confused.
"Raven, calm down," said the older man. His tone was almost fatherly. My head snapped toward him. He stood up. "I'm Henry," he said. "We won't hurt you--you must understand."
But I couldn't understand. I looked back at the blue-eyed man. "What's your name? How do you know me?"
"I'm Xander, and that's not important right now." Placing the ice back on my ankle, he grabbed my leg gently and placed it on the couch, doing the same for the other one. He stood up, and without another word, he left the living room, his strides tense.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and flinched, my eyes finding Henry's.
I began to wonder if that was his real name at all.
"Please," I said silently. This was my only hope anyway and I was becoming desperate. "Just let me go. I promise I won't tell anybody."
Henry didn't seem to hear me, or maybe he just ignored me. But his eyes didn't leave mine and he cocked his head just a little in curiosity. "You're so full of life. No wonder he wants to use that to his advantage."
"Who?"
A noise made me look to find Xander with a tray of food in hand. As if on cue, my empty stomach growled when the smell hit my nose full force.
I was almost embarrassed.
He looked a bit relaxed now, with a mischievous look on his face--yet not quite. My eyes found the scar that slashed a little above his cheek, it was actually a bit larger than I thought. I blinked and realized I was staring when Xander's lips twitched. He was intimidating, more than I liked to admit. The way he carried himself, his movements, even the way he talked.
Before I knew it, he placed the tray on my lap. "Eat."
I tried not to look at what was on the plate. "No," I muttered stubbornly.
"Eat,"
"I said no." I grounded out, glaring up at him. My stomach said otherwise.
He breathed out through his nose. His blue eyes bore into mine. "You're not starving yourself. Besides, I didn't just make that so it would go to waste."
I almost laughed, but given the matter, there was no desire in me to, and my empty stomach was rumbling with inexplicable hunger. Plus, those icy blue eyes didn't help. I hated them.
I could've starved myself. That's what people who got kidnapped did, right? Which eventually placed them into a state that required medical attention. But as I looked at how messed up my ankle had gotten, and they didn't, by any means, intend on taking me to the hospital, what made me think that starving myself would? I could potentially die, yes. But I knew in my heart that I couldn't possibly go a day without food.
He was still standing right there as if making sure I wouldn't shove the tray and spring to a run.
Reluctantly, my eyes drifted to the plate of food. There was steak, mashed potatoes, and fries. It looked as delicious as it smelled. I was filled with embarrassment and shame at how easily I'm giving into this. This was not me. I didn't give up until the end. But this was food. I'm so stupid.
Yet it was all vanished when I didn't touch the food and instead glowered up at him. "Tell me why I'm here."
He looked taken aback for a moment, but something quickly crossed his face. Concern? Anger? I didn't know. He looked down at me for the longest moment, narrowing his eyes. My glaring, stubborn gaze didn't leave his. When he realized that I wasn't going to touch the food until he answered me, he ran his hand through his hair, scoffing amusedly as he looked over his shoulder.
"You're going to have to tell her eventually." I heard Henry say.
"She's not ready." His voice was dark, biting.
I wanted to go home. I wanted to escape. I didn't want to listen to a conversation that was probably made up. They wanted me to trust them. It was clear. I didn't need "protection"--This was all a show before I was tied to the bed and tortured--until they did whatever horrible things kidnappers did to their victims.
What bothered me more than anything was that they knew my name.
Terror filled my veins and I wished my parents were looking for me. I wished Max and Melanie were looking for me too. I didn't want to know what awaited me staying here with these two strangers. It only brought cold shivers to run down my spine. Or at least from Xander, as Henry looked harmless enough. But Xander...
They had been talking a few feet away from me but I hadn't listened to a word they had been saying to each other.
"You know," I began, gaining both of their gazes from the corner of my eye. I could feel Xander's the most. "My parents are looking for me. They will find me. You'll rot in jail for this." My voice was sharp, acid. Unlike my racing heart and sweaty hands.
A moment passed before I glanced at their direction. But I saw Xander alone, now approaching me. Henry had vanished into thin air for the second time. I felt fear creep into my veins as he smiled mischievously. He crouched next to me. Eye to eye. My heart pounded in my chest.
"I'll burn in hell, Raven, for you."
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A/N: Unedited so I apologize for any mistakes.
Please vote and comment! I want to know what you guys think of the story so far!
(The chapter is short because it was being a pain in the butt... as in I was struggling like loca.)
- nessie xoxo