My eyes followed Electra and I watched as her focus never wavered from the girls when the SUV pulled off and began driving away. A far off expression came to Electra's face, one of understanding and unspeakable pain.
It was a look that let me know Electra knew what those girls had been through. It was a look that let me know Electra had been through something just like what those girls had been through. There was so much to Electra that I didn't know, there was so much that I wanted to know.
~Electra~
"Did you need something?" I asked Braden with a coy smile as I looked up from my phone feeling his eyes penetrating my face. A look of surprise crossed his face when he realized he had been caught staring.
"No." Braden was quick to answer. I crossed my bare legs at my ankles feeling the sun's rays warm my skin.
"Actually," Braden began and I brought my eyes up again to see him sit up from the pool chair to face me,"I wanted to ask you a question. Well, questions." My smirk dropped and I narrowed my eyes before bringing my eyes back to my phone. I absolutely loathed questions.
"I don't do questions." I bluntly replied, wanting to end this before it even started.
"Not even a few?" Braden annoyingly pressed. I sighed and looked up from my phone to meet his gaze.
"And, what kind of questions would you be asking?" I asked in a tight voice. Although, I felt that I already knew the answer to that.
"Questions about you." Braden answered in a casual tone as if it were not a big deal.
"Like I said," I returned my attention back to my phone,"I don't do questions."
"Not even one?" Braden asked. I didn't reply this time. I f.ucking hated questions. A sure way to easily and quickly piss me off was to ask me questions.
"I just want to get to know you, Electra." Braden added in a sincere tone.
"You already know enough." I dryly concluded.
"No I don't." Braden retaliated.
"Yes you do." I shot back.
"No."
"Yes."
"Yes."
"No--Will you shut your f.ucking face!" I snapped when I realized he had tricked me. Silence fell between us and I pretended that it didn't bother me. It did bother me. More than I wanted it to...more than it should. I sighed and put my phone down on the arm of the pool chair to face Braden.
"Alright," I caved in,"I will answer three of your questions truthfully and to the best of my ability. However, you must answer three of my questions in the same manner and I will be the one to ask you questions first. Hesitation showed in his eyes.
"Um--okay." He slowly agreed. A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth.
"First question: do you take steroids or are you just naturally that freakishly tall?" I asked and saw Braden raise his eyebrows not expecting my question.
"I don't take steroids." He answered. Could've fooled me with his giant ass. "Are you going to be serious about this or just bullshit around?" He didn't sound too pleased with my question.
"Is that one of your questions?" I inquired. That shut him up.
"Second question." I announced and found myself raking through my brain trying to think of one. "If I gave you the chance, would you kill me?" A lump in his throat moved up and down after he heard my question.
"No." He answered. "I couldn't do it even if I wanted to. Not now."
"Careful with what you say." I hum to myself in disapproval. "You might have to do just that someday."
"What do you mean?" He asked with confusion scrunching up his forehead.
"Is that a question I hear?" I feigned and he was silenced once again.
"Your final question." I dragged out the words. "What do you think of me?" It wasn't like it mattered to me what he thought of me, or that I even cared. I simply wanted to know for some unexplained reason.
"I think--I think." Braden fought to find his voice. "I think you're too quickly judged. I think you're broken, but have some good left in you and you don't even know it. I think--I think you're beautiful." A pang, no not even a pang, a small, meager stirring pricked at my chest hearing his words. Beautiful. He thought I was beautiful. He said I had good left in me, but I knew there was no such thing left in the world...especially in me.
"My turn." Braden piped up diminishing whatever I had been feeling. It wasn't even a feeling. It was simply a...thing.
"First question..." He mimicked me and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "Tell me about your childhood."
"That's not a question." I pointed out. Even if it were, I wouldn't answer it.
"Okay, what was your childhood like?" He switched his words around into a question.
"Didn't have one, next question?" I quickly replied.
"That wasn't an answer." Braden frowned.
"Yes it was." I shot back. "Next question or we're done."
"Okay. Second question." He paused for several long seconds. "What happened at the orphanage, what really happened?" I felt my palms grow clamy and chest tighten from hearing his question.
"Remember our deal?" He noted. "I answered honestly, now you have to." That sneaky bastard. I took a few seconds before I finally opened my mouth to answer his question.
"Your government officials allowed a string of scientists and doctors to experiment for a virus they hoped would create super soldiers giving them whatever leeway they needed." I began and couldn't believe I was telling him this. I gained my thoughts and bearings before I continued.
"They wanted--the scientists and doctors--said they wanted children for the testing. Preferably around the age of nine or ten and what better place to seek out children than an orphanage?" I continued feeling my burning rage rekindle itself as I dug into my past.
"They injected, poked, prodded, and sliced us open for the sake of science because we were expendable. We were nothing but f.ucking homeless rejects to them." I spat out and felt my nails dig into my palms due to how hard my fists were clenched. "Kids started dropping like poisoned flies and the doctors were fixing to call it quits, however some kids started coming up immune." I sighed and brushed a few stray strands of hair from my cheek.
"When they started to change they began to lash out and hurt a lot of the nurses and doctors. The doctors secluded them and hoped to manage them, but after time they started to die as well." I explained remembering how I saw the nurses carrying bloody gowns away by the arm-fulls to be burned.
"When I didn't die," I swallowed finding that my throat had gone dry,"they treated me like a five star guest. One day--one day I lost it and killed the head lady of the orphanage and set the place ablaze. End of story." Pity showed in Braden's eyes making me feel disgusted with myself. The way he looked at me, so sad like, made me feel weak.
"I'm sorry." Braden's voice was quiet and faint and the knot in his throat bobbed up and down.
"I don't want your f.ucking pity." I harshly snapped.
"I don't pity you, Electra."Braden's tone was soft and tender making something flutter in my stomach. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. You were just a child."
"Yeah well, shit happens." I brushed off his kind words. "On with your last question." Silence lapsed between us again and I looked away from his forest colored eyes finding a sudden interest in my swim shorts.
"What's the point, the main purpose, of what you're doing?" He asked.
"Revenge." I was quick to answer the question.
"No." He spoke up and I raised my eyes to meet his. "That's not it."
"Yes it is." I declared. He gave me a look that said he was not convinced. I looked away towards the glimmering crystal water of the pool finding myself suddenly suffocating under his un-shaking, piercing eyes.
"I know I'm not good, Braden, but maybe it takes a bad person to stop the bad guys? A sly vixen to bring down the packs of hyenas? Would you believe me when I say that I've never taken an innocent life?" I asked and brought my eyes back to his.
"Yes." He answered in a low tone, answering almost instantly. I turned my attention back to the pool where the sunset was reflected against the water.
"Every waking moment, I'm constantly haunted and tormented by my past." I heard myself saying in a murmered tone. I didn't even sound like myself. "It lifts me up and propells me forward towards my goals, yet at the same time it's the very thing that slams me down into the dirt and tears into me. You bringing it up like that and prodding me with questions about it doesn't help." I heard him rise from his chair then felt a dip in mine as he sat beside me only a few inches away.
"I can help, at least I can try. You're not alone anymore, Electra." His words stabbed into my chest one by one. "Let me help you." I lifted my eyes to meet his and found it harder to breath when I found our faces so near.
"What are you saying?" I willed myself to ask. Not another word was whispered as he leaned towards me anchoring his face towards mine and meshed our lips together.
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