How is it possible to have feelings for someone whose done something so awful to you? Someone so horrible as to kidnap you and yet, you pity them. How can you see kindness in the eyes of a murderer? How can you make friends with the enemy? Then again, he’s not my enemy… he’s theirs. I have affection for him and it’s starting to show. His actions have lead me to believe that he has affection towards me too but tries to hide it. Why does he do this? Why am I doing this?
“No,” I said aloud. “I can’t…” I mean, I mustn’t. I ‘can’ very easily. His ways and smile always fill me with a sense of comfort. His… No… I mustn’t. I have someone back home. Someone who’d never lay a hand on me; someone who’d never hurt me; someone who’d never disrespect my wishes.
My thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the door. I looked at the clock overhead. It was nowhere near dinner time. I stood up and went to the door, opening it cautiously and slowly. My head peeped into the hallway. No one, nothing. I stepped out of the safety of my room and looked to the right. The stillness of the hallway sent cold chills down my spine. Shrugging them off, I turned to the left and almost screamed as I found myself face-to-face with Drake. With a quirky smile, he put his finger to his lips. “I think your friends are here,” he whispered. I didn’t know how to feel. Glad because they were here? Worried of what Drake might do? Sad if I had to leave? My mixed emotions had no time to settle themselves. If I’ve learned anything from Drake, it’s to act quickly. Drake took my hand and led me to the balcony. We peeked down carefully so we were invisible to the soldiers. I looked at the familiar faces. All his best men. But where was he? The soldiers carried loads of ammunition across their bodies. I gasped silently as Drake squeezed my hand. The soldiers had begun to look up and speed up their pace. I turned to Drake. He smiled and got up, “Time to go, princess.”
I didn’t know what to do! My rescuers were here and they were coming to save me… and yet, next to me stood a confident man that I’ve only known for a few days; he actually trusts me enough to believe that I would go with him. Yelling and hollering, the thundering footsteps of the soldiers started up the stairs. “Up here!” “We found her!” Drake tugged at my hand slightly, giving me a concerned look. “Bingo!” “Ivan! Up here!” At the sound of his name, I knew what to do. I loosened my hand from Drake’s. I shook my head as I slowly backed away. “I’m sorry… I have to go back…”
He looked into my eyes curiously, wondering what had changed my mind. His eyes begged me not to leave. “Don’t…” he whispered. Mouthing the words “I’m sorry,” I ran down to my room. I couldn’t leave my prized possession. Voices behind me told me to stop, to wait but I couldn’t. I knew Drake would follow me. I reached my jewelry box and snatched the necklace, dropping the rest of it’s contents on the floor. I dashed out the door to see Drake coming towards me as I had expected. Everything happened so quickly from then on. Next thing I knew, Ivan was on the top of the staircase holding a pistol at Drake. An ear shattering bang echoed through the tower as Drake gripped his side. He collapsed to the floor, a puddle of red already forming beneath him. Ivan reloaded his gun and cocked it, prepared to finish him off. I ran to Drake and knelt down next to him, cradling his head in my lap. “Ivan! Stop!” Ignoring my request, he pushed me out of the way and took aim. “No!” I jumped in front of Drake and closed my eyes…
 My whole body felt numb. I awoke slowly, rubbing my eyes and groaned as I felt the sharp pain within my right arm. I touched it to find that it was covered by layers of medical tape. I sat up and groaned again. Hunger had taken it’s toll on my stomach. I gathered up the strength left inside me and stood up. My body was still numb. I could feel nothing except the pain. A few yards ahead of me sat Drake, tending to a small fire. In the distance, I could see a faded outline of the tower.
“Drake?” he looked over at me. “What happened?” I asked. He didn’t answer so I went to him. Leaning down next to him, I noticed that underneath his loose fitting shirt, his abdomen was white with bandages. I placed my hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him but his gaze never left the fire. We sat there and watched the flames dance across the wood silently. Finally, I spoke. “I’m sorry…”
It took him a while to reply. This was one of those times I could tell he was hiding his emotions. He sighed and turned to face me. “For what, Crys?”
My mouth lay open. I was sorry he was hurt but I knew how he’d react to that; I was sorry that it was my fault in the first place that he got hurt; I was sorry I didn’t go with him… “For them. For what they did to you…” I tried to look down his shirt to see whether he was bleeding or not. He quickly turned away.
He scoffed a bit and stared at the fire. “It’s nothing I couldn’t handle. Been shot worse before. Feelin’ better already,” he touched his stomach. “Your boy’s got pretty good aim though.” He looked back over at me with a slight smile. “How’s you’re arm feeling? That bullet went in pretty deep.”
I looked at my arm. For some reason, I couldn’t feel any pain anymore. It was like brand new. I looked back up at Drake with a puzzled face. “Strange… It doesn’t hurt anymore… Drake, will you tell me what happened? It all happened so fast and after I jumped in front of…” I quieted down, realizing that he already knew. If he didn’t, it would be best; then he couldn’t say that I showed affection.
He remained silent for a while. It was tense. I think he was trying to word it right so I wouldn’t get hurt. After what seemed like an hour, he turned to face me and took one of my hands. “Well… I’m going to be honest and to the point. I frankly didn’t like what happened. It wasn’t the wounds but the action… As you can tell, he pulled the trigger on you. Then,” he shrugged. “Everybody left.” Once I regained consciousness, I brought you here and patched you up. Then myself.” He lifted his shirt so the bandages were clearly visible.
I was shocked! How could they just leave me here!? While I was injured as well! The nerve! “They just left? But why? I thought they came here to get me…” I murmured that last part to myself. Drake just looked at me with pity. He took a deep breath as if he was going to say something but released nothing but air. Why did Ivan leave me? Nothing made sense anymore. I was so confused. I felt my eyes begin to water. I turned and went back to where I awoke. Tears flowed freely out of my eyes. They were finally doing it… They were pulling Ivan and me apart. I was so deep in thought, trying to put the pieces together, that I barely heard Drake coming over. I dried my tears quickly. “Go…” He placed his hand on my shoulder. A warm gesture I needed at the moment. I half smiled beneath him. He did have affection towards me… As a quiet groan escaped his lips, I knew he wasn’t okay. I wiped the remainder of my tears and turned to him. Drake held his stomach, trying to smile. He fell to his knees. “Drake!” I knelt next to him and took off his shirt, inspecting his bandages. Not a single trace of blood.
He put on a fake smile that quickly faded. “I’m not going to lie to you… that’s not exactly what happened…” I sniffed and scrunched my eyebrows in disbelief. Had he lied to me? I opened my mouth to speak but he hushed me down. “Wait, before you say anything, let me explain…” He took a breath and crossed his legs.
“Now, when you jumped in front of me, Ivan did shoot. I’m not sure if it was on accident or if he actually meant to… He was shocked and dropped his gun to tend to you. Once he knelt down, you kept saying things… cursing and murmuring about him betraying you…” My face turned red with embarrassment. I try not to curse in public… I must’ve been really pissed, or really hurt… Suddenly, I remembered most of my actions. “Anyway,” he continued. “It seems like Ivan was hurt by what you said. He commanded his troops to dismiss. I passed out as they left. Once I awoke, I brought you here and healed you the best I could.”
I had to interrupt. “But how? You were hurt as well, worse than me! And how did you ‘patch’ me up? Where’d you get the bandages? Do you know how to…”
“Look!” I hushed, feeling that I had already caused enough damage. Drake seemed irritated. I looked down. After a few moments of silence, he spoke in a sweeter tone. “Look, I know you’re confused and I know you want answers. But now is not the time… I promise, once the time is right, I’ll tell you everything. It’s for your own good.” He got up and started towards the tower. I remained by the fire and wondered. My thoughts were so jumbled up. How can I trust him now when I know he’s keeping something from me? What if he’s lying about all this? What if he’s been lying all along…? What if Drake really is a criminal? What’s really going on here!? I needed someplace to think, to be alone. But I don’t know his place, I had nowhere to go. I was in the hands, in the mercy of Drake…