The intense stare by the pale blue eyed man sent a chill up my spine. The corner of his mouth turned up, giving me somewhat of a smile as he stepped into the room and gently shut the door behind himself, enclosing us both into the darkness again. I gulped lightly, praying that he wasn't going to touch me in any way. The thought of being raped only reminded me of my father, and I hated anything that brought him into my mind. The sound of shuffling filled my ears, I squinted my eyes, trying to make something out of the blacked out room but nothing was able to be seen. ''There we go.'' A voice, I assumed belonging to the guy that entered, spoke with a sigh of relief. His voice was strange to me, it was not like the normal voices I was use to hearing. I furrow my eyebrows in the pitch dark, confused on what exactly it was that he discovered. Just as I was about to swallow a lump forming in my throat, I heard a quick flicking sound.
Light.
The room was lit up by two dim light bulbs in the ceiling fan. I looked up to see the dusty blades begin to turn as it was powered on by the switch. My eyes meet the stranger's again and he keeps our contact locked tight as he leans against the wall across from me. ''I see you have awoken, good night's rest I assume? Or.. two nights as I may include.'' He chuckles lightly as he leans up from the wall and takes a few steps in my direction, stopping after about five though. Two days of sleep. That was relatively impossible, wasn't it? Well, I assume it could be true. I was pretty tired anyways when I first opened my eyes to the gloomy room. He sighs to himself again as he steps from in front of the bed, his hands behind his back as he looks down at the ground. My eyes glue to his movement, following him as he goes to the left side of the room, leaning against a door-frame that had a sheer curtain hanging on a rod to cover it. Perhaps a closet maybe? I wasn't sure just yet.
I took in this free time to observe his presence, trying to see if I could make out anything about him. He doesn't look too mean or short-tempered. Perhaps he was only normal and was trying to help me out. Whatever the case, he didn't really scare me much – despite his ink and single ear piercing. No words leave my mouth, I didn't even attempt to speak to this strange man. His hair was styled perfectly, fluffy looking. I could tell his bleached hair was surely not natural, but it was quite a nice look on him. His tight blue jeans had holes and rips in them, not sure if they were artificial or just caused by being worn out and old. His white tank top exposed his muscled arms to me, his tattoos filling his skin here and there. It appears he was working on a full sleeve on one side, but however that is none of my concern. He worn a pair of seemingly old Converse, the strings dingy and knotted at the ends.
"I am pleased to meet you.. officially that is.'' He smiles as he beings the stretch of distance over to me. I gulp again, hoping that he will soon leave me alone. My mouth was burning from the lack of being dehydrated and soaked, I needed something to drink – anything to swallow down my throat. "You look like you're slowly decaying. Anything I can offer? A shower, glass of water?'' He insists as he raises his eyebrows at me in question. I take this as a chance, at least I know he's here to help me. ''W-water.'' I mumble, my vocal cords covered in dust from the lack of being used in a while. My throat itched as it vibrated, probably ready for some wetness. ''No problem, I'll be right back. Oh, um.. there's some clothes in that closet for you. Not much, we haven't really gotten you a lot of items yet. I'll be back soon.'' He informs me with a sly smile before turning around and heading towards the door.
The odd boy never mentioned his name to me, could be the want of privacy, or the lack of social skills. Whatever that reason is, it's quite rude to bother me and not even dare to mention your own name. I try not to let it worry me too much, just awaiting his return with my water. My eyes roamed the room I was in. I wasn't sure where I was at, or who that person was – but for some odd reason, I'm thankful that I'm here and out of the rain, out of the woods. I gulp gently as my eyes lead themselves over to the window. It was covered by a dark curtain – no light being let in. Perhaps it was just a decoration, and nothing for me to really worry about. The floor was covered in dust and a few footprints left by the boy. The walls were painted a dark brown color, the paint peeling in a few places. I look up to the ceiling and see a stain shaped like a circle, it was most likely a leak from the rain. The door was painted white, the knob was silver and round. I look closer to my body, seeing just exactly what I was sitting on. It was a bed – the cover was soft and the pillow was too. It looked used, but not too worn out. The coloring on the blanket was light blue, a more appealing color to me, it wasn't dark.
My head shot up as I heard the door creaking – not many seconds afterwards, the stranger appears in the room again, shutting the door behind himself. My eyes watch him closely was he walks over to me, a glass of ice water in his hand. He reaches the bed, handing the glass to me. I give him a light smile, glad that I was being somewhat taken care of. The boy gives me a smile back. He seemed kind, like a pleasant person to be around. Perhaps he will lighten my mood some. I put the rim of the glass against my lips, releasing a sigh before I began to get a drink. I allow myself to have enough, not too much, of the water before sitting in on the wooden nightstand close to me. My eyes trail down to my lap where I pick at my fingernails.
"Um, Julianne, right?'' He speaks, cutting the silence in the room. That caught my attention, however, how on earth did he know my name? I look up to meet his blue eyes, a feeling of fear suddenly crept up on me. "I looked at your ID, in your wallet." He adds in. I sigh in relief as I understand what he said. "Sorry to scare you like that. Your bag's in the closet, by the way." He tells me. I give him a light nod, not really feeling like talking right now. "I'm Alister .'' He finally gives me his name. I give him another smile, still not wanting to let myself speak. He takes a seat on the edge of the bed, his eyes looking away from me and to the floor. "I know this is.. weird, but I promise nothing bad will happen to you, alright?'' He says with a light huff. "O-okay.'' I mumble back to him. He turns his head, staring at me with those piercing blue eyes. They sent a chill up my spine, he made me wonder what hides behind those eyes of his. Perhaps a secret, perhaps love for someone – I'm not really sure, all I know is that the shivers he's making me experience won't stop.
"Are you scared?'' He asks me simply. I gulp gently, I assume I must reply just as simple, truthfully that is. "Yes.. a little.'' I admit to him, looking away from his eyes. He was making me nervous, I couldn't stare into his mysterious eyes much longer. "That's understandable. But just trust me, love, everything's okay.'' Alister's voice was convincing, I didn't dare question it. Something told me to trust him, to believe the words leaving his mouth. Maybe it was the thought of being safe for once, or the feeling of being protected. I'm not positive yet, but I do trust him – partly. "Did.. did you.. find me?'' I hear myself asking him, my eyes closing as I await his answer. "Yeah, my friends and I did. We refused to leave you out there, so we brought you back here.'' He tells me of what occurred. I nod a few times, not sure if he was still watching me or not though. "Are you.. going to.. turn me in.. to the police?'' I nervously ask him, entirely afraid of this answer. My heart skipped a beat as it became silent, I could feel his presence so I know he didn't leave. I heard his breathing, another piece of evidence that told me he was in the room, he heard me. I know he did.
"Honestly, I wanted to because we thought you were hurt. That would mean we'd have to take you to the hospital, and they'd find out through police reports. So, no.'' Alister says finally, his words reminding me that this was indeed real, it was happening. I open my eyes to see he was staring at the wall, and not at me anymore. I take a deep breath as I begin to ask my next question, "Did you know.. that I ran away?" My eyes found their way to Alister, staring at his ink covered arm as I awaited his response.
"Yeah, it wasn't that hard to figure out.. And plus we looked in your bag for your ID, so we'd know who you were. We saw the things you had.'' He informs me. "How come.. you didn't turn me in?'' I blurt out, not sure why but I just wanted to know this answer. "Julianne, love, you ask a lot of questions.'' He turns his head and smiles gently at me. "I'm.. I'm s-sorry." I mumble under my breath as I stare down at my lap again, legs crossed on the bed. "It's fine.. But um, we figured there must be a reason you ran away. We saw the bruises on your face.. we kind of just went with our gut and brought you back with us. Besides, you're old enough to make your own decisions.'' Alister says as he stands up from the bed. I give him a nod, my last question was answered. I didn't know why I kept the conversation with the stranger going, but I did know that Alister was quite honest – or so it seems. Sometimes you have to trust people, it's hard for me to do, but I will try.