Unnamed

SIX – the wolves could have tried be more unsuspecting

Dylan went straight to his bedroom with the bags. He was very silent. Not that he spoke very much. Whenever he opened his mouth, he either yelled or said something out of my understanding. But his aura was silent too if that made any sense. He didn't seem angry, authoritative, and cold. He was distant. All the way back Basil tried to talk to him but he got no reply.

Thankfully, he was so capable of initiating a one-sided conversation that he didn't notice that Dylan was not even listening to him. I sat on the couch, unsure if I should follow him. Basil climbed on top of me and wrapped his arms like a koala.

"I am really very happy that you are here." he snuggled closer to me. I had no idea what he was talking about.

"I do not know what you are talking about." I wrapped my arms around him.

"Hailey says that now that you are here, Dylan won't be alo-"

"Basil, I need your help man." Dylan appeared in the room. Basil nodded and skipped toward him, leaving me pondering over what Hailey had said and why was he happy.

Out of nowhere, my stomach grumbled lowly and I put a hand on it, "You are not at home. Shut up." I scolded it softly.

I guessed Dylan had heard it because when he returned without Basil, he went into the kitchen. I followed him wordlessly. Fishing around the cabinet, he pulled out some spices and vegetables from the refrigerator. He had not asked me, and for an unknown reason he needed not, but I helped him in chopping the vegetables. He was surprised enough seeing me helping him that he couldn't change that expression for a long while, then shook it off with the old emotionless face. He put a bowl of water and veggies to boil on the stove and put some salt and other spices in it. I took a chair by the dining table and waited for him to serve the soup. After ten minutes, he waited patiently for me while I slurped my soup. I cleaned the bowl after eating and he set it with others.

Basil was playing with a jar of marbles when we entered the bedroom. The glass spheres were scattered all over the bed. I had almost forgotten that Dylan had no lights in his room. Space was lighted up with a lantern alone. Even if I had known it before I was not sure if I could have prepared myself for the beauty of it.

"I am not going to sleep in bed with you." I cleared before he could have any different idea.

"Whatever you want. You can either sleep on the sofa or on the bed with Basil," he spoke for the first time since I had seen him in the mansion.

The selfish mind had already picked up bed but the good mind was comparing Dylan's size and sofa's. He would not fit on that small thing, let alone sleep.

Who cares? He has kidnapped you and you should not think about him. Let him suffer. Take the bed.

But I had heard that people deprived of sleep turn into grumpy monsters. Let us face it, who wanted to bear with a grumpy jerk?

Not me! The voice inside my head had her hands folded.

"I will take the sofa." I picked up a pillow, only cover from the bed, and dumped it on the couch.

"My girlfriend says cool boys never let beautiful girls sleep on the couch." Basil spoke without raising his head from the marbles.

"I have never heard about that before. Besides, Fay has chosen the sofa. Now gather your stuff and sleep." He said in a firm voice.

I helped Basil in gathering the marbles while Dylan went into the bathroom to change. Basil gave me all yellow ones to keep because that color was for girls. He was right. Pretty things are only made for girls.

I put them in a glass bowl by the window and then lay on the sofa. I fit on it with no problem because of my short height. When Dylan came dressed in a black vest and lower, he had pushed aside the curtain from the window and lighted the Christmas lights before extinguishing the lantern and lying.

Instead of sleeping, he and Basil engaged in a conversation about something Basil had learned at school. Not at all interested, I turned my back toward them and somewhere between mentally wishing dad good night and graphing my escaping plan; I drifted into a dreamless sleep. Next time my eyes opened, I almost fell off the couch.

What was that? I untangled myself from the covers and stood on my feet. I ran toward the window to check if the howl I had heard was real or a fragment of my imagination. It was hard to tell what was out in the darkness. I decided that I was just being paranoid when I heard nothing but crickets. I started backing up from the window when I heard it again. I gasped and made my way toward Dylan's side.

"Dylan! Dylan! Dylan! Wake up!" I half whispered, half yelled while shaking him like mad. He opened his eyes a blink then closed it and grumbled something incoherent. "No, Dylan, get up!" I slapped his face. He growled and restrained my small hands in his big ones causing me to fall on top of his chest causing my breath to hitch. I forgot for a moment that there was a wolf outside. "Dylan, you need to wake up." I stuttered like a fool.

"Why?" His voice was gruff from the sleep.

Even in this darkness, I could see his blue orbs. They were so beautiful and inciting that I could not stop myself from blurting, "Your eyes are so beautiful."

I felt rather than saw him smirking in his lazy way as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me, so I was lying on top of him. Through the thin fabric of my shirt and his vest, I could feel his hard and warm body flush against mine. As if that was not bad enough since Basil was sleeping just next to us, I wanted to wrap my arms around him to pull him closer if possible. I laid there breathing the same air as him while mentally telling my body to stop the sparks dancing on my skin. He had kidnapped me for god's sake.

But my body refused to move. Dylan took full advantage of this. He slowly rolled us, so that I was lying beneath him now. I remembered how he was groaning when I tried to wake him before. Sleep seemed to be the last thing on his mind now. Was he not thinking at all of Basil? Had he had no fear? Seemed like it. His fingers brushed back the mess of my hair behind my ears before leaning down and touching the place under my chin with his lips. I gasped and curled my toes at such a small act of intimacy.

"Anything else?" he asked.

Anything else? Yes, there was something I wanted to- Yeah! "There's a wolf outside. I heard it growl two times. You need to call for help." I rushed in a small whisper.

All the playfulness in his eyes evaporated into hardness. "There is no wolf here, Fay. Even if it is, then it's not gonna come inside. Go back to sleep." He rolled away from me and waited for me to move too.

My limbs seemed to be paralyzed at his sudden coldness, so I laid there while gaping at him with scared eyes. "B-b-but-"

He sighed in irritation, "Fay, I am tired. Please, go back to sleep." He helped me on my feet. I numbly made my way on the couch and sat. My sleep was long gone. I only wished he would listen to me. There was one outside, I knew it, and as to prove it, the wolf howled again. I knew this time Dylan was not asleep. He sure would have heard such a loud sound.

"Don't you dare to say that you have not heard that. I have told you-" I was cut short when he roughly grabbed me by arm and started dragging me out of the room. "Where are you taking me?" I questioned. My heart started to pound against my chest again, this time from fear. He was angry again. Was he going to lock me outside? Oh no!

"Dylan, stop! Do You’re hurting me." He stopped only when we were standing outside among the trees. I shivered against the cold breeze.

"Now where is that wolf?" he demanded.

"I-I-"

"Stop it, Fay! There is nothing here. It's all in your mind. Look around you. There. Is. Nothing. Fay." He shook me lightly by my shoulders.

"But the howl. I swear, I heard it-"

"There was no howl. I have not heard it. You are just crazy-"

"Do not call me crazy! I am not crazy." I jerked back from him. "I do not care what you say but I have heard that growl. I am not a kid you can manipulate in your words." My eyes brimmed with tears and I worthlessly tried to control them from falling. "I am not crazy." I had no idea how far he had come from home and it was hard to tell anything in the darkness. I backed away from him, too hurt and angry to be scared of a wolf. "Once you act like a nice person, then you take a three-sixty and call me crazy. You are a bipolar, jerk, asshole, a bad pers- ah!" I stumbled on a branch and fell on my back. I heard his steps stopping in front of me as he reached out to help me. I blindly swatted his hand away.

"Go away! I do not need your help. It is better to be eaten by a wolf than to be with you and deal with your constant mood swings and selfishness." I cried and got up on my feet. "You all people are same. You act as if you care then you hurt without a second thought. I am not a doll to drag around in your lives. I have feelings too. Everyone wants me to stay with them. Has anyone had ever thought what I want? Or I am here only to think about you guys." I was angry with him, at dad, at mom. I hoped they all were here to listen to this. They all had done the same thing. Dad had done the same to me. How do I tell him what I felt when he acted cold toward me at home and so warm and fatherly around strangers? How do I tell mom that it was very selfish of her to leave me? She had fought with dad, what was my fault?

Dylan was here, I told him his share instead, "I feel it when you act like a jerk, it hurt when you drag me around at your wish, tie me up, yell at me, call me crazy, order me. I feel it when you cook me soup, nurse my feet, tuck back my hair and kiss my neck. It hurts when you yell at me and another moment kiss like you care-"

"Kissing doesn't mean caring," he pointed in a monotone voice.

"You are wrong." I stomped my foot. "Or maybe you are right but I have a heart unlike you. Every small word, every gesture, I take it all to heart." I always knew that once we would reach home dad would order me, shout at me but still I got happy and giggly at gathering and parties. I always knew mom would never call but still, I waited for her to call and went to bed heartbroken. "I know you have kidnapped me and hurt me but still I could not help but be grateful toward your kind gestures. Even after this time, I would not learn from my mistake. I will continue to care and feel till I die." When I stopped, I didn't hear anything. I waited and waited until I was sure he had left me. I fell on the forest floor and cried like a small child. I was such a fool to hope he would stop to listen what I had to say. Once again, I was proven right that I was officially a moron for caring and hoping people would care back.

"I hate you, Dad." I muttered.

"But still you want to return to him." I jumped at his voice. Apparently, he had not left.

"Yes, I want to go because I have no one else beside him. I could still hope-" that he would change for good. "Does not matter. You can go and sleep."

"And leave you alone with a wolf?" he asked. Next thing I knew, I was lifted in his arms.

I laughed bitterly, "There is no wolf, right?" I reminded him of his own words.

"I do not want you to be worried about it. I apologize."

"Why do you care?" I muttered leaning against his chest. I could feel sleep taking hold of my worn out mind.

"You are my hostage. I have to make sure you are comfortable and a little scared enough to not to run away." He told. I didn't know if he was being sarcastic or not. Either way, I didn't like the sound of his words.

Only if he'd known how reckless I was to be afraid sometimes and that I was already plotting a plan to escape. I closed my eyes and rolled into a sleep hearing his heartbeats. I vaguely remembered us returning in the room. He had laid me on the bed and took the couch himself. Throughout tonight's drama, Basil was the only one to snore undisturbed.

---

I cleared the table after everyone finished their breakfast. That's the least I could do after they had brought me new, not to forget expensive clothes, were not beating me up to a pulp or starving me but giving me tasty food to eat. Besides, I was planning to escape too. This was only a matter of a few days.

Dylan got up, kissed Basil on the cheek, and gave me a curt nod before leaving for his work. He had not talked about yesterday's incident and I was grateful. I was not very thrilled about talking about it again or having him pity me.

"So what do we do now?' I asked Basil who looked like a zombie.

"I want to sleep." He yawned for extra dramatics.

"Why, could not sleep all night? Were missing your girlfriend?" I asked in feign concern while trying to suppress my laughter.

"It was not me who was missing someone." He folded his arms like a smart-ass.

"I thought you were sleeping while the wolf incident."

"I do not know about that. I am talking about when you were talking in your sleep." He told.

I stopped in mid of wiping the table and straightened up. I was talking in my sleep? I had never done that.

"What was I talking about?" I asked, fearing the answer he might give.

"I don't know but I can tell it was pretty bad stuff. You were crying and clinging to Dylan like someone was hurting you. Dylan was very angry. He was saying that he would ask you about this. I don't know why he didn't do it though. What do you think what was it about?" He glanced up at me from his trump cards, "Don't you remember anything?"

I shook my head, afraid to say anything. I was talking in my sleep, yet, I did not remember anything. It could be about anything. It could be about my dad-

I gasped when the jar of juice slipped from my hands. I distinctively heard Basil warning me not to touch the glass but I was too far into my thoughts. Dylan was angry that meant it had to be pretty bad stuff. Bad stuff meant truth and truth meant him knowing everything. Worst of all, he wanted to talk about it. If he wanted it then he would do it. What was I going to do?

"Careful!" Basil warned but it was too late. I had cut my finger with a sharp edge of a glass. The stinging pain in my index brought me back to reality. Looking at the blood oozing out of the cut I wanted to throw up.

I instructed Basil to wait in other room while I clean up this mess. He left me with another warning. I washed my finger, put a band-aid, and cleaned the floor, more worried about what I was going to do with Dylan. Hailey came later that morning to take Basil with her. She also had brought me a new dress for the welcome party. Party was the last thing on my mind.

"I will see you later. Bye, Fay." With a small smile, she left. For the first time, I was alone after all these days. There was no Dylan, no Basil and, hopefully, no wolf. The silence felt empty considering I had thought I'd learned to live with it back at home. There was no phone here or another means of communication. I had no idea how to use this projector so I ended up thinking about evading Dylan.

When he returned, I was already locked inside the bathroom, faking to take a shower when I was only sitting on the toilet. I heard his footsteps stop outside the bathroom door.

"Fay, how much time will you take? I need to talk to you." He said.

My heart thudded in panic. I pressed my palms against my stomach to stop the queasiness. "Oh really? Uh, it will take a little time." I tried to control the quiver in my voice as much as I could. I was seriously thinking about jumping out of the bathroom window.

"I am waiting, okay." He told and walked away.

Sometime later I heard his footsteps again, "It's been an hour, Fay. Come out." He called.

I thought it had been only a few minutes. My anxiety increased and I jumped on my feet. I started to pace around the bathroom while pulling out my hair. "J-just a few more m-minutes." I called but he had some other plans. He broke the door. I turned around and gasped.

"Aren't you a little dry for someone who was supposed to be in the shower?" He smirked eyeing me up and down. "Enough of this game, I have some questions and I want answers." He ordered and extending his hand for me to take. I did the only thing that came in my mind; I threw the bottle of shampoo on his face and hoped he would faint...