Imagine Being Loved By Me

Chapter 8

Every interaction she had with the Pirate put her nerves on edge.

He was assisting her in every way he could, but she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for him to expose who he truly was, for him to admit why he was helping her.

It couldn’t be for anything good.

Pirates, inherently, were not good. This she had been convinced of since she was a young girl and every experience she'd had with them continued to inform that opinion she wasn’t so eager to change. Despite the consistency, this Pirate, Lieutenant Hannan, showed.

Who would choose to be the nightmare in someone else’s life as an occupation? 

It couldn’t be the same man who seemed to choose to be a savior in her own nightmare.

Yet, every day he entered and he fed her, helped her drink, and helped her to the bathroom. He did it all quietly and patiently even though she shook with fear whenever he touched her.

If she weren’t so disgusted with his presence, she might admit that she felt grateful for his assistance. 

But instead, she kept her mouth shut the same way he kept his shut. 

He didn’t bother talking with her or asking her any questions as the days rolled by. He just mechanically handled her as if she was another thing he had to do on a daily checklist. It was oddly dehumanizing even though she was happy he didn’t speak with her.

After a month of the same routine, she was ecstatic to find that she was finally able to do some things on her own. 

To her, they were the most important things, because doing them herself meant having to see less of him.

Her arms were finally strong enough to be able to feed and bathe herself. But more importantly, she was able to help herself sit up in bed and do everything she needed to on the toilet without him having to touch her further after he would carry her into the bathroom. 

She still couldn’t walk around much at all, so she resigned herself to having to be carried, but she maintained whatever else distance she could. 

As far as the Pirate was concerned, he still ran her bath water and had to lower her in. He also had to brush her teeth for her, and wash and replait her hair. These things he did despite her obvious attempts to resist him. 

She knew the assistance he gave was in order to help her, but the resistance she gave him in return was for the same reasons. 

That was her way of helping herself, even if it meant she would suffer in other areas. 

Besides, the more she worked to get her own strength back by willingly accepting his help, the more she could see that she wouldn’t have to rely on him for much longer. 

That was the last thing she wanted, being dependent on a Pirate.

She was, for all intents and purposes, thankful for his help and grateful that she still had her life, but being dependent on someone she couldn’t respect was a feeling she despised. If her parents taught her anything about people who occupied such job titles, it was that they had base morals and even worse consideration for the people around them.

That made them untrustworthy, unreliable fiends, and people that should be avoided at all cost.

Unfortunately for her, she couldn’t exactly implement all, if any, of the actions required to avoid having to trust, rely on, and interact with the Pirate who was currently helping her.

Even if being dependent on a Pirate was the last thing she wanted, logically she knew she really didn’t have a say in the matter.

~

If anyone was to ask Liam if he was enjoying his current assignment, he would honestly answer with a resilient, No. 

The missing paperwork was a hassle and the added job of caregiver he had taken on was only making his main assignment harder to focus on.  

Though he chose to assist Phatima with getting her health back, in all honesty, he would rather not have to help her out in the various ways he did, at all. 

Despite her improvements. 

He had a time frame he wanted to keep, and he already felt like he was behind schedule because of having to deal with her every day. Even though he had to admit to himself, after having been repulsed at the sight of her nearly bare-bones, there was something pleasurable about watching her fill out, if that was even the appropriate word to use to describe his own thoughts regarding her recent health achievements. 

Though she was still terribly thin, her breasts were heavier, rounded, and perky. And she actually had apple cheeks and not just harsh angles. Her teeth were starting to look normal on her face and her skin wasn’t ashen anymore.

There was life coming back into her body, which meant he was getting the job done.

Eventually, she’ll get enough strength to walk on her own. It was probably only a matter of a week or two if he had to estimate. She may need to balance by leaning on the wall, but the only way to build strength was to just do it. 

She was determined enough on her own.

He was even able to go back to feeding her boiled oats for a time when she found it easier and easier to get through a whole bowl of soup. That was a good decision on his part, since he was drained from waking up in the middle of the night to take her to the bathroom. 

She still had a tough time getting through the oats, but she managed to increase her intake day by day, so eventually, with a little consistency, she would be able to have other options.

Improvements happened every day with her while he, on the other hand, had hit a snag with piecing together a cohesive storyline when it came to the plans of this dead general. 

Something was missing, and he was sure that whatever it was, was already ashes.

That part of his assignment was getting more and more frustrating by the day. The more he poured over the stacks of paper, the more he could feel his fuse shortening. He needed to do a better job pacing himself, but he still had to hire some people to refurbish the mansion for his superiors. The end goal was clearly in sight, he just couldn’t imagine himself getting there at that point.

Though, if he thought about it, he still didn’t know who would want to run an outpost out of a glorified house. 

He was ninety-five percent sure that the general who died wasn’t actually running an outpost. This was just his home, and whoever was coming to take over from The Ruling Class would make this their home as well.

Everyone, no matter the clan, was simply circulating wealth amongst the wealthy. He knew that to be true even within his own financial bracket. The home he owned in the city and things he gained that he never used, were accrued in much the same way. There was no use in lying about that.

Nevertheless, he didn’t want to be stuck planet-side longer than he had to, especially not on this planet. It didn’t matter if an outpost was going to be set up in the home or if a wealthy family from The Ruling Class clan was moving in, none of that was his concern.

Other than getting people together to work on beautifying the home, he had actual secrets to c***k about the arrangements the general had going on. Checking the office would be repetitive, but just maybe, he could find something he previously overlooked? He hoped that would be the case as he moved in its direction from his own room. It was about midnight and two of the guards were getting their rest in their bedrooms while the other two were posted somewhere around the perimeter. He didn’t want to disturb the peace by making too much noise, so he walked quietly in the direction he intended. Once he reached the library, he made his way into the office and flicked on the lights. Maybe he missed something in one of the books?

He quickly set a pace, looking through every book on the case behind the desk that stood out in all the wrong ways. People had a bad habit of being obvious and he doubted this man was any different. 

By the time he was flipping through his sixteenth book, something shiny came flying from between the pages and clanged against the floor. He opened the book again, seeing a cut out in the pages in the shape of a cylinder no more than 4cm wide. His eyebrows furrowed at the sight before he stooped low to reach under the desk for the object that fell. 

Just from the feel of it, he had an idea of what it was, but once he lifted it before his eyes he was sure. In his hand was a small gold key.

He knew just what that key unlocked.