A couple hours later, Audrey and Maggie were sitting in a room with James on the table, sitting silently and staring down at the ground. A middle aged man, named Dr. Croy, had just finished his examination of James and turned to talk to the girls.
“He seems to have suffered a pretty bad anxiety attack. Nothing major to worry about. Just make sure your friend here gets some rest. He seems pretty grounded right now so that’s a good start. Whenever you’re ready to leave the exit is out this door and to the left then straight down the hall.” The doctor then turned to James and nodded politely before exiting the room. As soon as the door closed James looked up and she noticed that his smokey eyes still couldn’t see her, perhaps what he said in the car was just in her head? Though they were unseeing, they still showed great emotion that James usually does a great job of suppressing. The poor boy seemed like he was slowly crumbling away, everything he had so carefully covered and hidden was rising to the surface for everyone to see.
“Why did you help me?” James’ voice sounded strained, as if he were trying to bite back his words.
“I don’t know.” She couldn’t keep her eyes on him and she looked down at the ground. Fighting the whirlwind of feelings she had inside her. There was a long, eerie silence that filled the room and Maggie spoke up from her corner.
“Well I’m going to go to the nurses station and see my mom for a bit. Just come get me when we’re ready to leave, ok?” Maggie opened the door and walked out, leaving the two alone in the examination room. James asked again.
“Why did you help me?” When Audrey didn’t say anything or look up he leapt off the table and cornered her against one of the walls in one fluid motion. This time she could very clearly see him struggling with his feelings. He doesn’t know how to control his emotions. She thought to herself. The feeling of him being so close to her made Audrey’s heart pound erratically.
“Why did you help me? You could’ve left me there and taken off. Somewhere where Auntie can’t find you. You could have escaped!” James's Voice started to rise and he moved closer to her until she was pressed against the cool wall. She cringed and closed her eyes, practically feeling his rage rolling off of his body. Why was he so angry? It’s not like she had violently stormed into his life and destroyed everything. She wasn’t the one babysitting him, watching his every move and making sure he stayed in town like a good little lamb to be slaughtered. In fact. He had no right to be angry, but she had every right. Her rage was suddenly fueled by this realization and she stood straighter, pushing her face into his in a threatening manner.
“I don’t know, ok? I thought I should’ve just left you there by yourself but I didn’t. Nobody ever accused me of being smart you jerk. And what’s it matter to you? You’re just Aunties little plaything, doing her every bidding like a good lap dog. The least you could do is thank me you insufferable ass. Now get out of my face before I do something else stupid.”
“Like what?” He challenged.
“Like punch you in the mouth!” James let out a strained laugh.
“Hah! I’d love to see you try.”
“get out of my face!” She shoved him away from her and angrily stomped towards the door. When he grabbed her wrist she turned on him, the rage seething in her belly like a snake ready to strike.
“Let go of me.” She hissed. James’ grip only tightened as he stared at her, his face once again unreadable and she started fighting him off of her.
“Let go of me or I’ll break your fingers!” She spat venomously at him. But it was no use. The young man was far too strong for her there was no way she could get him off. But she refused to stop fighting. She started to claw at his fingers, desperately trying to get herself free from his grasp, fear bubbling up inside of her as she struggled like a trapped animal.
“Just let me go!” She wailed loudly, hearing her own voice crack under the stress. James pulled her arm rather hard, and like last time, she stumbled and ran headlong into his chest. He grabbed her chin and pulled her face up so they were face to face.
“I can’t.” He whispered quietly. Audrey saw something flicker in his eyes, what it was, she still couldn’t tell. She found herself staring into his dull gaze and was shocked to find an even duller shade of green in his eyes. Almost as if they were hidden behind a charcoal cloud. The anger that had been boiling in her veins was dissolving away, The fear slowly ebbed, replaced by feelings she had yet to identify. She felt both pulled and pushed by James and it almost drove her crazy. Almost.
“Can you really see me?” The words left her mouth before she could stop them. James must have been caught off guard by the question because his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, and a slight touch of humor reached his mouth.. But as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished. The king of poker face indeed.
“Of course I can’t Audrey I’m blind.”
Audrey pulled her face away, pushing his hand down. He let it drop to his side.
“Can’t you just let me leave?” James stared at her for a long time before responding.
“I can’t.”
“Then I’ll just keep trying to get away.” When he didn’t say anything Audrey threw all her weight against him, knocking him to the floor and turned around to yank the door open. James rolled and landed on his knees and pushed himself back onto his feet in one fluid motion like a cat. Taking three large strides he wrapped his arms around her waist before she could start running. He spun her around and lifted her off the floor, their foreheads brushed as he kicked the door shut, cutting off the outside world once again. Audrey hoped he couldn’t hear her heart slamming against her chest as he held her up off the ground. She could feel his breath on her skin. His heartbeat on her stomach, beating in rhythm with her own.
“Sorry.” He whispered.
“What?” James suddenly leaned in the rest of the way and kissed her. At first she was too shocked to respond, and her heart suddenly flipped when his tongue invaded her mouth. For a brief moment, Audrey felt as if she were floating. Did he really just kiss her? A thousand more questions ran through her mind as her body started to relax against his. Audrey felt warm and blissful as she felt his tongue on hers, then she noticed something slide down her throat and she was jerked from her daydream. Biting his lower lip hard, she wrenched her mouth free and glared at James.
“What did you do?” She demanded. “Did you just drug me?” But he refused to talk. Struggling free from his grasp she ran over to the garbage can and stuck her finger down her throat, hoping to puke up whatever he had just given her. James dabbed his now bleeding lip with his tongue, staining it a brilliant red. To Audrey’s dismay the room was beginning to slant under her feet already. She could feel her body growing heavier, as if she was filled with lead. She dropped to her knees, not even feeling the impact. This is what you get for saving him. The little voice in her head was taunting her. You let your guard down for one minute and he drugs you. You should’ve known he wasn’t going to save you. You should’ve listened to me. Audrey looked up at James, the whole world around her looked as if it was melting, but he was the only solid thing she could see. His head was cocked slightly to one side, as if he was listening for her breathing to slow, or stop. Depending on what kind of drug he gave her. She could see him bending down to grab her and she clumsily jerked away before hitting the ground and laying on her back as she weakly muttered
“Go to hell.” It was her last act of defiance before everything went dark.
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