Capítulo 3: A Copper Taste in His Mouth

Up the stairs he took me, until we finally made it my room. He pulled me in and shut the door behind us. He turned toward me, his face soft and caring.

"Are you alright? Jesus you're half frozen." He reached his arms out and I stepped away. I don’t know this guy and now he wants to touch me? Oh please. I thought bitterly.

"Thank you for your kindness. I do appreciate it, however, don't touch me. I don't trust you or know you." I spat. My throat was as dry as the desert from spending so much time shackled in the dark by myself. This triggered a coughing fit and I blindly reached out for my dresser. I had to hold myself up, my legs were still very weak as I hacked up my lungs. William ran to the bathroom adjacent my bed, filling a cup with water and bringing it back. I sucked it down, water spilling out of the sides of my mouth and onto the towel wrapped around my body. I finished it quickly and sucked in a deep breath. William was standing next to me with his hand out. I stared at it for a moment and then glanced back at him, raising my eyebrow.

"Your cup." He indicated with his hand. I gave it back to him, sheepishly. A knock at the door startled me. William immediately stepped between me and the noise. It almost seemed instinctive.

"Come in." He said loudly. The door opened slowly, Joth stood in the frame.

"The Director has requested another bed be brought in. She doesn't want Calypso leaving your sight. Therefore, the boys have brought you a twin frame and an old mattress. Hope you don't mind." I could feel the tension crackling in the air around us. Joth obviously didn't like how close this man was to what he believed to be his precious doll. I moved closer to William's back to shield my body. I’ll be damned if he gets to look at me so underdressed again today. The men dragged the frame through the door along with a dusty old mattress. They didn’t even bother to set it up. They just left it on the floor in a heap.

"Set it up how you see fit." Joth beckoned the men out and one of them threw a sheet set on the floor next to it. Then they shut the door and William turned to face me.

"Well, this is your room. Where do you want me?" I huffed and shuffled away from him, awkwardly clutching the front of my towel.

"Over there." I grumbled, pointing at the corner by the door. He got to work setting everything up. Luckily there was plenty of room in the bedroom. All I had was a small dresser and my twin bed across from the bathroom. With tired feet, I dragged myself into my bathroom and shut the door. Well at least this way if Joth tries to get in, William can stop him before he reaches me. But he's still another obstacle in the way of my escape. I pondered.

With a sigh, I stood in front of my scratched mirror and removed the towel to dry my pixie blonde hair. I glared at the length, Joth's favorite. He had cut it himself every two weeks to maintain it.

As a child, I remembered sitting very still on my bed, his small knife glinting in the light. He sat behind me and lovingly glided it through the strands, leaning in close to my ear to smell its fragrance. When he was done cutting it, he would tell me to look away and he would bury his face in my hair at the base of my skull. I would stay as still as possible, as he gently caressed my head breathing me in. It was a bizarre entrance that he took hours to wake up from.

I was so caught up in my thoughts of the past, I didn't realize the door was open and William was watching me. My hands gripped the side of the sink until my knuckles were white and my breathing was ragged. His hand on my bare shoulder pulled me from the terrors in my mind and I propelled myself away from him until my back hit the wall.

"Why the fuck are you in here?" I snarled breathlessly. He looked up at the ceiling.

"I knocked a few times but you didn't answer. Then I thought I heard you cry out so I forced the door open. I'm sorry I didn't know you were..." he gulped and turned away from me, blushing hard. "I'll go now." He said and quickly walked out, closing the door behind him. What a fool. I thought. At least he didn't try to do anything to me. I wrapped myself back in my towel and walked out of the restroom. William looked at me guiltily. He had finished his bed and was sitting on it, waiting for me to come out.

"I'm sorry." He said again. I brushed him off.

"You startled me. That's all." I stated and removed the towel once more, placing it on my dresser.

"Jesus!" He shouted, burying his face in his hands. I looked at him quizzically.

"What?" I asked. He peeked out at me from between his fingers.

"You're half naked!"

I huffed in annoyance.

"This is my room. I'm not going to change my habits just because you're here. Besides. You've seen me half naked already. Twice now if I recall correctly."

He uncovered his face, glancing up at me. His face turned bright red again and he quickly looked down, clasping his hands in his lap. As I fished old pajamas out of my dresser, I could hear him muttering under his breath.

"Crazy lady." He murmured. I smiled to myself and finished getting dressed.

"Do you happen to know what time it is?" I asked. He looked at the ceiling.

"It's probably around dusk." He said. "It was midday when I arrived and was given a tour. Then I was ordered to wash you about 4 hours later or so. So, it's dusk I'd say."

I nodded and sat on my bed. My wrists were throbbing from my shackles, bruised and cut up. I winced, rubbing them gently. He got off the bed and went into the bathroom, digging under the counter. He walked out with some gauze and came over to where I was sitting.

"Do you want to wrap them or can I help you?"

I looked up at him before finally sighing and holding my wrists out. He wrapped them up nicely and tied them off. Then he set the extra on the dresser and sat back on his bed. I laid back and curled up, pulling my pillow close.

"Will you turn out the light and lock the door?" I asked. In the back of my mind I was terrified that Joth would come in and take me away. I think he could sense my worry because he stood and locked the door, pulling the back half of his bed in front of it. Then he turned the light off and got into bed.

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