"Fuck I'm tired." Tired of this game or tired from running she wasn't sure. One thing she was sure of, HE was close. She wasn't sure where he was, but she knew he was watching, waiting with a patience only a predator possesses. Leaning against a tree for support as she tried to catch her breath, she looked around her surroundings for some clue to where the stream could be. She didn't know why it was so important to reach it, she just knew that she had to push forward and reach it before he could catch her. Her legs were burning, her lungs ached for more air. Still, she pushed away from the safety of the shadow of the birch tree she had been leaning against and kept running. She ran through the unfamiliar forest of maple and birch trees and all the autumn colors around her blurred. Under normal conditions she may have leisurely walked and admired the colors around her and how they transformed her world into a sea of gold and crimson. Right now, all she focused on was the surety of her footing. Her bare feet on the damp, moss covered ground both cushioning her feet and making it more difficult to run as fast as she pushed herself. She strained her ears to find any sounds of the stream and eventually she heard the sounds of a burbling stream nearby. She slid to a stop, nearly losing her balance and listened intently to the sounds in order to discern what direction she should run in. She thought that it sounded like it was coming from her left. "Snap," she heard a twig break, and her panic launched her into a sprint toward where she hoped the stream was.
As the sounds of the stream grew closer, she felt so many conflicting emotions. She wasn't sure if what she sought was her salvation or her damnation once she crossed the crystal water. The only emotion loud and clear was her own lust which made her panic even more thinking she had gone mad in these woods. Why was the feeling of the damp, cold earth between her toes, her racing heart in her ears, the sound of his footsteps getting closer, the thought of him catching her, so arousing to her rather than terrifying?
Her body screamed as she pushed past her limits until a thought raced across her mind, "He's so close I can hear him breathing." She had been so distracted trying to sort through her conflictions that her pace must have slowed. Or had he been toying with her the whole time? Either way, the real chase had just begun, and she knew she was at his mercy.
Just as she saw the stream come into view, the water giving her a renewed sense of motivation to keep pushing forward, he was right there behind her. She felt him there before he even spoke. He wrapped his arm across her midriff and slid them to a stop in the mud with an inhuman grace. His mouth at her ear she felt his breath go from her ear and down her neck, sending exhilarating shivers down her spine and goosebumps on her arms. He opened his mouth to speak and growled in her ear, "Wake up!"
"Wake the fuck up you lazy cunt," the voice didn't match her mystery man, it was a voice that was all too familiar to her. A voice that at one time had filled her with comfort now fills her with dread. She wanted so badly to stay in her dream realm for just a few more moments. She needed to feel his breath on her neck and his warmth against her. She needed to know who he was, even if he was just in her imagination. Those blissful thoughts were brought to a halt as soon as she felt a sharp sting in her cheek. He had struck her.
When Keira opened her eyes, she saw he was standing above her in the dim light of dawn. Alexei was a handsome man by all accounts with his tousled black hair, grey eyes, and a jaw that came straight off the cover of a magazine. Women were always staring at him and flirting shamelessly with him, especially when she was with him. They always looked so shocked when she would point out that she was his fiancé; but they were just as shocked when he would tell them, "She knows I need more than what she can give to be satisfied. Besides I'm just not attracted to her like that anymore, she is a good cook though." It was true- she knew he wasn't attracted to her anymore, he hadn't been in years. The worst part was she was relieved by it. Someone else could fulfill his twisted fantasies and find out on their own that his charm was only skin deep. She just hated that she continued to stay with him still, she had become complacent.
"Keira get the fuck up," he spat the words at her like venom from his lips, "you woke me up again and I'm fucking tired of this bullshit. I can't ever get any sleep around you anymore. Don't make me regret not throwing your ass out." Her name coming from his too perfect mouth used to be a drug to her, all he ever had to do was say her name and she was on cloud nine. Now it was poison burning in her veins, killing her slowly. "You're talking in your sleep again and this time you fucking kicked me. The least you can do is get your ass up and let me sleep in peace. Go make yourself useful somehow." She didn't know she woke him up again, it's not like she did it on purpose, but she would say it out loud out of fear that it would make him even more pissed off. She knew all too well that when he was mad nothing would make it better until he got it all out, pain would inevitably be the result for her no matter what it was that set him off.
She couldn't prepare herself fast enough, her head still in that half asleep haze, as Alexei grabbed her arms and yanked her out of the bed. She didn't even have a chance to pick herself up off the floor before he unleashed all his rage on her prone body. He never truly yelled but his words rang in her ears with every blow. Every kick to her ribs was a reminder of how worthless he felt she was. Every blow to her legs telling her how lazy she was. Every second he spent with his hands around her throat a reminder of how gracious he was to let her live.
After he felt she had been properly reminded of her place in the scheme of things he told her, "Get your lazy ass up and go make me some food. And if you fuck it up there will be something even worse in store for you. I swear you do this shit just to get a reaction out of me, it's not my fault you can't do anything right."
And so, she did just that, she got up on her sore, unsteady legs that had been cramped in the fetal position for what felt like an eternity, and she went to the kitchen. Keira made sure that his favorite breakfast was made exactly the way he liked it. French toast that was perfectly golden and cut diagonally into six slices, individually buttered, with the syrup in a little dish for him to dip each bite. Four eggs scrambled slowly and gently until they were cooked but still fluffy with cheddar cheese folded in and chives sprinkled on top. Bacon that was crispy but not burnt that she had patted the oil dry from using a paper towel so there wasn't any excess grease. And freshly squeezed orange juice that she strained all the pulp from so he didn't chew on his drink. All of which she had to make sure was at the perfect temperature so that he wouldn't burn his mouth, but it wouldn't be cold either. She placed his plate in the center of the serving tray with his juice glass in the upper right corner and his utensils to the right of the plate and the morning paper perfectly folded to the left of the plate. As she took Alexei his breakfast all she could think of was how badly she longed to be back in that forest to feel her mystery man behind her and hear his voice in her ear. Maybe someday she could find the strength to escape her gilded cage.