CHAPTER 9 — Human
1106 Words
The first thing Elara noticed…
Was silence.
Not the heavy, suffocating silence of the institute.
Not the kind that pressed against her ears until she couldn’t think.
This was different.
Quieter.
Softer.
Almost… normal.
Her brows pulled together slightly as her eyes fluttered open.
Light.
Too much light.
She flinched, turning her head away instinctively as a dull ache settled behind her eyes.
“Mm…”
Her throat felt dry.
Her body felt heavy.
Like it didn’t belong to her.
For a moment, she didn’t move.
Didn’t think.
Just… breathed.
In.
Out.
In—
Her eyes snapped open.
Wrong.
Everything felt wrong.
She pushed herself up too quickly
And immediately regretted it.
The room tilted.
Her stomach twisted.
“Okay bad idea,” she muttered weakly, pressing a hand to her head.
Her voice sounded unfamiliar.
Rough.
Small.
She forced herself to look around.
This wasn’t the institute.
That much was obvious.
The walls were clean but not empty.
There were actual things in the room.
A bed.
A chair.
A window.
A real window.
Her gaze locked onto it instantly.
Her heart skipped.
“...no way.”
She slid off the bed, her legs unsteady beneath her as she moved toward it.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like it might disappear if she rushed.
When she reached it, her fingers hovered over the glass before finally touching it.
Cold.
Real.
Her breath caught.
Outside
Water.
Endless.
Blue.
Her chest tightened.
“…where am I?” she whispered.
“Safe.”
The voice came from behind her.
Elara froze.
Every muscle in her body locked instantly.
No.
No, no
Slowly…
She turned.
Dominic stood near the door.
Like he hadn’t moved.
Like he’d been there the entire time.
Watching.
Of course he was.
Her chest rose and fell unevenly.
“Safe?” she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper.
Her brows pulled together.
“…you killed someone.”
It wasn’t a question.
The memory hit her in fragments.
The doctor.
The sound.
The silence after.
Her stomach twisted.
Dominic didn’t deny it.
Didn’t explain.
Didn’t justify.
He just watched her.
And somehow…
That was worse.
Elara took a step back.
Then another.
Putting space between them.
“Stay away from me,” she said quickly.
Her voice shook but it was there.
Real.
Present.
Dominic’s gaze flickered briefly to the distance she created.
Then back to her face.
“You should sit,” he said calmly.
She almost laughed.
Almost.
“Wow,” she breathed. “You’re actually insane.”
A small pause.
Then
“Possibly,” he said.
That threw her off.
Her brows pulled together slightly.
That wasn’t the response she expected.
“I’m serious,” she snapped. “You don’t get to just just take me from one place and act like it’s better here!”
“It is.”
Her chest tightened.
“You don’t know that!”
“I do.”
His certainty made something in her chest twist.
Anger.
Fear.
Confusion.
“All I know,” she said, her voice rising slightly, “is that I woke up in a place I don’t know, with a man I don’t trust, who by the way knows things he shouldn’t know.”
Her breathing picked up again.
“And that doesn’t scream safe to me!”
Silence.
For a moment.
Then Dominic moved.
Just one step.
Elara immediately stepped back.
Her back hit the wall.
Her breath hitched.
“Don’t” she started.
He stopped.
Not because she told him to.
But because he chose to.
That was the difference.
And she felt it.
Hated it.
His eyes stayed on her.
Steady.
Focused.
Like he was reading something she couldn’t see.
“You’re shaking,” he said quietly.
Her jaw tightened.
“I’m not”
“You are.”
Her hands clenched into fists.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not.”
The calm way he said it made her chest tighten.
Because part of her
A very small, very dangerous part
Knew he was right.
“I don’t need you to tell me what I am,” she snapped, her voice breaking slightly.
Silence fell again.
But this time…
It wasn’t heavy.
It wasn’t suffocating.
It just… was.
Dominic’s gaze softened.
Barely.
So subtle she almost missed it.
“You’re not crazy,” he said.
Her breath caught.
There it was again.
That sentence.
That same sentence.
And it hit her just as hard as the first time.
Her eyes burned suddenly.
“No,” she whispered, shaking her head. “No, you don’t get to say that like it fixes anything.”
“It’s not meant to.”
Her chest tightened painfully.
“Then why say it?” she demanded.
A pause.
Longer this time.
Then
“Because it’s true.”
Her throat closed up.
Tears blurred her vision before she could stop them.
Frustration.
Fear.
Exhaustion.
Everything hit at once.
“Stop…” she whispered weakly.
Her knees gave slightly.
And before she hit the floor
A hand caught her.
Firm.
Steady.
Elara froze.
Her breath stopped.
Dominic.
Too close.
Way too close.
She tried to pull away immediately
But her body wasn’t cooperating.
Still weak.
Still heavy.
“Don’t touch me,” she whispered.
Her voice didn’t match the strength of the words.
Dominic didn’t let go.
But he didn’t pull her closer either.
Just… held her there.
Like she might fall again.
Like gravity wasn’t something she could handle on her own.
For a moment
Neither of them spoke.
Elara’s breathing was uneven, her eyes fixed somewhere past him like if she looked directly at him, something worse would happen.
“You can stand,” he said quietly after a moment.
Not a command.
Not forceful.
Just… there.
She swallowed.
Then slowly, carefully, she pulled away.
This time
He let her.
Her fingers brushed the wall as she steadied herself, putting distance between them again.
Safer.
Not safe.
But safer.
“I’m not staying here,” she said after a moment, her voice quieter now.
Dominic watched her.
“I know.”
That made her pause.
Her brows pulled together.
“…what?”
“You’ll try to leave,” he continued.
Like it was obvious.
Like it was expected.
Her heart skipped.
“And?” she asked carefully.
A small pause.
Then
“I’ll let you try.”
Her stomach dropped.
That didn’t sound like freedom.
That sounded like a test.
And suddenly
The room didn’t feel as open as it looked.
Her gaze flicked back to the window.
To the water.
Endless.
Beautiful.
Trapped.
Her chest tightened.
This wasn’t safety.
This was just…
A different kind of cage.
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