Trust Me

Ari let her legs give beneath her, back sliding against the wall until she plopped onto the floor across from him. "You've seen me at my worst. Scared, bleeding, and frail. I won't think any less of you for being like this." The corner of her mouth pulled up into a smirk. "I'm glad this illness hasn't changed how much of an asshole you are."

She used her hands to scoot across the floor until she was a foot away. This time she avoided touching him or coming too close. It wasn't the fear of getting hurt that stopped her but the way he kept trying to protect her, even from himself.

The lid to the bottle was unscrewed, using it as a plate for the pills she poured onto it. "Here. I'll even close my eyes," Ari promised, doing just that. She wouldn't watch him. Only listened for the sound of his weight shifting or a difference in the labored breathing that made him seem stricken. "I trust you."

Alaric remained silent for a moment, and although there was no sound to indicate he had moved closer, the warmth of his breath feathered against her hands and her cheek. He remained there, a long silence before he took the pill into his mouth from the cap.

"You shouldn't." He grumbled out, slinking back down onto the marbled floor. Whenever she opened her eyes, she'd notice he was laying on his side with his back to her, those trembles still rattling his body with the occasional cough. "If you knew how hard it was for me not to tear you apart right now, you wouldn't be here."

The sight of him struggling to keep himself together was somehow heartbreaking. Again she was struck by how lonely he must be, isolated by whatever disease drove him out of his character. She wanted to reach out and console him but was unsure whether that might be pushing him too far.

"Maybe, maybe not, but I'm here anyway. I'll stay over here if it helps but just like before I'm staying here." Ari wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin there, waiting for the medicine to finally kick in. "You could have hurt me time and time again. I've slapped you and tossed wine on you and even then you came to my rescue."

"And what makes you think I didn't wait a little before coming to your aid?" Alaric asked in between sharp intakes of air. His entire body felt as though ice were running through his veins, and every time he closed his eyes he kept remembering the first time he had felt that way in the past. Glimpsing over his shoulder, lifted a shaky hand and pointed through the open door at his bed. "Bring me my cover. I'm cold."

"Even if you waited, the fact is you came at all. It's kind of refreshing after living on your own so long." Ari looked between the bed and where they were on the floor before huffing. He was lucky that he was sick. This was a lot of effort for trying to cheer someone up.

Walking would have took too long so instead she scooted across the floor, yanking the blanket from the bed then dragging herself with it back to Alaric. She tossed it over him then carefully tucked it around him. "You should give me a raise. I don't know what I'm making but you wanting to rip me a new one should definitely be grounds for a raise." Ari couldn't help the grin that overtook her.

"Shut up," Alaric said as she tucked him in. Reaching an arm up from beneath the cover, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her down underneath, her back resting against his front. Normally the cold didn't bother him whenever he was taking his pills on a daily basis, but he'd gone two weeks without them because of shipment difficulties.

The blanket and her body would provide enough for the chills to stop causing him to tremble. Tucking his chin between her shoulder and neck, he allowed his arm to coil around her waist. "Stay still." He said while shifting closer. His eyes were closed now, breathing evened, though still he fought the urge to give into the primal nature that still lingered.

It'd be another hour before the edge vanished.

After the long day of cleaning and nearly being brutalized, Ari was tired. Not even give minutes into being trapped as a human heater beneath the blankets did her eyes grow heavy. Even with Alaric practically glued to her back she was comfortable. Enough to drift off into an easy sleep.

***

Although the warmth of the sunlight didn't hit them because of the tinted special windows, its rays still flooded into the bathroom brightly shining on the both of them. Whenever she'd awake, she'd realize she was no longer laying in front of him, but on top of him. His eyes were still closed, his arm still around her waist as his head was tossed off to the side, lips slightly parted.

There was shuffling in the hallway, the clattering of plates, though too early just yet for Benjamin to come in and get them for breakfast.

Ari wiped the sleep from her eyes, blinking around confused until she remembered exactly where she was. It was always strange to wake up in someone else's house or room. She was left disoriented but well rested. Alaric was sleeping peacefully finally so she was careful to gently pull his arm away from her, sliding the blanket in her place.

She had never been a morning person and waking up in the arms of her boss did nothing to improve her mood. Whoever was outside making all of that racket needed a stern talking-to. Ari managed to pull herself off the floor using the wall and slowly creep her way to the door, pushing it open. Her curls were a mess from sleep and her clothes wrinkled after sleeping with Alaric on the floor. "What's going on?"

A pair of embered colored eyes leered back at her through the darkness of the hallway, the same ones that held crimson rings around their irises edge. They seemed far too familiar, ghostly pale skin slightly visible as they turned the corner with a grin on their face.

"This way." It whispered, and if she followed her, they led her to an iron locked door with chains and vanished beyond it.

She'd climbed back into the wheelchair to keep up with the strange figure leading her to a room that was clearly forbidden. There was no sign of what lay within beyond the thick metal. Following ghosts around was probably the worst choice after one nearly killed her. Maybe if she listened it would be appeased. Ari ran a hand along the metal, looking for some kind of opening. "Some of us can't just phase through things, you know."

The chains jangled without anyone touching them, but someone's hand gripped her shoulder harshly and whirled her around. It was an old man with a monocle on his left eye, the other missing with just a gaping hole. "What do you think you're doing?" He hissed, pushing her away. "No one is to go down there."

Both hands clapped over her mouth in shock. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest at the sudden interruption. Ari quickly tried to gather herself, straightening her clothes and shrugging casually. "Exploring? No one told me I couldn't. Who are you anyway?" There were new faces constantly coming and going it seemed. Why hadn't anyone introduced them all in the first place instead of letting her have a heart attack or look like an idiot every two seconds?

"The grounds keeper, I occasionally come inside at night and early mornings." The man squinted his only good eye. "You best head back then."

"There you are." Benjamin said from down the hall, when she'd glimpse back up, the grounds keeper himself was gone, just like the ghost that had led her to the door.

Ari hurried over towards Benjamin, eager to put distance between herself and all of the freaky things she'd seen. "Sorry, I'm still trying to learn exactly where everything is." She flashed the butler a smile to cover up the fact she was shaken. People couldn't just vanish into thin air but she had no way to even begin what she'd seen. Who even kept ominous locked doors like that in a house? That's like asking visitors to get the wrong kind of curiosity. "Did you need me for something?"

"Yes, we're going out. Alaric has some things to attend to, and me and you and my husband will help you shop for your new wardrobe." Benjamin smiled before taking hold of her wheelchair. "I'm glad to see you in one piece. You terrified me when you weren't there this morning."