Ghosts Ch. 09

"Let's get you cleaned up."

I had a sudden flash of us in the shower-: my arm snapped in two, the impossible pain, his hand gripping my throat, the sheer terror of it- and I faltered. He caught me easily and gave me a brief, searching look, but then continued to lead me towards the bathroom. I tried to get a control of my panic as we reached it, feeling absurdly as though I was being led to the gallows. My heart sped immediately at the sight of the shower door, slightly open, showing a bit of the all too familiar interior. I forced myself to look away, and was greeted with the sight of a still-full tub.

"The water is lukewarm at best, but that's probably good if you're running a fever."

I tried to stifle the sound as breath I hadn't knew I'd been holding escaped me. He wasn't going to make me get in there again. The situation improved more when he removed his supporting hand from my back, and took a step away from me.

"Do you think you can handle this by yourself? I have shit to do."

Oh, thank Christ. I nodded my head with such enthusiasm that I found myself wincing as another bolt of pain shot through it. He chuckled and walked away, closing the door being him. I stared at the shut door for moment and then, on impulse, reached out and turned the lock. It certainly wasn't going to bar a vampire from the room, but it made me feel better all the same. I dropped the robe to the floor and as the air hit my hot, sticky skin I felt immediately better. I had been burning up. I faced the tub. It seemed odd, that he hadn't drained it...but perhaps as his new maid and servant, that sort of thing was to be my responsibility. I tested the water and found it still warm enough that I didn't want to get in it just yet, so I took care of my other needs and then spent quite a long time brushing my teeth and splashing cold water over my face while trying to avoid my own anxious expression in the mirror. In the back of my mind, I was thinking that if I stayed in here long enough he might just be gone by the time I came out.

When I dipped my finger in the tub again, it was no longer warm, and I slipped in, sighing as cool water lapped away the sweat and blood and various other fluids that I'd accumulated in my bedroom adventures. I used more of the raspberry soap, and stayed in the tub until my fingers and toes were prunes and I was actually beginning to feel cold. The fever was dwindling, and scratchiness in my throat was all but gone. As I stood and examined myself, I found that even my bruises had faded. Whatever mystical reaction had occurred in that esterwine bottle, it had created some seriously potent medicine.

I dried off, wrapped the towel around me, and just stood staring at the door stupidly as I listened to the sound of the tub draining. Was he still out there? I hadn't heard him leave the apartment, but I was learning that I couldn't expect to hear Lex's comings or goings. Nevertheless, I found myself leaning against the door with my ear pressed to it in a futile effort to determine if he was out there. And then a high pitched "eeep" sound escaped me as the door unlocked and opened in one swift movement, and I tumbled headfirst into a laughing vampire.

"I'm sorry," he said, grinning mischievously as helped me stand upright again. "I just couldn't resist. Come on."

For a second, I thought he was leading me to his bedroom again, and I was wondering if it would do me any good to protest. Instead, he took me to the second bedroom and leaned in the doorway, gesturing inside.

"Get dressed."

I wasn't thrilled about him just looming there watching me, but I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to put on clothes. I turned my back to him, tossed the towel over the bedpost and began to hastily dress. I could feel his eyes on me as I pulled on some red, lacy underwear, a pink bra, a black skirt, and a low-cut white top. All the clothes were revealing enough that there wasn't much point in being choosy. Still, I felt much better once they were on, and ran my fingers over the fabric, pulling the shirt and skirt down to cover as much as possible, and almost forgot about the powerful male in the doorway for a few merciful seconds.

"You really seem to like clothes. Did he simply keep you naked all the time?"

I jerked and looked at him. Again I had the dreadful feeling that he could see right inside my brain.

"I can't read your mind," he said as if in response, smiling slightly. "But that doesn't mean your thoughts aren't fairly obvious to me anyway."

He appeared to think for a moment, and said, "You can buy some more conservative clothes if you like, just don't make the mistake of wearing the around me if you want to keep them intact."

He grinned briefly, then changed topics, looking around the room and making a sweeping gesture.

"This is your space. Put your shit away, decorate it how you like. Think of it as sanctuary. I won't come into it without invitation unless I have good reason to." He raised an eyebrow at me. "You had just better come when called, are we understood?"

I nodded dumbly, dismissing any feelings of excitement about this new development as premature. I was wondering if I was expected to thank him, when he fully rose and held out a hand for me to take.

"Come on, we have something else to address."

I came to him and took it immediately, not wanting to disrupt his seemingly amicable mood, but when I realized he was leading me back towards the bathroom, my steps began to drag a little. This didn't seem promising.

He released my hand and let me stand just outside the room as he walked over and kicked open the shower door. I tried to keep my expression blank as I looked at the tiles that I had been plastered against not long ago. I tried not to think of his face, monstrous and snarling, of the blood, the humiliation of my arousal, the pain...

I looked away. I was shaking.

"You're afraid of the shower."

I shook my head in extremely unconvincing denial, but I still wasn't looking at him. He remained silent until I did, and when I finally glanced up I was surprised to find his expression mildly sympathetic. He sighed, shaking his head.

"I sometimes forget, how specific and bizarre human traumas can be. It's difficult for me to even imagine. More advanced species..." he trailed off and waved a hand dismissively. "Well, that doesn't matter. Humans though, they get caught in these very basic conditioning loops. You can reverse them, but you need to act quickly, or things get muddled. So let's get in the shower."

My eyes snapped shut, and I felt a lump growing in my throat that had nothing to do with being sick. For a moment of intense disconnect it was as though I became a tree, heavy and stiff and rooted straight into the ground. But then I opened my eyes, coming back to myself, and saw Lex sitting on the dry shower floor, fully clothed. He looked at me expectantly and patted the floor beside him. He had gone into non-scary mode: his features showed almost no indication of his vampiric nature.

Oh. Well, this did seem like something I could probably manage. I forced myself to walk forward, and when I was within arms reach he took one of my hands and pulled gently. I allowed myself to be maneuvered so that I was nestled into his side, and he wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into his side and stroking my arm with his fingertips. With his other hand he played with my hair- affectionately, soothingly.

"I changed the parameters on your tracker, starting at 8:00 am tomorrow. I thought about removing it, but..." -he glanced at the thin anklet- "there are still some places that I don't want you to go."

I expected him to elaborate, but he lapsed into silence, playing with my hair absently as if we had all the time in the world. My breathing slowed, and I began to feel more relaxed. Finally I said:

"Such as?"

"Mmmm," he said. "Like outside of the country, or the inside of my office. Not that I think you could really manage either of those things anyway, but I've learned not to underestimate humans." His voice turned thoughtful. "Quite a lot of advantages lie in simplicity, as my kind are well aware..."

He twirled another finger in my hair. "But no adventures until tomorrow. I want you to stay in tonight, finish recuperating, alright?"

I nodded, wondering if this meant he was leaving soon. But he didn't seem in any hurry. We sat like that for a while longer as he continued to stroke me like a cat. After an indeterminate period of time, he leaned forward and pulled the shower door shut. Something about the dimmer light and the more closed environment changed things abruptly, and I began to feel anxious again. I glanced at the shower wall to my side-the one he had pressed me against, as he fucked me, while I wondered if I was going to die. I could still feel the ghost of his hand around my throat, I could still see the blood...there had been so much blood, an impossible amount. What had he done? Who had he killed? Did he really bring me in here just to soothe me, or was this going to turn into something else? My breath quickened and I felt renewed stirrings of panic.

I heard him curse. He kicked the shower door open again and began to stand, and I scrambled to my feet, relieved that we were leaving. But his pointing finger filled my vision just before it tapped the tip of my nose.

"Sit."

I planted my butt back on the floor and watched him walk away, wondering what the hell was going on. He disappeared out of my line of sight and I fidgeted nervously until he reappeared a minute later, holding a lighter and his pipe, which he had lightly packed. His emotional manipulation contained about as much subtlety as dog training, but that didn't make it any less effective. He stepped back into the shower with me and lit up, closing the door again as he sat down beside me. My fear dwindled to background noise as my spine straightened, and I stared at the pipe in eager anticipation.

He chuckled and passed it to me, allowing me a few hits before extracting the pipe from my hand and setting it down beside him. Then he pulled me close to him, rubbing my back, resting his head atop mine. It was not so bad. He was pretty good at being less than monstrous, when he wanted to be. And I had developed a mild, mellow high that made me a little less concerned about everything. Eventually, he pulled back and tipped up my chin. I looked somewhere just below his eyes, trying to focus on his thick lower lashes. But then he glanced around, as if inspecting our enclosure, and my gaze unconsciously followed his- the tiles, the giant showerhead of which the entire overhead was comprised, the opaque glass of the closed door. He turned his attention back to me.

"Yeahhhh... it's a shower." He raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly, searching my face like he was trying to determine if I was convinced. I was suddenly distracted, however, by the tic-tic of claws on the bathroom floor. Lex noticed it too, and he kicked at the door again. It swung wide to reveal the dog in an almost comical state of confusion- his head cocked dramatically to the side, tail wagging hesitantly.

"Jack!" Lex exclaimed cheerfully. "Would you like to join the shower party?"

Jack wagged his tail a little more enthusiastically, and when Lex snapped his fingers and gave a low whistle, he bounded into the shower with no regard for personal space. I couldn't keep myself from smiling as the giant furball muscled his way in between us until he was laying half on top of me and half on top of Lex, and could not suppress a giggle when he began licking my face, thwarting my efforts to push him off me. Lex was scratching him all over and talking to him in the same indulgent tone anyone might use for a beloved pet, but it was in Vamp language. Jack finally settled-seemingly content-into a ridiculous position draped over the top of the two of us, his tail batting lightly against the shower wall. I shook my head, looking between the dog and the vampire in mildly amused bewilderment.

Lex widened his eyes and poked at me playfully.

"You think I'm a weirdo," he observed. I nodded, and the vampire smiled, flashing a great deal of fang.

"Excellent. That's really the first step. You'll be in love with me within a week, I promise."

He pushed the protesting animal off the two of us and rose, offering me a hand.

"But now that the mongrel is here I really can leave. Come on."

He pulled me to my feet, but then released my hand and left the room with supernatural quickness. I picked up the pipe and lighter from the floor, knocked the ash into the shower drain, and shoved them into the small pockets of my skirt before getting out. Jack had paused in the doorway and was looking at me expectantly. I followed him into the living room, which was empty, but the door to the "office" was open slightly. The darkness of that room seemed eerie and unnatural, and I found myself squinting into it, trying to make out details. Then I jerked, when the vampire emerged from the inky blackness as if by magic. The door shut behind him, seemingly of its own volition.

He had what looked like an electronics bag slung over his shoulder, and he glanced at me and Jack as he walked towards the kitchen.

"I'm going to be gone for about three days. There's a list on your phone, of shit for you to do and buy while I'm gone. Other than that, you're responsible for entertaining yourself."

He paused as he neared the apartment door and looked pointedly at Jack.

"You are on full-time babysitting duty. Do not leave her side. If she has so much as a scratch on her when I get back, I'll be holding you accountable. Are we understood?"

Jack looked from Lex to me and flattened his ears, then abruptly lay down and sighed, resting his head on his paws.

"Good," said Lex. He turned back to me and smirked.

"Aren't you going to kiss me goodbye?"

I hesitated- unsure whether or not he was joking, hoping that he was.

"Come here," he said gently. I approached him, and he tipped up my chin until I was looking into his face. His eyes were black, but they did not seem unkind, somehow. I tried to unfocus my eyes, and he chuckled.

"You don't need to be so afraid to look at me, sweetheart. You're not a Ghost anymore...even if I can glamour you, I doubt I can do much more than stun you. I can't control you."

That might be true...but I'd been a vampire's puppet often enough to make eye contact with any living creature fraught with anxiety.

"Here, I'll prove it to you. Look."

I brought my eyes back into focus and made direct eye contact, though it made me feel a little sick to my stomach. I didn't want to do this, but perhaps the sooner I did, the sooner he would leave me alone. I steeled myself for it, and felt a strange disorientation begin to creep over my mind. It felt as though someone were physically pressing on my brain, on my will, and it was a terrible suffocating sort of feeling. I tried to pull my eyes away and could not- in fact I could not move at all, other than my increasingly rapid intakes of breath that did nothing to assail the feeling of being smothered. I couldn't shake it, I couldn't ignore it: the only thing to do was fight. So I gathered that will, the will that it felt as though was pressed under a thumb and squeezed in place. But that will was bigger than a thumb, it was bigger than anything he was doing to me. Once I realized that, the rest was easy. I pushed back, with everything that I had.

My mind was freed instantly. I heard Lex make a startled sound and watched him take a few steps backwards, grabbing the bridge of his nose and shaking himself. And then he was laughing, grinning at me.

"You see?" He seemed immensely pleased, and tipped my chin up again, looking deeply into my eyes. I stared into the dark pools with significantly less trepidation, though the sheer intimacy of it really bothered me.

"I always want to see your eyes, Pieyla," he purred. "When you're terrified, when you're happy, when you're stoned...when you come."

I frowned at him. That seemed terribly invasive. Even if he couldn't glamour me, I would still be a lot more comfortable if I was looking at my feet.

"Why?"

He looked at me as though he thought the answer to that should have been obvious.

"Because they're beautiful."

He could not have shocked me more if he tried. I guess I had been expecting an answer laced with menace- anything but the genuine appreciation his expression seemed to convey. He stroked my hair tenderly and brought his face closer to mine, our gazes still locked. I felt very strange, and vulnerable. Eventually it was just too much, and I tore my eyes from his, squeezing them shut and turning my face away. Soft lips brushed over my cheek, warm breath licked at my skin, and he ran his hands lightly down my arms before he stepped away from me. I just stood there- immobile, nervous, confused as ever.

When I opened my eyes, he was gone.