| Behind Closed Doors Chapter VII |
| It was cold where she was. Cold and dark and hopeless. Her swollen cheek was throbbing dully, and she didn�t care. Part of her wanted to go curl up with Michael, but another part of her didn�t want to feel that unbearable pang half way through the movie, when it inevitably occurred to her that he was just a man, a man who would never give a damn about her, who was only being nice to her to get something in return, and a third part, the biggest part, just didn�t care. The third part just wanted to stop. Somewhere deep down she knew she should fight this part, fight with everything she had, but that was just it, she mused through the haze, she had given it everything already, and now there was simply nothing left to fight with. And so she lay in the corner of the huge, lavish hotel suite, feeling her heart slowly going numb, and her mind becoming foggy. The thick, dusty-smelling carpet disappeared from beneath her fingers, and she was drifting, drifting in cold, dark, empty space, the part of her that wanted to fight fading rapidly. ** Michael was getting worried. Everything had gone quiet almost an hour ago. She probably just wants to be alone, he had told himself countless times, but he was getting less convinced by the second. Finally, he couldn�t stand it anymore. He dug through the draw in his bedside table, eventually pulling out the extra key to her room he had requested several days ago at reception. Outside her door, key in hand, he hesitated. What if she really did just want to be left? What then? He would just be an idiot intruding on her privacy. Well, at least you�ll be an idiot who�s secure in the knowledge that she�s not dead Good point He slid the key-card though the reading mechanism, and the door opened just enough for the light inside to stream out in a narrow beam. Pushing the door further, he entered the brightly lit room and looked around. Nothing. The bed was neatly made in that picture-perfect way that you can never quite recreate at home, there was last nights dress hanging over the back of a chair, but no sigh of her, or anyone else, for that matter. Just as he was about to leave, something made him stop. Something made him turn around and venture further into the room, and something made him turn just a little to his left to look at the bed. He gasped. There she was, lying in the corner. At first, he thought she was asleep. Either that or unconscious, but as he made his way to her, he realized that her eyes were open. Not open and watching, not open and frightened, not even open and dead, just open. Her face was completely blank. He bent over and picked her up. Her head lolled back, now unsupported by the wall behind her, but her expression remained the same. He knew she could be seriously hurt, that something could have been severed, and that he should get her to hospital, but he didn�t. For some reason, he didn�t. Instead, he tucked her into the bed, switched off the light, and climbed in beside her, removing only his shoes as he did so. He reached up and gently closed her eyes before draping his arm across her limp body. He lay there silently for over an hour, watching her. Then, not even knowing why, he began to press his lips to the side of her face in chaste, gentle kisses, all the while whispering to her how much he cared for her, and begging her not to leave him. As he lay there, he promised the both of them that this would never, ever happen again. Ever. If he had to lock her in his room for the rest of her life he was never, never letting him near her again. ** Something was pressing against her face. Something warm and soft, like expensive velvet. And there was a sound. She couldn�t quite make out what it was, it was really just a very low hum, but it was definitely there. It was quite nice really. Warm, insofar as a sound can be warm. She felt like she had been drifting for years without having been aware of it, or perhaps it was only a moment? It didn�t matter. All she wanted was to go back to where ever she had been, to stop thinking again, or did she? Everything was so confusing. Like stumbling around a pitch-black room with no clue as to where anything is, or even where you are. It was scary, but at the same time oddly reassuring. If you can�t find anything, then odds are it won�t be able to find you. Her eyes opened, but she didn�t notice, as what she was seeing now really wasn�t that different from what she had been seeing before; It was still a vast grey ocean, stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction. She lay there for what seemed like a long time, just staring up at the blank ceiling, and slowly she began to realize that the ocean seemed to turn sharply downward all around her. She continued to gaze up in a sort of silent wonder that she couldn�t really explain. Suddenly, she was aware that she was cold. Colder than she had ever thought possible. She shook violently, and her body instinctively turned towards the immense heat next to her, gripping it. The exertion was enough to send her back into the realm of the unconscious. ** Her eyes snapped open. She was in complete darkness. He was there. Next to her. Above her, below the bed. And he was going to kill her. She tried to get up, but he held her down. She was going to die. Panic set in. ** Michael sat up and switched on the light. He had been awoken moments earlier when a hand had slammed down onto his shoulder. As light filled the room, he stared at her. Eyes closed, bathed in sweat, she was thrashing about as though someone was pinning her down. He grabbed her shoulders and held her down, intent on waking her before she hurt herself. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, full of wild insanity. Everything stopped for a moment. There was no movement, no sound. Then, as though time was making up for the little glitch, everything seemed to move at twice it�s normal speed, and before he knew it Michael had his arms tight around a shivering little figure in his lap, and she was clinging to him, digging her nails into his back in terror. They sat there for what seemed like a long time before she finally went back to sleep, still clinging on to him with desperate strength. |