Ryan gives Pat a small wave to acknowledge her. Pats' eyes go wide in surprise.
"So yesterday we left off with me going back to my room after bothering Ryan." I said trying to get rid of the awkward silence and get through today. Ryan was making this more awkward by being awkward himself.
Pat clears her throat and smiles at me. "Yes. You did." She seemed to have trouble focusing on me. Her eyes kept flitting back to Ryan and I was trying not to regret bringing him here.
The next morning Ryan tells me that if I wake up from a nightmare I can come in his room and sleep with him. I didn't know if I was actually going to take him up on that offer. I was up all night because I couldn't sleep after what he said. He looked like he slept great and as if I didn't wake him up from crawling into bed with him.
"Athea, it'll keep me from coming in your room and checking on you every night. Actually if you want you can stay in my room from now on so you don't have to worry about waking me up by coming in."
It turns out I needed him more than I thought. I started getting used to his company and looked forward to seeing him. However, he was starting to be around me less and less. I guess it had to do with him being in the mafia but I wasn't sure. There are some people who have jobs and go to them everyday. Which reminded me that I was seriously missing my job and I hoped they don't think I just upped and quit on them.
"You seem to be worried?" Ryan asks.
"Well I am. I had a job and my boss probably thinks I just up and quit on them."
"Did you like your job?" I jerk my head up to look at him surprised that he even asked about it. He seemed genuinely curious.
"Why do you care?"
"Well I know nothing about you and I've had you here for what five six months now?"
"Actually no it's been three months." I said curtly crossing my arms. I turned my back on him trying to decipher my feelings about this. I was mainly confused because I wasn't sure why he would want to get to know me. He could have done that while he was stalking me. I guess he didn't really care and just wanted to get the ransom.
"Listen.."
"No. I'm sorry."
"So, did you like your job?" Ryan asks again.
"Yeah. I loved it. I enjoy reading so being able to read and edit manuscripts is awesome because I get to read what people write down. Sometimes it's pretty boring but I still love my job. Hopefully it will still be my job when I get back. If I get back."
"You think I'm going to kill you?"
"Well of course I do. I don't expect you to willingly give me back to my family after you get the ransom. I know exactly who are even if I don't know where we are."
"At first I thought about killing you because it wouldn't be worth it but I don't know if I will now or not. It's still in the air."
"At least you're honest about it." I say begrudgingly. I was internally terrified. I'd never get to see my parents again or read another book all because my father is a damn high profile judge.
"What about movies? Do you want any of those manuscripts you read to be made into a movie?"
"Yeah. A few of them and some would be better as television shows. There's a book I've been reading called Catastrophic Chloe and I know the author on a more personal level. I'm hoping I can or at least I was hoping I could convince my boss to publish him. "
"What else do you like to do?" Ryan asks. I guess he got bored of the job topic. I was just getting started.
"Um.. binge watch Netflix or eat or sleep. I like walks but only on nice days. It can't be too hot or too cold but if it's cold I'm more likely to walk because it'll keep me warm."
"Okay.." Ryan seemed at a loss for words and the rest of the day went by with him asking me other things about myself. If I didn't know better I would think that he had feelings for me but that would be insane.
"Wait.. you really thought I was going to kill you?" Ryan asked me bringing me back to the present.
"Um.. yeah. Seriously why wouldn't you have?" I gave him a weird look. Didn't I just tell Pat about that and what he said. Did he seriously miss out on that part of the conversation?
"I wasn't going to but I didn't want you to think I was some pushover because you were pretty. I knew you enough by that time to know you wee gong to tease me if I told you I was going to let you go. I also, knew that you'd probably wait until the party that Friday and goad me into telling you why and I didn't think you would appreciate it too much if I told you that even though I have seen you naked and beat you senseless I always liked you." He looks at me in a specific way and I shrug my shoulders indicating that he was right. "Also, you're too nosy or your own good."
Pat clears her throat and even though I know she was there I kind of forgot she was there. "Is this how ya'll normally talk to each other?"
"Well if I have any questions about why he did something or how he acted he answers me honestly. It seems pretty blunt and rude but I don't want fluffers." I said.
"How long have ya'll been talking?" Pat looks at me and I look at Ryan letting him decide the answer for this one.
"Um.. Tuesday."
"So ya'll have been talking pretty much since I started seeing Athea?" Pat turns towards to Ryan eyeing him. "Who initiated contact?"
"I did. I left a note for her with one of her coworkers and waited until I knew she had it to leave her office. I then climbed into her kitchen that night and she told me she was seeing a therapist after she unfroze from shock."
"Shock?" Pat asked him. She seemed genuinely worried.
"Yeah she was standing there as if she had seen a ghost. We didn't get to talk long because a friend of hers came over so I left."
Pat turns to me. "I wasn't really in shock. I was surprised because I thought I had heard him earlier and I was trying to convince myself he was real. I was pretty confused about how I was feeling about him. I was excited for one because I finally got to see him again but terrified because I was hoping he wouldn't need me for anything else. Like how I was when we first started talking. I couldn't stop thinking about him and I was muddled on my feelings about him." I explained to Pat.
"So when he showed up in your apartment you were faced with how you had been feeling about him?"
"Yeah. Sometimes I'm still confused but thanks to you and yesterday I realized I have feelings for him and I didn't know how to deal with having an attraction to my ex- kidnapper."
"Okay. Continue Athea." Pat says trying to keep the ball rolling.
We spent the rest of the day talking about me. He wanted to know my favorite colors and about my family. It was honestly kind of weird and it felt kind of like a date but I knew it wasn't.
"Your father..."Ryan starts but wasn't sure about how to continue the sentence. "How do you feel about your dad being a judge?"
"Sometimes I like it because he makes a lot of money and I had a comfortable childhood. Now he helps me if my rent is going to be late or my bills are a little high. I hate it most of the time though. My mother gets paranoid every time something big comes through. Like your Uncle. When you met me?" I say trying to jog his memory. "The day I ran into you I had just gotten off the phone with my mother telling me to be more aware of my surroundings because your Uncle was in the mafia. I being cocky told her nothing was going to happen to me. But I was frustrated and not paying attention to where I was going. I don't like my dad being a judge for that reason and because the justice system isn't the best. My father is one of the better ones but sometimes he is so tired his last cases he doesn't really pay attention to the evidence. He has to constantly think about every decision and how it will affect me too not just the county or the public." I yawned. I was kind of tired after talking all day. It was nice though for him to wonder and ask about me instead of ignoring me for the most part.