It wasn’t hard to practice my bow and arrow every single day. William and I had simple conversions, nothing special, nothing that would interest anyone in the world, just how to garden and tips of how to use the bow, which, if you hadn’t had that type of conversion, it was very boring and very hard to keep it going.
He always tried to make me feel happy. It was hard for me though, because causing him happiness seemed worse than him causing sadness. “You’re getting really good at the bow. I think you found your talent.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
“We should go hunting!” he said. He said every day.
“No,” I would answer every day. I didn’t want him to be around, or to talk to me.
“Oh come on Tavi,” he begged. “I want to do something with you.”
“Geez and I thought that kidnapping me was a good way to come together.”
“Tavi,” he got on to me. I didn’t really care at that point. I didn’t care what hurt him and what did. Those were our small talks.
He trusted me enough to go outside by myself and practice after a while. He trusted me more and more, and I think I knew the reason why.
He knew I didn’t have a plan to escape. He knew I was scared to run away by foot again. He knew I couldn’t drive. He knew no one knew I was up here. I couldn’t escape again, and he knew I didn’t have the guts to do it once again. He knew I was out of ideas, and he knew everything about me.
I keep remembering that night, and I still can’t believe that she was real, and that she was my friend and that I had told her everything.
I remember that night, her lips touching mine, and I didn’t even know it was going to happen. I think I was just nervous, or excited that it had happened. I didn’t care that she as a girl. That kiss was forever locked on my lips, her touch forever memorized by the goose bumps I received. And now she was gone.
One night, William had papers all over the coffee table, reading and marking them. I ended up sitting next to him on the couch, watching him. I didn’t understand what the papers were about, but he didn’t mind me reading.
After five minutes, I lean my head on his shoulder. He was more than surprised. “You okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “William . . . can I please have a hug.”
It took a few moments for him to understand what I was asking, but he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and gave me a side hug. “What’s wrong kitten.”
“I don’t know,” I whispered, lying. Tears landed on his arm, letting him know I was sad. I ended up falling asleep on him. When my eyes opened, it was around midnight. He was stroking my hair, my face, my arms, but I didn’t feel it. I was too numb.
-26-
I was on the couch and he was about to go outside. But he came to where I was sitting, and gently grabbed the book out of my hand and put it onto the table. “Tavi, what’s wrong?”
“You know what’s wrong,” I said.
“Tavi, please, I really am trying.”
I just sighed.
“Tavi,” he put his hand on my chin, trying to get me to look at him, “please, tell me what is wrong. I want to help,” he said taking my hand like he did the day he kidnapped me.
I looked at his face. “Same old, same old, day,” I told him. He let go of my face.
“Tavi, I know, it’s hard up here. I know you miss your other family, but you can learn up here, with me,” he said. I took my hands away and just looked to the floor. He softly touched my chin again, this time I let him have all control, and made me raise my head. “I love you Tavi, I really do.”
I just nodded when he let go. I looked to the floor. “I didn’t ask for this,” I whispered.
“But, I want us to be friends, to love each other. We are good friends, right?”
“That’s different. I want a friend, my age.”
His face seemed to twist. “Like that one girl?”
I just nodded.
“What were you girls talking about that night?”
I felt myself froze. He knew something. “Just, normal girl stuff. She was special I guess, I just miss her.”
“Oh, so, you miss her?” he asked with a nervous tone.
“Yeah,” I said. “She was, special.”
“Special?” he said looking up, faking a smile. “She was a really good friend, uh?”
I nodded. “Yeah, a really good friend,” I said, finding myself smiling for the first time in a while.
He raised an eyebrow. “What was so special about her?”
I looked at him, getting rid of my smirk, “She understood me. She liked the same things that I liked, and I don’t know, she didn’t make me feel weird. We opened up. I didn’t tell her about being kidnapped, but I told her about the first kiss I got.”
“First kiss?” he was confused, but remembered. “Wait, that guy in the alley way was your first kiss? Why did you tell her?”
“Because, I could trust her.”
“Oh,” he said looking hurt. “I see. So you trust her more than me?”
I looked at him. “I’m sorry, but she just, she was more . . . relatable.”
“So, what did she say when you told her?”
“Well, she felt really bad about it,” I told him.
“She did? Well, anyone would feel bad, wouldn’t they?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I guess. I miss her.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry,” he said giving me back my book, and starting dinner. I went to my room, and tried to lay down and sleep. But that was near impossible. Instead, I just read and read, turning the pages, and getting confused to what was happening.
For the first time, I truly did not care what was going on in the books I was reading. I didn’t care about their dumb problems. I cared about mine. When I came out of my room, I saw a drink in William’s hand.
“You okay?” I asked.
He looked at me, stirring the pot some more. “Yeah, why?”
“You’re drinking pretty early.”
He shrugged. “You want a glass?”
“No, last time that happened, things went wrong.”
“Just a glass won’t hurt. But then again, you’re a lightweight. And also, I thought it may help with your pain for being here.”
I didn’t know what to tell him. I accepted a drink from him, swallowed as fast as I could so I didn’t taste it. I felt a rush go to my head. I started to count the number of drinks he had during dinner. He must have had seven or eight drinks.
I had a few drinks, but had to stop.
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