Page 124 of Cerulean Truth
I bit the inside of my cheek, grappling with how much truth I could reveal.
"I don't want you to hear me," I confessed. My voice cracked, betraying the vulnerability I had been trying so hard to conceal.
"You don't want me to hear you snore?" His incredulous tone matched the disbelief on his face.
I nearly chuckled. "No, you idiot. I don't snore."
He threw his hands up in frustration. "Then what?"
"Scream."
The confession felt like tearing open a wound I had been desperately trying to keep closed.
James's eyes widened, his gaze piercing into me. Then he sat up, moving quicker than lightning.
"It... I mean..." I coughed, attempting to conceal my discomfort.
"Tell me," he urged softly, a hint of concern evident in his expression. The way he looked at me instantly took me back to our first night together. It felt like déjà vu from when he found me in my room after the bathroom incident, staring at me with that same intense gaze.
My heart started pounding.
"What they did to me... the night of the reception..." My voice trailed off, the memories still haunting me.
I took a deep breath. "I dream about it."
Then, unexpectedly, a torrent of words spilled from my lips, pouring out the depths of my nightly torment to this man.
"I haven't cried since it happened, and I think my subconscious is forcing me to confront it or something. So at night, I relive the memories."
James sat there quietly on the bed, studying me, his eyes fixed on mine.
"I don’t shed tears during these terrors, but sometimes I wake myself with my own screams. And I don't... I don't want you to witness that." I swallowed hard, hoping he would understand.
His fists clenched, his eyes betraying no emotion, while his body went into full rigor. But he didn’t utter a single word.
"I don't want you to hear me," I repeated, anticipating some form of response. I wasn't naive enough to expect words of comfort, but the lack of any reaction stung.
He rose silently and made his way to his drawer, retrieving a pair of EarPods. They were sleek, barely noticeable, but undoubtedly of excellent quality.
Returning to his bed, he reclined once more, sliding the EarPods into place. With a tap on the right side, he activated them, muttering, "Noise cancelling. Now sleep." Closing his eyes, he lay there above the covers, arms crossed and features relaxed.
I hesitated for a few seconds before I tiptoed over to his huge bed. As I slid in the covers, fully clothed, sleep came over me so fast, I no longer realized where I was.
It always startedoff the same way. Back against that tree, unable to move.
Bound. Again.
Tears were prickling in my eyes and my throat hurt, as if I’d been screaming for hours on end.
I couldn’t see anything, all I saw and sensed was blackness.
There was panic and fear. I had to alert someone of my whereabouts. I tried to scream but no noise came out.
Then a small strip of light came on, as if a candle had been lit in a sea of darkness. Squinting, I could discern some figures in the distance.
Were those my abductors?
No… they were… my parents! My parents were the ones tapping my blood!! Why?
