He looked at me intently, judging whether I was fit enough. “Why don’t you start with the light gardening today and work your way to the back of the cavern; ease your way back into things.”
“Thanks.” I said. I had started to walk away when he called out to me.
“Lillie?” He waited for me to look back at him, “I’m glad to see you around again. Stop hiding yourself away, ok?”
I smiled back at him and nodded.
I was almost done with work when I saw Mason for the first time. He was bringing in supplies from our outer tunnel, the one that held the pit for the Infected. He didn’t notice me at first because I was hiding around the wheel barrel of dirt, being as pathetic as possible.
He tossed the seed down next to where I was. When he turned around, he noticed me, “Hey,” he said quietly.
“Hi.” I said, even quieter.
“Mason!” Becky called from across the cave. “Come help me, please?” Her conversation was with Mason, but she glared at me with a smirk on her face. She was telling me that he was hers.
He pointed over his shoulder. “I gotta go.”
My voice remained dormant. I watched him run over to where she was, glancing back at me before he got there. I didn’t want to fight with him anymore.
I watched as Becky had Mason lift a few things for her, things she could have picked up and moved herself. She kept glancing at me as much as she watched him, just to catch my reaction. Her demeanor continued to give me chills. Her body seemed to have developed subtle ticks; twitching at odd intervals. The way she watched me raised the hairs on the back of my neck. Something was very wrong with that girl.
As I finished up my work, a warm prickly feeling crept its way up my spine. Someone was watching me. I turned to find Jeff standing a few feet away, his dark eyes resembling lasers, honing in on his target. Everything about him was dark; his emotions, his demeanor, everything. A shiver raced down my spine, coming extremely close to the way I felt when Becky was watching me.
“Hey there, pretty lady.” Jeff said, slithering closer. “I see you and Mason aren’t speaking much. You two have a fight?” He asked in a whiney, mocking voice.
“A disagreement.” I corrected in a firm tone.
“Is that what they call it nowadays?” He lifted an eyebrow, giving off an even creepier vibe.
“Can I help you with something?” I wanted this conversation over with. My inner voice was yelling at me to step away.
“Yes. Actually, you can help me with a lot.” His eerie smile rose up on one side of his face.
“Which is…” I asked, leaving the question hanging.
“Private. Why don’t you stop by my room later and I’ll show you.”
I finally got it. Yuck. “No, thanks.” I turned back to my gardening.
I didn’t hear him come up behind me until he grabbed my arm. His grip was like a vise. “You only like to screw pretty boys, huh? A pretty little thing like you, you should be open to all kinds of…” He couldn’t finish his words because Mason had come over to where we were, cutting him off.
“Can I help you with something, Jeff?” He asked, harshly.
“No. Just small talk, ya know.” He released my arm, leaving red marks where his fingers tensed around my flesh.
“Then I suggest you keep your hands to yourself.” Mason’s eyes flashed with anger. I’ve never seen him this intense before; jaw flexing, expression stern.
“There won’t be a next time.” I said, standing next to Mason, glaring at Jeff.
Jeff studied me while I moved, like a predator stalking his prey.
“I suggest you leave. Now!”
Jeff smiled and looked directly at me when he did. His intense stare gave me an uneasy feeling. Whatever this was, was not over.
Jeff walked out of ear shot and Mason turned to me, pulling me to him. “What was that about?”
It took me a second to gain my composure. The encounter shook me. “He said that I only screw pretty boys like you and Ian, that I should come to his room later and…” I didn’t finish. I watched the anger multiply in Mason’s eyes. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it.” I stood in front of Mason so he had to look at me. “I’m sorry for the other day. I ruined everything. You went out of your way to plan something nice and…”
“No. I’m sorry. I should’ve never pushed you like that. I know how much you loved Ian, even though it makes me jealous as hell.” He smiled. “Like I said, I can wait. Weeks, months, years, I don’t care. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy. I don’t want to lose you in any way, so let’s just see where things go with no strings attached.”
“Do you mean that?” I leaned toward him out of habit.
“Yes.” He said, and without hesitating, he pulled me into his arms.
“What if I’m never ready? I’m scared to care so much again.”
He put two fingers under my chin and lifted, bringing my gaze to his. “I would wait forever. If forever never came, I would love you all the same.”
My breath caught in my throat and I think my heart stopped beating too. Did Mason just say he loved me? What in the hell do I say to that? Nothing. I was afraid of hurting his feelings again, and if I’m being honest, I’m afraid of the feelings that he brings out of me whenever I see him.
“Do you want to help me finish?” I asked instead.
“Sure.” He bent down with seeds in hand and we finished planting in silence, taking only a few more minutes. Mason put all the supplies away and brushed his hands off, then he walked over to me and paused, “Would you like to have dinner with me? Just friends, I promise. I just miss being with you.”
“I would love to. Let me get cleaned up and grab Azami. We’ll meet you there.”
He nodded and went to clean himself up. I headed for the bathroom and then to my room. Once I had all the dirt washed off, it wasn’t hard to look nice. I found myself primping in my room, wanting for the first time since Ian left to look decent. Heading to the dining area, I stopped in and picked up Azami who was just finishing up with their color lesson. Azami had drawn a tree to represent the color green. I smiled to myself, wondering if it was the same tree where we’d met James.
Dinner was just what I needed. A regular meal, except Mason waited on me hand and foot, which I decided to put an immediate stop to. I appreciated everything he did, but he had to stop treating me like I couldn’t do things on my own. Jen smiled and winked at me once, causing me to blush. I didn’t want anyone to think I’d forgotten Ian so easily, especially James.
After dinner I decided to turn in early. I was tired and really in need of some rest. The nightmares were keeping me from getting a good night’s sleep, causing me to toss and turn throughout the night. I wish I could ask Mason to come and sleep with me, to keep away the nightmares, but that would be unfair and crossing that friendship barrier that I wasn’t willing to throw away again, just because I felt like I needed attention.
James started bunking in the extra room that was actually dug out for me, so I decided to stay permanently in Ian’s room. James was old enough for his own room anyway. Sometimes he’d get lonely and come and stay with me and Azami, which I loved. I missed him terribly, but didn’t want to stop him from ‘growing up’ as he says. There was so much to do every day that we didn’t see each other as much as we did when it was just us three at the tree.
Azami had begged to stay with James. Even though he was only one tunnel down the hall, she felt like it made her a big girl, so I agreed to let her stay. When I said yes, James looked just as excited as her. He always played whatever game she wanted, which was probably why she loved to play with him. With James, she always got her way.
Nighttime was when I missed Ian the most. I missed having his body against mine, holding me close all night long. I put on some sleep wear and climbed under the two blankets that covered my bed; one his, one mine. Most nights it was warm out, but sometimes the night air was chilly. I preferred having blanket
s either way.
As soon as I drifted off to sleep, the dreams came to me, more violent than ever. The dream assaulted me as if I was the small dark figure being beaten on the ground. The black on black room spun, causing me to gasp for air. A glimpse of light flashed in the dark, just like it had when I saw Ian in his nightmare. The faces that were revealed caused me to stop breathing all together.
Jeff.
The small figure he stood over was me.
As soon as I made the connection, I shot straight up in bed, taking in deep, greedy pulls of air, thanking the stars that Azami stayed with James tonight. I didn’t want her near me if this was something that was going to happen.
It took me a few moments to calm down, returning my breathing to normal, but that’s when I noticed my breathing wasn’t the only one in the room. I turned toward the sound, goose bumps rising over my skin as he stepped out of the shadows. The diminutive light cast a silhouette over Jeff’s face, only his teeth from his eerie white smile shone in the moonlight.
“No.” The word a hushed huff, brushing past my lips. I knew my dreams were premonitions of what was to come. I had replayed this dream over and over again, trying to figure it out, and now it was too late. He was here.
“Yes.” He said softly, seductively.
I attempted to jump past him to the door but he caught me around the waist and slammed me to the cave floor. I tried to shout or scream, but the air was blown from my lungs on impact, no sound emanated from my open lips. He immediately followed up with a backhand to the face as my eyes squeezed closed in protest. He stood over me and kicked me in the ribs, causing me to lose the breath that I didn’t have, a replay of the last time I got my ass handed to me.
“There won’t be a next time, huh? How about I make this is your last time.”
I was able to get a punch to his face, but he recovered too fast, pinning my hands above my head. He slapped me hard, my bottom lip splitting on contact, filling my mouth with blood. His breathing was so hard and fast he was spitting blood on me at the same time. I must have busted his lip when I socked him in the face. Good.
My head feels woozy from the blows, but I’m still with it. I knew what was coming next. I’d already seen it happen. He slid his shirt off and tossed it next to us.
“No, please.” I begged.
“No begging, Lillian. It’s beneath you. Don’t you like me?” He laughed at his own joke.
I kicked at him and caught part of his thigh, not affecting him in the slightest. My strength was running low, I was having a hard time breathing, and panicking wasn’t helping me either. He continued his assault, tugging at the strings to my pajama bottoms, untying them, and then pulling them down to my knees, taking my panties with them. Tears sprang to my eyes. I couldn’t move my legs or arms because he had me pinned like a champion wrestler. I realized how close he was to my face, so I leaned up and bit him somewhere around the collarbone, hard enough to taste blood as I bit harder, trying to take a chunk out of him.
He let out a grunt and curse, right before he head butted me. My head slammed back against the rock, two sickening cracks, one after another. I may have blacked out for a moment, but realized I was conscious when I heard the belt to his pants come undone. This just confirmed that even though Ian had hurt me, it was nothing compared to this. Nothing compared to what Jeff was doing, what that group would have done to me. This was so much worse. I couldn’t focus anymore. I didn’t want to be here for this. I was lost in my own world, trying to focus on good things as I began to cry out, “Please, Please don’t do this.” I pleaded, but the words were groggy and barely audible.
Out of nowhere, before he could violate me, he was gone. I couldn’t see, but I could hear him being thrown up against the wall multiple times.
Someone was talking to me, but it only sounded like murmurs strung together. I felt my clothes being put back into place and then strong arms lifted me. My head fell into the crook of an arm and right away, I knew it was Mason. As he turned to take me out of the room, I felt him kick something on the ground, which I assumed was Jeff. He must have gotten knocked out because I didn’t hear him moan. I wondered if he was dead. Outside the room, people were gathered and faces blurred together. There were voices I recognized but couldn’t place until finally, one voice broke through them all.
“Did you get to her in time?”
James.
I couldn’t answer him as he continued to talk. He was comforting me, telling me he was sorry for not seeing it earlier, and that Jeff didn’t plan it until he walked past my room. That’s why he didn’t know until it was too late.
“I was sleeping and had a vision. I’ve never done that, but it was a strong one. Probably because it was you. Oh, please be alright.” He begged.
I still couldn’t speak. I was coughing and choking on my own blood. “Bring her in here.” Someone said.
“Is she going to be alright?” Jen’s frantic voice was louder than all the others at that moment which scared me. I’d never heard her yell or sound so scared before. I couldn’t comprehend anything, even with my eyes closed I felt the spinning. All I knew was I wanted Ian, I wanted him with me so badly.
Someone leaned over me, and I saw him. His handsome face swam into focus. I attempted to smile up at him with a cracked burning lip, happy he came back, “Ian.” I said, reaching an arm up to his face, “Ian, take me with you.”
He stared silently.
Then everything went black.
Chapter 14
I thought I was dead, but my head felt like it was going to explode so I knew I’d only been sleeping. Why does this shit keep happening to me? I mean, really? I moaned, trying to move. My body’s response was pathetic. My arms flung to the side instead of to my face, which felt swollen.
“Lil?” A voice said. “Lil, you awake?”
I moaned again, trying to speak.
“You’re alright now. I’m here. Nothing will hurt you.”
“Mason?” I said, weakly through swollen, cracking lips.
“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t talk. You’re not in good shape. He roughed you up good. He cracked your ribs and your face is swollen pretty badly. Try to relax. Get yourself together before talking.”
I moaned again in response and squeeze one more word out. “Azami?”
Mason moved next to the bed and held my hand. “She’s staying with James for now. We told her you fell down again.” Mason watched me with remorse. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.” His voice breaking, his hand trembled. I opened my eyes a sliver, the right one almost swollen shut. “He hurt you so bad. I thought... I thought he... before I could get to you. And then I saw your face and all the blood.” His voice cut off for a moment. "Don’t worry though, he won’t hurt you again. We dropped him off in a city over fifty miles away. He knows how to get back, but I don’t think he will risk it. I’ll kill him if he comes back and I made sure he knew that.” He paused again. “Michael wouldn’t let me near him, said dropping him off and letting him live in the elements would be worse for him than death.” He paused again, he seemed to be having a hard time keeping his emotions in check. “You did get in a good bite though. You tore a huge chunk of skin out of his collar bone.” Mason laughed, without humor. “He’ll never hurt you again.”
I concentrated for a minute before speaking. “Did he… did he…” was all I could get out. I couldn’t bring myself to say the words, the psychological pain was too much, proving again that when Ian made his choice, there was something different between us, even then. What I felt now, with the thought of Jeff violating me, was pure hell.
“Oh, no, no honey, he didn’t. I made it just in time.”
That was all I needed to hear. He saved me. Mason saved me from one of the worst fates. My heart swelled with a feeling that could only be love. It wasn’t the same kind of love that I felt for Ian, but I did love him.
“I love you, Mason.” I said, so quiet I didn’t know if he’d heard me.
Not until
he whispered in my ear, “I love you, too.”
No sooner did I hear him, I was out.
When I woke again, Mason’s warm body was gone, the blankets still laid over me. My eyes were better, I could open those most of the way. I looked around the room; my room. Even though the attack happened here, I felt closest to Ian in this room, and that comforted me.
No one was in the room with me, which I found odd. Mason would never leave my side. Then again, even he has to use the bathroom. I tried sitting up, but the pain in my side reminded me of my ribs. I pushed up anyway, reaching over to grab the mirror off the stand next to the bed. Mason had left it when he showed me my disgusting look.
I propped myself up and held the mirror to my face. It was worse than I thought. My whole face was black, red, green and yellow. My eyes, mostly my right one, and the cheek area too, were still swollen. I lifted up my shirt to look at my ribs and the whole left side was battered with yellow and black marks.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Mason asked. He smiled, as he closed the distance between us.
“I just wanted to see.” I said.
“Well, you’re not supposed to move for another two days. Doctors’ orders.” He helped me lay back again, trying not to pinch my ribs on the way down.
“Thanks.” I said. “How long have I been out this time?”
“Two days. You woke up once and talked for a minute, but then fell back asleep.” I remembered because that was when I told him I loved him. Maybe that was why he was smiling like a fool.
“You know, I grew up on the streets and dealt with crazy foster parents, but it’s not until I came here and most of the people on earth are dead, that I find trouble.”
Mason laughed. “I’m glad your sarcasm is intact. Funny you mention that. Dane was just saying the same thing the other day. Looks like you need a bodyguard.”
I laughed. Which was the wrong thing to do. My side ached and it felt like my cheek was going to split. “Oh, ouch.” I said, my hand sliding to my ribs. “Don’t make me laugh.”
Flash Series (Book 1): Infected Page 18