AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"You don't get to decide what you deserve. If I want to feel sorry for you then I damn well will," I tell him, bravery and anger that I've not felt for a long time brimming and bubbling as I answer him back. Something I wouldn't have dared do mere hours ago. But I realise now, I know with complete certainty that he's been so hard on me because he knows nothing else, because he's been so determined to be sure I don't land upon the same torture that he has at the monsters’ hands.
"Why are you so stubborn?" he asks with a small smile as he sits opposite me on the floor with his knees bent in front of him.
"Why are you so secretive?" I answer back with my own question, one I genuinely wish he would give me an answer for.
He huffs out a grunt as he watches me, his head shaking. "Why the hell do you have so much empathy for me?"
I sit silent for a moment, pondering his question.
"Either because I legitimately have Stockholm syndrome or because you're genuinely not as bad as I thought," I tell him honestly, curious about how he'll take my words.
His lips lift up in a boyish grin and then his body shakes as his head falls back, a laugh finding its way out of him.
"You think you have Stockholm syndrome? You've thought this through?" he asks as he wheezes, his laugh filling the air and lifting my sadness along with it as I smile at him.
I remember seeing him smile and laugh before he went to prison, but I'm not sure I've seen it or perhaps just paid attention since he's been out and yet as I watch him laugh now, see the happiness in his face, my stomach fills with unwelcome butterflies as I realise that I wish I could do this constantly. Make him smile. Make him happy.
"I don't know why you're laughing. I mean, I've been kidnapped, it's a legit option here, Liam," I tell him, though seeing how free and open he looks as he laughs at me and my thought process has me denying the possibility.
"No, you're right, it's just funny that you've actually thought this through. I thought I'd broken you, and maybe I have in some way, but I don't think you're as broken as I thought you were. And since when do you answer me back? What's happened the last two days?" he asks, his voice light and happy.
"I'm pretty sure I'm broken beyond repair at this stage, but I still have a mind. I answer you back in my head mainly but I feel like I've seen you, like really seen you and you can't go back to being a dick now," I tell him honestly.
His smile drops as he watches me. He nods his head before letting it fall back again, his eyes looking heavenward before finding me again.
"I really didn't want to hurt you." He stops himself then, a small grin overtaking his face, transforming him completely, showing me how handsome he truly is when he's joyful and carefree. "OK, that's a lie. I'm a sadist in the sack but I mean, I didn't want to hurt you like I have. I didn't want to hurt you permanently, just for pleasure. I just didn't know how else to make you give in," he tells me, his honesty shocking me.
"A sadist in the sack," I repeat. He looks at me with a sly grin as he gets up, grabs my hands and lifts me to my feet, bringing us chest to chest. Or rather, bringing my head to his chest as I look up at his much taller frame.
"That's right. I don't know if you noticed, but I did say other words too. I like how it's just those words that you pick up on though," he tells me as he puts his hands in my hair and plays with the strands he finds.
"I'm well aware you said other words, I just got stuck on those. Does this all mean you'll stop being a dick and work with me now?" I ask.
His eyes lift above my head, searching the empty space beyond us as his teeth catch his bottom lip.
"Can I hug you now?" he asks, his eyes penetrating my own, this being the first time I recall him asking if he can touch me in any way. I take his question as an answer. It's the first time since I've been here that he's given me a choice rather than taking, manipulating, or forcing my touch.
I give him my answer without words as my arms reach around his back, meeting behind him as my face falls to his warm chest, his skin warm to the touch. He sighs into my hair before placing his arms around me, his body quivering and his breath catching as I land a small kiss on his chest.
"I'm feeling like I need to be a bit more frank with you considering we've just had a breakthrough, so ask me anything. Whatever you want, and I'll be honest. I'll tell you whatever you want to know. I can't be fucked with this anymore. Anything."
My mind whirls with possible questions, knowing that I have more than we could possibly have the time to ask.
"Is Crow really an O'Banian?" I ask, remembering the phone call with him from before I was taken.
Liam pushes me away, looks into my eyes, and nods at me with hesitance.
"Yeah, he's the son. Well, one of the sons." He nods.
Even with the hatred running through my veins for him before any of this happened, I believed him and I still do.
"How did this happen? Any of this?"
His hand reaches for my neck. He slides his fingers to my nape, running them along the back of my neck and my lower scalp before he speaks.
"Come and sit down. It's not exactly a short story."
Eight
