When I woke up, I was alone. The only indication that he had been there was the faint scent of flowers-roses to be exact- that seemed to cling on to him.
I felt weirdly warm and my tears had dried on my cheeks. When I moved, I realized the shackles were no longer on my leg. I was...free. I brushed away the hair that was stuck to my forehead.
A small sound left my mouth when I moved my legs. My legs felt almost numb. My neck was throbbing and I touched my neck. Compared to the other bruises on my body, the recent one didn't hurt as bad.
When the door opened, I visibly flinched in fear, not knowing what- who- to expect. When the calm blue-green eyes met my eyes, I relaxed, resting my head against the wall, watching him place a bottle of water, clean clothes, and food.
I realized I haven't had a proper meal in days. I had barely been aware of eating this past week. The events seemed to blur and I was exhausted.
Kai looked at me apologetically, kneeling do look at me. He raised his hand hesitantly, his knuckles grazing my cheeks. His eyes almost turned sadistic before he shook his head. He seemed to be fighting his own battle inside his head
When his hands cupped my cheeks, I leaned into his hands- a nobody starved for affection. His attention. I felt vulnerable and raw. At that moment, his presence was the only one that calmed me. Why him? Why him, of all people?
My cheeks flamed when I noticed him closing in on me. My eyes locked with his, my petit hands cupping his surprisingly soft cheeks. I closed the remaining distance, my forehead almost touching his.
I breathed in his flowery scent, my body feeling relaxed after a very long time. Something had changed in me after what happened the previous day. I couldn't understand what I was feeling. I shouldn't feel this way was all I could think.
Maybe we both needed assurance that we will be fine. I am no psychologist but Adrien/Kai seemed to be struggling with some kind of mental illness.
"Alayna, will you ever forgive?" he asked gently, placing a soft kiss on my cheeks. My heart skipped a beat, surprised by his sudden gentleness. I had a hard time wrapping my head around what was happening.
I knew the moment it was Adrien when his grip on me tightened. I bit my lips and held on to him. My action took him by surprise. He waited for a split second just so that I could realize it wasn't Kai. It didn't matter. Not to me.
"Stop touching me. You're my toy. Don't listen to Kai. You dumb airhead, I won't show mercy if I have to pry your hand from my face"
For all his words, his hands were still on me. I pressed my mouth against hhim shocking both of us. Never in a million years, Ihad expected to...kiss him, the person who had abused me both mentally and physically.
His lips were gentle against mine before he pushed me back harshly, his hands biting on my skin.
"You stupid airhead, why did you do it?" he asked flabbergasted like he couldn't believe I'd dare to do something like this.
I kept my eyes downcast, shame filling me. He was right, of course. Why did I kiss him?
A tense silence filled the room, neither of us talking though I could almost feel his internal struggle.
When hands wrapped around my left ffoot I jerked before I froze, fear filling me.
"If you move, you will be punished" he spat out the words. Contrasting to his words, his hands rubbed the scar on my feet. I let out a sigh of relief letting him massage my feet gently. Wait...he had removed the shackle on my left ffoot
I had no idea who was in control, probably both. The sudden turn of events made me question my sanity. It felt too nice to be real. Too good to be true.
"Get up" his voice commanded softly, helping me stand. I held on to him for support, my legs wobbling after putting weight on it. It had been more than a week since I had walked.
He almost carried me out. I had never been aware of another room besides where I stayed.
Does that mean...all these days he had been staying just another wall away? Does that mean he heard my cries of pain?
His room was a mess with a few of his clothes strewn on his bed, a strange red-colored drink on his table and three monitors with a picture of a blue rose as wallpaper in the middle one while the other two contained random codes. This picture...I had seen it somewhere.
Across his table was his bathroom. He stripped me without batting his eye, washing off a week's worth of dirt and abuse from my body. His eyes looked almost self-deprecating when he looked at the bruises on my body. Fortunately, most of the bruises were gone.
I expected to feel worse having his hands on my body but his touch felt normal...almost gentle. What made it different this time? Why did I wish to soothe his soul when he tried breaking mine?
So many questions and yet this almost felt like goodbye. I didn't want to be here. I shouldn't want to be near him after what he had done to me.
"Adrien?" I whispered. His jaws clenched and his eyes seemed to become unfocused before he shook himself out of the haze.
"It's Kai, please don't call him. I can't fight him off for long" Kai whispered. I rubbed my hands on his. Watching him struggle broke my heart.
I could see glimpses of Adrien but it was Kai who cleaned me up, who consoled me when my emotions became too much to handle. Why did this part of him be this...considerate while the other part of him seemed to despise me and wanted to break me?
He dressed me up in a new set of clothes, similar to the ones I had worn the day I was taken by him. A beige sweatshirt and sweatpants. He let me brush my hair while he packed me a few other clothes.
"Alayna… whatever happens, you..you won't forget me, right? One day, you will forgive me…?" he faltered, his eyes glistening.
And I wished I could give him the answer he wanted. I rished I could but how could I when I couldn't understand him or his reasons for abducting me?
"Kai…" I looked away, wiping my tears hastily. The wounds on my body would easily fade away but the ones in my soul...I doubted I could ever get back to the way I was before.
I wanted to blame him, I wanted to hold onto this anger but I also wanted to move on from this nightmare. And maybe one day I'd feel more like a survivor than a victim of a situation.
"I want to forgive you but I don't know if I can ever...ever forget this" I whimpered like I was in physical pain.
"I...I guess this is goodbye" he whispered, embracing me one last time. What did he mean by that? Does this mean...I am free?.
I was blindfolded before Kai led me along. I could feel his hands on my back as we walked. Finally, he stopped.
"I need you to get inside this car" he whispered, helping me sit in. Kai held out his hands. I looked at him in confusion. He gestured to the cuffs in his hand. Oh. I let him cuff me and let out a squeak when he blindfolded me.
I had barely looked at the place I had been held captive except that it was above a mountain. We drove for a while- almost 10 minutes- before he helped out again. Finally, my blindfold and cuffs were removed.
I gasped when I realized it was the same apartment that I had been kidnapped from. I stilled, my mind replaying that fateful day... I shuddered.
I froze when his lips brushed mine. I was expecting the pain but nothing else happened. I touched my lips reverently.
Why did I feel the sudden urge to...kiss him back? While I struggled with my thoughts, he carried a small black bag and held it out to me.
"Goodbye Alayna" was the last thing I heard before he left me. I didn't realize what he had done until then. He..he had given me a choice to walk away from him. I look at the staircase and turned back to the street.
I could go back to my normal life or I could choose this one. Could I leave, knowing I'd never see him again? When I opened the bag, a small note slipped out of the bag.
Switch off the phone and throw it away. I am sorry - Kai
Inside the bag was a phone- my phone. When I slid it open, I almost dropped my phone. My phone's wallpaper was that of the blue rose- the one I had seen on his monitor.
I inhaled and made my choice.
I walked towards the staircase.