vulnerable

I just woke up, took a bath, ate, faced two douchebags, took another bath and now I have to sleep again. He prepared a make-shift bed next to his. I plopped down on it. He cuffed one of my wrists onto the bed frame. I was sharing a room with a criminal. What an adventure!

As usual, I don't sleep. I cannot sleep. It was one o'clock. Instead, I was staring at the ceiling. Hardly an hour passed by. I looked at the paint on the wall which was whiter than milk and clearer than water. The wall suffered from no ruptures. Nothing. No insects roaming around. Good pest control and everything. When people have large chunks of bucks in their bank, everything is possible. Money buys everything. A big fat bank balance changes life. Maybe if I had that means, I could have found Anse. His rich parents wouldn't reveal anything. I can't bring them, those living at the top down, me being at the bottom of the chain. If only I had money. Benjamin wanted to celebrate the day he got back home from training. Would I get home? It was not possible still I hope I would.

My thoughts wandered to Michaelson's carving on his neck with a blade. Was he attempting to kill himself? I could relate to the pain, myself cutting my wrists a long time back. Last time I stopped was when Ian talked to me through it that I would have to go to the psychiatrist. It was painful to tell your naked truth to some stranger since you can't tell your loved one about your struggles. I know it from experience. A tear streamed down my cheek. I realized at Michaelson's place, my body slept for a few days when I had passed out. It was strange since I couldn't sleep for that long.

The clock's longest finger kept moving. Tick. Tick.

"No stop" I heard a pained voice as I was busy staring at the ceiling. I clicked on the lamp. His body cowered to the edge of the bed, terrified. It was one in the morning. He fell down on the floor. I jumped off the bed to get down to him as far as I could with the handcuff on, kneeling down. I shaked his shoulders gently trying to wake him. His eyes snapped open. He tried to thrash away from me and whipped out his revolver, breathing heavily.

"Michaelson"I said aloud, shocked.

A lonely tear slowly rushed down his cheek leaving a damp trail along its way. He was crying.

"Give me the gun"

He was sweating, shooting his head.

"Please trust me"

I removed the revolver from his grip carefully. His watery eyes stay pinned on my face. He looked miserable. Who is this guy? Where is the overbearing lone wolf?

"C'mere" I found myself calling him.

Without warning, he wrapped his arms around me. He was panting and out of breath. I put the gun inside my pocket. He could shoot me if he woke up from a nightmare again. Should someone sinful like him be that terrified from a nightmare? Did the cops kill him in his sleep? Was he suffering from nightmares as I did? Never would I ever think of consoling a monster, disguised as such an innocent human. He hugged me like it was the last moment he would ever share with me and in the very next moment, the world was set to end.

"It was a bad dream" I comforted him, resting my chin on his head.

I massaged his scalp to calm him.

He seized my hand.

"Don't go please" a whimper escaped his lips.

"Sefa" the way my name tumbled out of his trembling lips pricked my ears.

He buried his head in my stomach. It was the first time his voice called out my name. I blinked as a shiver spinned up. As his breathing became normal again, I heaved him back onto his bed and that was when our eyes locked. His eyes were glossy. They held so much emotions and a wierd innocence.

"Go to sleep"

I whispered by the side of his bed as he was already closing his eyes.

I pulled the duvet up, covering him. Leaving him in his state, I laid back on my bed, confused. I just needed some time to process whatever just happened. From that aghast look claiming his face to him letting his guard down in front of me.

Was that really the same person? The one who has been so cruel with me. He abducted me, didn't care if I was in the cold and hungry, left me to die, allowed me to stay in the same bloody clothes for days. Why would he give me his pants to cover myself? Why a bed to sleep in? Why give me good food to eat? I even sat across his table to eat. He can't possibly treat all his prisoners this way. All these questions were unanswered. It made me dizzy to overthink. I turned to the side where Michaelson was having trouble sleeping. I recognised this. The familiar pain crept through. In the meantime, he was looking at me with hope and fright. He was beyond obvious. He wanted me to sleep with him.

"What do you want? Just sleep already"

"Can-"

"Absolutely not. I'm not a nanny nor a plushie"I dismissed him harshly.

He didn't retort back, instead he fell back asleep right away as though he never had a nightmare.

After rolling and tossing around, I checked the time. It was almost three. My eyes caught on his cell phone for the nth time on his side table. My fingers twitched in quiet protest. I analyzed the possible outcomes of touching this device. It wouldn't take him long to realize that I took his phone. He was definitely not a fool. It was locked with a password for sure.

Don't even think about it. It seemed as if he purposely kept it there so I could see it and feel helpless. He would hurt Benjamin.

It was nearly four o'clock. I sighed and closed my eyes.

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

The memory of Michaelson having a nightmare flashed through my mind and I snapped my eyes open to fall on his sleeping self. His long eyelashes fluttered with his peaceful breathing. His hair was mussed and sticking up everywhere. His muscles were rippling when he moved his arm on his side. It made me felt nice somehow, the memory of him breathing my name in relief. I was able to bring him out of that terrifying dream.

He was so unguarded last night. Why didn't I kill him with the gun? Shoo. I should think about myself. I slapped the air to push away those thoughts. So that his people crush me like an insect. Very bad idea, though it was pretty tempting. I stayed on my bed contemplating what to do.

Option one;

Should I maintain my cool for the time being, for some days? I'm not gonna do anything that could raise his suspicion.

In that sense, his eyes would follow me less.

He may as well allow me to roam around his house.

Then, I would switch it off and exert my plan.

Option two;

Should I get to my plan right away?

Mess around with Noah to get info about their business.

But this Ortega, he seemed too difficult to be played by. And there must be cameras everywhere. As I sat weighing my options, my stomach grumbled. I put the gun next to his pillow, back to its place. He was still sleeping.

I shook him gently at first, then roughly.

"Michaelson..."

His eyes half opened, he breathed out.

"I have to use the bathroom"

He uncuffed my hand and slept back. I made my way towards the bathroom. I looked for a spare toothbrush. I cleaned my teeth, spitting out the foam that was building up in my mouth.

I began scrubbing my face with the soap by the sink. I heard a knock at the door. After a while, inch by inch, I opened the door. I poked my head outside to sneak a peek at Ive. My eyes were wide at the sight before me, when I saw what he was doing. What the... He was squirming and began jogging in place. He then tried holding his legs together to distract himself. Lost in his increasing need of using the restroom, he didn't notice I was looking at him, suppressing my laughter.

How can someone be so accustomed to having his own private bathroom that it didn't occur to him once to use the one available in his guest room?

So dumb. A crazy idea sparked in my brain. I closed the door cautiously so he wouldn't hear it. Several minutes passed and I was still inside standing by the sink. He slammed his hand on the door. He had run out of patience.

"I need the bathroom now dammit!"

He yelled, his voice echoing.

"It takes time to get it out of one's system," I replied, giggling inside.

Barely a minute passed and he yelled again.

"Are you still not done? Open the fucking door"

I realized it wouldn't be too difficult for him to break through the door if he wanted to. He can just unlock it. However, he was still respecting my privacy.

"Maybe in a minute"

I lied.

My stomach grumbled twice in a row.

After a few seconds, I hurried outside after composing my expression. I bumped right into his back. As I took a step back, I tripped on my own feet. His hands caught me around the waist before I fell. Not realizing his face was so close to mine, I turned my face. His lower lip grazed my upper lip by pure accident. It was the last thing I expected.

My eyes widened in disbelief as his blinked twice and all the muscles in my body tightened. I quickly pulled away from him. It made me sick to the bones. I couldn't hold in my sanity and it flared. A resounding punch landed on his face leaving a stunned Michaelson.