Rising and falling in a steady motion. That's what Stella's world felt like at the moment. Warmth surrounded her body and when she tried to shift over onto her back, she soon realized that whatever was over her was preventing her from moving. This should have alarmed Stella, but instead, she felt weirdly at peace, even the rhythmic beats that thumped below her would lul her back to sleep.
Wait a minute, beds aren't supposed to thump.
Stella opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was surprised to find herself curled up on Jason's chest with his hand protectively draped over her.
How did she end up sleeping with Jason. Stella racked her brain to try and recall what happen last night, but everything was so hazy. She remembered waking up to a horrible nightmare about Mike, then she was grabbed from behind, that's about it, the only other thing she can recall was a soothing tune before she blacked out.
Wanting answers, Stella gripped the fabric of Jason's shirt in an attempt to free herself from his hand but to no avail.
“Jason hey, wake up!” Stella called out while nudging his hand.
Jason groaned. “Five more minutes.”
“Not until you answer some questions.”
He let out a deep sigh that ruffled Stella's dark hair as his eyes fluttered open. His eyes locked onto her's.
“Mind telling me how I got here?”
“You don’t remember?” Jason shifted Stella into his palm as he sat up.
“Not much.”
A concerned look bore into the small girl. “You had a bad dream about someone named Mike cutting open your arms.”
Stella felt her heart skipped a beat when he uttered that name. Did she mention Ed? Did he see her scars? How much did she give away?
Anxiety threatened to claw its way out of her to broadcast Stella's tragedy to Jason. But she knew she had to stay calm, the last thing Jason needed to know about was her abuse.
“I… don’t remember anything about that nightmare.” She bluffed. “I wouldn't even know who Mike is.”
“You sounded so terrified.” The tone in his voice shook. “I wasn't sure how else to help you.”
Warmth grew in her heart. He kept her close all night just cause she was scared. It's been a very long time since someone did something like that for her. Reaching out, Stella grabbed onto his thumb and pulled it close to her for a hug. Judging by the small gasp above her, Jason was shocked by her actions.
“Thank you.”
Jason pulled her close to his chest to mimic a hug back. “Anytime, kiddo.”
As they pulled back, they looked away awkwardly. Stella knew she shouldn't feel so comfortable with being so close to someone his size, yet here she was, willingly hugging him like he was a family member or close friend. It was all so surreal.
“By the way,” Stella spoke, trying to break the awkward silence. “I heard a nice little tune after I woke up. You wouldn't happen to know what that was?”
Jason cringed and threw his head back onto the pillow with a groan.
“Oh no, you remember that?” He tilted his hand so Stella could slide off onto his stomach and bury his rose-tinted face in his hands.
The human girl stumbled a bit on the landing but she couldn't help but chuckle at Jason's embarrassment.
“You did that? You sang me a lullaby?”
“It was actually humming.” Jason muttered through his hands.
“Still a lullaby.”
Jason just let out an annoyed groan, which only amused Stella more. She stood up and began walking towards his face, holding her arms up to keep herself balanced as his torso moved up and down with his breathing. The shoulder was as close as she could get too, which was close enough for her and close enough for Jason to stop hiding his face to see what Stella was doing.
“Aww, no need to get embarrassed.” Stella teased. “You have such a nice voice.”
“Man whatever, kiddo.” He shifted his shoulder a bit make Stella lose her balance.
She hit the pillow with a soft thud. She sat up giggling like a schoolgirl. Her laughter was contagious as Jason began laughing too. It took a few minutes until their their giggle fest died down and the two just laid together side by side.
“But seriously, your humming did help.”
“It helped me too when I used to have nightmares.”
“Who hummed to you?”
“My mom, when I was younger.”
“Oh, will I meet her on Thanksgiving?” Stella asked.
A dark look appeared on Jason's face.
“She’s… not around anymore.”
“Oh, I'm so sorry.”
“It's alright.” He sighed heavily. “She's been gone for a long time.”
“Will I meet anyone else in your family?”
He shook his head. “My dad left before I was around, and my grandparents passed a couple years ago. It was just me and my mom until I was nine.”
“Do you mind me asking how she passed?”
“Cancer.” He choked out.
“You don’t have to talk about this anymore if you don't want to.” Stella knew the pain Jason felt personally, she didn't want to force him to talk about something that still hurt him.
“No it’s fine.” He wiped a couple tears from his face. “It's good to talk about your issues, sometimes.”
That was something Stella couldn't do. She couldn't tell Jason, or Glenda or anyone about the abuse she endured for the three years by giants. She couldn't show them the scars that littered her body. Her eyes traced down to her sleeves that hid her secret. All she would have to roll them up and the words would spill out.
“You remember a while ago when you asked if I was originally from Europe and was a victim of human trafficking?”
“Yeah.”
“Well… you weren't far off.” Stella took a deep breath before taking the plunge. “My parents… were the ones who were from Europe. They were kidnapped when my mom was pregnant with me.”
“Oh shit.” Jason gasped. “That's why you don't act so feral.”
Stella nodded and continued on. “They were able to stay together in cages up until my birth. Then the giants were going to separate all of us. So to prevent that from happening, my parents just planned an escape and after that. We all grew up on the streets for years.”
“But couldn't your parents just go to a police station and tell them about being trafficked?” Jason asked.
“You think they didn't try?” Stella huffed. “Who ever kidnapped them was real smart, they erased all records of my parents existing. And without any records…”
“You couldn't go back to Europe.” Jason finished.
“My parents couldn't trust giants to help us after that.” She took a shaky breath. “So we tried to find a way to get back to Europe on our own.”
“But they never made it, huh?”
“They got really sick when I was sixteen.” She blinked back tears.
“After that, I was on my own.”
Jason’s finger traced down the side of her arm. “I'm so sorry that happen to you.”
Stella leaned into his finger more. No longer did his touch cause her fear anymore. She opened her mouth to talk about how Ed found her shortly after, barely clinging on to life and took her in. She wanted to talk about all the horrible things Mike did to her after he took her in. She wanted to tell Jason everything that happened to her, but she couldn't.
“I was alone for a while, until you showed up.”
Jason smiled. “Well, I'm glad you're off the streets for now.”
A cheerful tune interrupted them.
Jason groaned and got up to turn off the alarm clock on his dresser.
“Time for work.” He sighed. “Man, I'm glad I'll be off for Thanksgiving.”
He began pulling out clean work clothes from the dresser and walking towards the bathroom. “After work I'll head here to pick you up, then we'll spend the night at Clair's for a few more days.”
“Will you talk to her about moving in with her tonight?”
“Maybe, if the time is right.”
Stella raised an eyebrow. “Alright.”
Jason disappeared into the bathroom and left Stella to herself.
She let out a deep sigh before looking down at her arms. She really did want to tell him, she really did. But she couldn't relive that part of her past. All she wanted to do was forget that that ever happened to her.