Page 40 of Stolen

I could hear the concern in her voice. If I looked that bad, I worried about bringing more attention to myself than I wanted. After what the guards witnessed last night, I had no idea how they would act toward me now. Would they just ignore me to avoid pissing him off?

“Your cheek is red too. And your hair looks damp. Did I miss something last night?” Kayla continued, her tone now becoming suspicious.

“No, dude, everything is fine. Don’t worry about it.”

The lie was almost comical, but summoning the energy to explain away my appearance was hardly worth it.

“Jaden, don’t lie to me. Not here. Not to me.”

I exhaled deeply, keeping my eyes closed as I focused on anything else but the blood that continued to haunt my vision. Anxiety crisscrossed over my entire torso at the idea of revealing to Kayla what had happened. I didn’t want her anymore stressed out than the both of us already were, but I didn’t want her to even look the owner’s way if I could help it.

“I don’t want to scare you,” I finally mumbled.

“You already are,” she answered quietly.

But before I could answer her, the sound of the door opening followed by heavy boot-steps had me nearly retching all over the floor. God, each step that echoed off the walls bounced along my gut like tiny little punches, reminding me of the horrors those boot-steps carried. I felt so pathetic, but I’d rather be pathetic and clean than pathetic and covered in vomit. One was definitely worse than the other.

The guards said nothing as they deposited the day’s breakfast and waters into each cage, not a single word uttered to instigate or frighten. No one was to be entertained today, and I found myself oddly comforted by the owner’s influence over his staff. I just hoped that it lasted.

Once all the guards were done, they exited the hall without a word, and Kayla took notice.

“They were oddly quiet, don’t you think?” she said as she reached for her bowl.

I slowly reached for my bottle of water and took the tiniest sip before lying back down on my side. “About time,” I muttered as I curled in on myself.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Kayla asked, nodding toward the untouched bowl of rice.

I shook my head. “Not yet. I’ll just throw it up. I’m just gonna sip on some water for now.”

Kayla stared at me for several seconds before she abandoned her breakfast and moved as close to me as the bars separating our cages would allow.

“Jaden, for fuck’s sake, what happened?”

I shook my head at her. “I’ll tell you later if you just promise me one thing.”

She huffed a breath of agitation but conceded. “Okay, what?”

“Just promise me you’ll do everything you can to avoid any kind of interaction with him,” I murmured.

She furrowed her brows. “With who?”

“You know exactly who. He’s dangerous, Kayla,” I said, making sure to lift my gaze to hers so she knew I was serious. “Far more than I realized.”

She broke eye contact to stare down at the floor, her gaze drifting for a while before settling along my frame as if the key to my secret was etched somewhere in my skin. But when her exploration led to nowhere, she retreated.

“Alright, Jaden. I’ll just let you rest until you feel better,” she said, resigning herself back to finishing her breakfast.

Taking another sip of water, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my breathing to bring my nausea back down. I lay there like that for hours, falling in and out of sleep, taking sips of water when I could to at least stay hydrated. Surprisingly nothing was said when the guards collected my untouched bowls throughout the day. Only when dinner came did I finally manage to keep a few bites down before my stomach threatened to rebel again. Throwing in the towel, I drank the rest of my water and went back to sleep, thankful Kayla had abandoned her quest for the source of my ailment. For now.

……………………………………………………

I feltthe warmth on my face, the brightness of the sun feeling like a distant memory as it brought the corners of my mouth to lift. Opening my eyes, I found myself lying in a field of bright green grass on a soft blanket in the middle of nowhere. The trees bristled in the wind, the sound oddly comforting as the breeze tickled my skin.

“You’re so cute when you smile,” said a soft, deep voice next to me.

Turning over, I smirked as I found Jason lying next to me; he’d folded his hands behind his head as he turned to stare up at the sky. Reaching out for him, I grazed the short brown beard he had grown on his face. He turned to me and grinned, his beautiful white smile warming me from the inside out as he pulled me to him. His straight brown hair fell over his forehead, tickling my nose as I kissed his face all over. I felt complete bliss as he clutched me to him, kissing my neck and shoulder, and sending waves of heat throughout my body.

“I love you,” I whispered in his ear.

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