Trapped

"Tension"

In that moment, it was almost like they read my mind once again. Zane and Danny came walking down the stairs side by side, having a conversation about something and chuckling with one another. Danny was the first one to spot me in the kitchen cooking, and Zane spotted Noah and Tara walking back up the hall on the opposite side of the room from them. "Oh sweet! Chef Alethia at it again." Danny exclaimed excitedly at the thought of eating my food. I let a slight giggle escape. "I'm not a chef, Danny," I replied as I turned to meet the gaze of Noah as he walked into view. He glared at me so intensely that it took my breath away. Zanes eyes never left Noah for a single second as he walked to the kitchen with Danny, watching Noah's every move. No one said anything about it, but there was very obvious tension filling the air, which made my body tense up from feeling so uncomfortable. Zane was the first and only one to notice my body was so tense, even though I was trying to hide it, pretending that I hadn't even really noticed Noah as he glared daggers at me. I was relieved that Danny and Zane were both downstairs with us now, but I was far from relaxed. Greyson and Ty told me during our training day together that another reason Eli and Noah might feel such a strong dislike towards me is because their family is the one who helped write all the laws that they all follow, including the one that is to blame for why civilians are eventually put to death for witnessing anything. They both take their laws very seriously. The experiments and testing part was implemented by the government officials that were apart of the board when the laws were made, but their family had a huge part in creating all of the laws, so following them all strictly was a huge thing while they were growing up, and now being asked to break one of the biggest laws in the book cant be easy. That's why I can't hate either one of them. I don't blame them for how they feel, considering that's how they were raised, no matter how much they may agree or disagree with any of the laws. That's also why I appreciate them keeping the secret so much because they're both going against what they were raised to believe is the right thing to do. Not to mention all of the other repercussions that could come from me being here. Even if it goes completely against what they believe in, they still haven't said anything, and thats why I'm lucky enough to still be alive. I can't hate them for the way they feel about me, though I don't have to be happy about what they believe to be the right thing, either. "Hey Noah, go to your room and get some rest," Zane said sternly, lacking any emotion. I felt the burning sensation that's now on the back of my head since I turned to face the stove instead suddenly fade as I heard footsteps beginning to walk away. My body finally relaxed as he was out of sight. Danny and Tara seemed uncomfortable from the tension left in the room as well, until Zane finally broke it by leaning down towards me with his face only an inch above my right shoulder. This is the third time he's gotten so close to me. The first was when he noticed the bruises on me and wiped away the makeup on my neck, the second time was during a fighting lesson where he was trying to show me some moves without touching me, and now this. This time, though, it sent chills up my body and made me feel a bit nervous. He smelled of some type of cologne and sweet soap mixture, and I enjoyed the combination every time I got a chance to smell its incredible scent. "Making French toast?" He asked with a soft smile. "How does he seem to read my body language well enough to read what's on my mind, like just now, it was obvious that he noticed how uncomfortable I was even though Tara and Danny didn't seem to notice until Zane told Noah to leave." I questioned in my thoughts. I nodded yes with a hum to match my answer. "It looks delicious", he stated and then lightly touched my side where my ribs meet my back, to let me know he was moving behind me to get past so he could start to grab a few plates out of the cupboard for everyone. My body tensed again, but this time from the feel of his touch, and as a result, I bit my bottom lip to cope with the tingles his hand left behind. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a smirk rise on his lips along with the slightest upward twitch of one of his eyebrows. Tara and Danny hadn't even noticed anything while they were discussing whether or not French toast was superior to pancakes and waffles. "What even was that?" I thought to myself. I finished up making all the food just as Greyson, Blayke, and Ty came downstairs, and everyone started making plates full of the yummy food and thanking me for making it as they started sitting down together. Eli came back downstairs soon enough as well and quietly made a plate for himself and Noah to take back upstairs. He began to walk away but then stopped and turned halfway around. I looked over at him out of curiosity to see what he was doing. "Thanks," he mumbled out as he raised both plates to let me know what he was talking about. I was surprised, but I managed to nod to him as a quiet "you're welcome." Everyone exchanged silent confused glances at one another and then quickly decided not to say anything about the possible miracle that they all just witnessed.

After everyone finished up eating, Tara and Danny started cleaning up the kitchen, and Zane looked to me and asked, "Are you up for some training with me again today?" I looked over to where he was standing and thought for a moment. "Yeah, let's do it." I agreed. Learning some more fighting and defense skills right now definitely wouldn't be a terrible idea, especially with two people in the house who don't seem to be my biggest fans. I mean, just as a precaution, of course. "Okay, get changed into something a little more flexible, and then we will work outside today, here in, say, about 30 minutes?" He asked as he looked down at his watch. My eyes lit up at the thought of getting to go outside and enjoy some sunshine, and I nodded yes excitedly with a smile. It's that weird time of year when winter and spring decide to fight for who gets control, but today, as well as the past couple of days, spring had seemed to be winning the fight. The snow had already melted away, and it was warm and sunny outside finally. Zane smiled back at me and said, "Okay, sounds good," and then he jogged up the stairs and out of sight.

I walked back up to my room, too, just a few minutes after him and found a pair of yoga pants and a small t-shirt that still hung loosely enough to offer plenty of freedom for movement. I changed into the more comfortable clothes along with a light sweater and pulled my tennis shoes back on after I pulled my hair into a loose bun, which took me all of about 15 minutes or so. With time to spare, I had the idea to go outside on my own a few minutes before we start training. Before he would just teach me a few things in the living room, but this time we get to have the open space of the outside world and I will finally get to see what everything looks like outside of this house. I made my way back downstairs and to the front door. Something about going outside on my own first felt forbidden. I'm not a prisoner here, I know that, but I haven't left the house the entire time I've been here so far, and before that, I was a prisoner. I got to leave the house alone, but with Michael, I never got to experience the freedom of just existing and enjoying the freedom. I had to follow a strict schedule, I had to text him photos of where I was, and I had to keep him updated on everything I was doing the entire time. I was nothing but his prisoner, so now it's so strange to think that I could walk out the door and it be as simple as me wanting to go outside alone. Strange to think that maybe no one would even say a thing about it. I mean, it's not like I can run away from here or anything. It's safer for me to be here for now, even if Michael is going to find me eventually anyways, and it's actually been really nice here overall so I don't really want to leave just yet at least. I took a deep breath and opened the front door finally. I walked out onto a large wooden porch, closing the door behind me, and continued to take my first step onto the grass of a big empty field that seemed to circle around the house. Beyond that was a forest of trees that seemed to circle around the large field, aside from one opening where a dirt road led up to the other side of the house and a few cars were parked. There was a slight breeze that still managed to nip at the bare skin of my hands, neck, and face, but the sun shined warmly with a beautiful morning golden glow as it kissed my skin. Breathing the crisp air was like a reminder that I'm very much so still alive. I lay down in the grass and watched the sky for a few minutes as small white puffy slowly moved across the soft blue above. I closed my eyes and listened to all the sounds around that often get drawn out by the chaos the day time begins to bring. Birds chirped, the wind blew softly through all the leafs and branches on the trees, and the sound of my own soft breathing were all that I could focus on as I felt my body relax there on the ground. "This feels amazing. This is what truly living feels like, isn't it?" I thought to myself. "What are you doing?" Zane chuckled out of no one as he walked up, which startled me and only made him chuckle more. "Can't you see? I'm living!" I say with sarcasm through a smile, although I meant every word. He laughed and lay down next to me. "Okay, show me what I'm missing out on." He jokingly demanded. I smiled with my eyes still closed. "Okay, first you have to just close your eyes and listen." I stated. "Okay," he replied as he did exactly what I said to do. We lay there in silence for a minute before he asked confused, "And what is it I'm supposed to be listening to? It's pretty quiet. " I looked over at him, and he was already looking at me. "You're telling me you don't hear the sounds of the wind in the trees, the birds, the sound of either of us breathing, nothing?" I asked in reply. "Oh," he said as he closed his eyes again and began to listen to all the noises I had pointed out. We lay there quietly together for another minute. "With Michael, I might have been alive, but it definitely didn't feel like I was living, if that makes sense." I commented, breaking the silence. "That makes sense," he replied in a soft yet deep voice. I decided not to explain it further and kept my thoughts and opinions to myself, only ending, saying, "Too bad it's going to eventually end." Zane stood up and extended a hand out to help me up. "Not if I have anything to say about it." He protested with yet again a deep and now stern voice. I took his hand and let him help me to my feet. "This time, I'm going to show you a few blocking and striking moves and were going to practice them. Are you comfortable with actually practicing the physical moves today?" He asked as he gestured his hands up. I nodded yes. "Okay, great, let's do it." He said calmly. First, he had me hold my hands up near my face, and he slowly moved his hand towards my face, as if he was going to throw a right hook and hit my face. He grabbed my left arm and slowly showed me how to block the hit, and then he grabbed my right fist and slowly showed me how to throw a hook of my own back at him. We went through that a few times over slowly as I practiced. Then he had me slowly pretend to just throw a few hits at him, and he showed me how he could block them and begin a counterattack. "Are you ready to actually play it through? We will start with you throwing a punch at me, and I will block and counterattack, okay?" He asked. "Am I going to have to block a hit?" I asked concerned. He chuckled and shook his head as he explained, "no, for now were just going to work mainly on your striking skills and you can learn some blocking and counter attack skills from watching what I do. You'll see, just put your hands up and attempt to throw a punch at my face." A feeling of uncertainty welled up inside my stomach, but I did my best to shrug it off. So I went ahead and pulled my hands up into position, and when he seemed ready, I threw a punch towards him. Before it even had the opportunity to make contact, he used his left hand to block the hit and then he used his right hand to grab my arm and spin me around, ending with my arms held crossed over my chest with his arms over mine and a firm grasp on my wrists as my back was pulled to his body tightly. A loud gasp escaped my lips as the air caught in my throat from the surprise of how his counterattack against me played out. My body was tensed up with the feeling of my stomach doing flips again. I could feel the muscles in his arms and chest effortlessly flexed as he held me and I felt his breath on the side of my neck as he spoke to explain how his counter attack allowed him to get into a better position of control in the fight and how he could easily shift into other moves like a choke hold from that position. The tingling sensation on my skin with every word he spoke left me feeling breathless. "Why do I keep feeling like this whenever he gets close to me or when he touches me in the slightest bit?" I questioned in my thoughts. "Does that make sense?" He asked, cutting my thoughts short as he let me loose again. "Yeah, I got it," I replied anxiously. Our practicing was cut a little short when Zanes phone rang, and it was his work asking him if he would come in a little earlier. "Sorry, Alethia, maybe you can see if Danny will take my place for the rest of practice today." He apologized sincerely. "Dont worry, it's okay, really, I promise." I assured him. Honestly, I felt a little relieved and grateful to take a break. "Maybe practicing with Danny will seem a little less intimidating," I thought to myself. He started walking back into the house, and I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding in until that moment. "He suddenly makes me feel so nervous." I acknowledged to myself.