A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.
Somewhere along the way, Drem had managed to get her to read to him. She wasn't pleased by the idea, but it was better than getting chased with a knife. Still, he didn't seem like the type to go stargazing, let alone have someone read to him some of the mythologies behind some of the constellations.
Just earlier in the day, he had purposely let a knife cut her. Not to mention everything else that he had done to her earlier in the week. Did he think that looking at constellations would cause her to change her opinion of him? She wasn't that easily swayed, and she didn't think that she would ever come to have a favorable opinion of him. Sure, he had been potentially considerate on some accounts, but those miniscule moments of possible thoughtfulness were overshadowed by his acts of torment.
Regardless, after about a few hours of gazing up at stars, she closed the book and went to get up. Unfortunately for her, Drem tugged on her left pullover sleeve with his right hand. She could have easily thrown him aside, but she was close to the fountain. Frankly, she didn't know if she could ever look at fountains the same way again after that near drowning experience.
"I've been reading to you for a little over two hours. I'm done, and I'm hungry," she grumbled out, irritation quite clear in her voice and (e/c) gaze. "So, leave me alone. I want to eat some dinner."
He kept his hand on her sleeve and pointed, with his left hand, over to the apple trees. "I want to eat more than an apple, Drem. Honestly, I don't even know why you had me read to you. You could have looked at the book yourself."
After saying this, she saw him release her and was surprised at how easily he had let her go. Instead of hurting her for not being "nice," he headed off back into the house. Now, she was just confused. What was he scheming? He was currently acting somewhat odd.
There wasn't any way that her tears could have had an effect on him. She had cried before, and he didn't seem to be bothered by them. Technically, he had stopped his actions yesterday after she had cried, but she had a feeling that it wasn't her crying that got to him. It was something else. Perhaps, it was something that she had said, but she couldn't remember exactly what she had exclaimed to him the other day.
Maybe if she could recall her exact words, she could use them against him. If those words were his weakness, she would exploit them, for she wanted to get out of the cursed house. Finding a new sense of hope from this, she hoisted herself up and went to see what Drem was up to. Granted, she could also use the opportunity to escape.
She could hear movement in the kitchen, since he had left the backdoor open, so she might have ample time to climb the backyard fence. This debate didn't last long, however, because she felt herself being pushed forward. An aggravated groan left her lips, since she recognized the cold air seeming to slam against her.
"I'm going, I'm going. There's no need to make it feel like winter," she mumbled out, walking forward and back into the home. She left the backdoor open, since she presumed that he might make her go back out later. Still, though, she felt another wave of chilliness hit her. The only benefit to the freezing waves was that it numbed the pain on her bruises and cuts for a bit.
When the two of them were in the kitchen, she took a seat on one of the kitchen stools. Already, she saw some items out, like the crackers and cheese. Was he preparing dinner for her? That couldn't be the right assumption, could it? What else could it be, though?
Furrowing her brows in puzzlement, she leaned her back against the kitchen counter and watched objects move around the kitchen. The monkey was still, and the uneasy atmosphere was back. That would explain the flying dishware and food. It was somewhat comical to observe the items fly through the air, but she kept herself from chuckling out loud. Granted, the thought of one of the items smacking Drem in the face was pretty funny. Sadly, the mental image caused her to laugh out loud.
The moment that she did start to laugh, every flying object stopped and fell gently. Immediately, she covered her mouth with her right hand before she coughed awkwardly. It was as though she could just feel Drem staring right at her. "What? Have you not heard a laugh before?" she questioned, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning straight ahead. "Also, to clarify, I was laughing at you. So, don't think anything of that."
Frankly, she was done trying to be "nice" to him. He didn't deserve it. Besides if she followed along with whatever he ordered, she suspected that she would still get injured at some point. Her plans to play his game were rapidly fading, and she was just inclined to do whatever she wanted.
Of course, she didn't wish to be killed, but she didn't desire to be on a leash for him. Additionally, her parents were safe from him. So, he didn't really have anything that he could use against her to get her to obey. There were the constant threats of his, but she would be probably hurt in some form or another regardless of her cooperation. In truth there was little incentive to follow his every demand.
Focusing back on her surroundings, she realized that on the ground in front of her was a plate of food. The cheese was on the crackers, and some red apple slices were on the side. She blinked a couple of times, while items were being put away. Drem hadn't done anything in response to her remark about laughing at him. That was certainly unusual.
Still, she didn't get off of the stool. That plate of food could be a trap. He was most likely attempting to lower her guard, and she wouldn't fall for that. Soon, though, the unnerving atmosphere vanished, and the monkey stepped over to the plate.
Drem pushed the plate closer to the stool before backing up a bit. He peered up at her, but she scowled in reply. "I don't know what you're up to, but I'm not eating that. I'll prepare my own plate of food," she mentioned, as she hopped off of the stool and headed over to the fridge. Sadly, she wasn't able to open the refrigerator door. Rather, she felt something sharp press against her left lower leg. Glancing downwards, she saw Drem holding her pocket knife to her skin.
Her right hand gripped the fridge handle tightly. She could fight against him and get her own food. There would just be a minor cut on her leg. It wouldn't be bad, yet when she started to open the door, the knife pressed harder into her skin.
Biting her lower lip, which hurt almost instantly, she forced herself to open the fridge more. The knife went further into her skin. Was he going to stop soon or no? She would have to gamble. Did she really want to have a knife stuck in her leg just so that she could defy Drem and retrieve food for herself?
To test how far he would go, she proceeded to open the fridge a tiny bit more. The knife went into the area more, and part of her was screaming at her to stop. She went a little further with her disobedience. This time the knife was pulled away from her skin.
Relieved, she smiled inwardly, since she had discovered how far he would go. Also happy at this, she went to open the fridge door more but suddenly stopped, as a sharp pain went up her left leg. A shriek of pain left her lips, and she found herself collapsed onto the kitchen tiles.
Directing her gaze onto her lower leg, she found the knife plunged into her skin. Drem made no action to remove it. Rather, he started to push the plate of food towards her. Still, she didn't eat it, but her stomach gave in and growled.
Irritated by the sound, she looked away from him but found herself slowly turning to glance back at the food. Her stomach grumbled again. Clenching her fists and muttering several curse words, she extended out her right hand and grabbed a cracker with cheese. She placed it into her mouth and began to chew.
Personally, she would have removed the knife first, but Drem had now positioned himself right next to it. His right hand hovered over the tip of the handle. She assumed that she would have to finish eating first before the knife would get pulled out. So, she continued to eat the simple dinner, but she never told him thank you. The jerk didn't deserve one.
Upon completing her meal, she directed her attention back to the knife, which she desperately desired to get out of her leg. It had made dinner more than uncomfortable, and Drem being there only made it worse. "Can you take the knife out now?" she asked in more of a demanding tone than a questioning one.
Not a moment later, the knife was ripped out from her leg, and she winced visibly. Of course, he would remove it violently. Directing another scowl his way, she steadily went to get back onto her feet, but Drem motioned her to stay where she was at. She decided not to listen to him and stood up anyway. What was he going to do, stab her again?
Instantaneously, she felt an intense pain shoot up through her right leg. Cursing loudly, she peered down to see the pocket knife now in her other leg. Drem kept it there, and she forced herself to sit back on the floor. Once she was seated, he removed the knife and went off down the hallway. The moment Nathan came back, she would punch that uninformative male a few times. For now, she would try to stop the bleeding as much as possible.