Glenna

It was the same. It was always the same. He sat at the table, expecting a meal. The inescapable feeling of loneliness haunted him. The room stretched away, and he pushed to his feet, running to the door. He was running through syrup, his actions uncontrollable. He tried to stop running, knowing he would meet only disaster. But his body wouldn’t let him. His mind screamed to stop, but his hands reached out on their own for the knob.

The door swung open, and he stepped into the blackness. Falling. Falling. The abyss closed around him. He hit the bottom with a jerk. And woke up screaming, covered in sweat.

Adrian stood on the balcony. The scrubland beyond the railing was empty, desolate. Just like the inside of Adrian’s mind. The dreams were back, since Glenna had left. She had escaped in a moment of weakness, using sleeping pills to drug Adrian, and stealing money and a car from the mansion.

The car had been found using the embedded tracking device, but Glenna had moved on. Adrian knew she wouldn’t go far. A week had passed, with only glimpses of her in the distance. But his men had been steadily closing in. There was a single knock on the door behind him. Adrian nodded once, and heard the glass door open. “They found her across the country. Reported as undamaged. Bill will return with her tonight.”

Adrian took a sip of the coffee he held. The memory of the nightmare lingered. “Tell him not to delay.”

The moon was bright above the darkened house. Adrian had received word that the car containing Glenna had passed the boundaries, and Adrian could see the lights in the distance. His hand shook in anticipation, and he slid it into his pocket. Leaving the window, he strode down the hallways, stopping when he reached his destination.

The room he used to meet his guests, and now where he would be reunited with his escapee. Adrian sat, waiting. Ten minutes of deep thought passed, and he heard footsteps outside. Being the most powerful man in the room had its perks, and he waited patiently. The door opened, and two men entered. They dragged a small shape between them, and Adrian could see the tape was tight around her hands. One man left quickly, shutting the door behind him.

The small, curled up shape on the floor sat facing away from him, and slowly managed to turn herself around. Adrian watched her, knowing it unsettled her. At least, that was his intention. Until he saw the massive bruise covering Glenna’s left eye, spreading down her cheek. The swelling was prominent, and Glenna’s eye was swollen shut. It watered slightly as she tried to see through it. The anger boiled viciously, and Adrian fought his urge to kill. How dare they damage his property? They were specifically directed not to hurt her. And she had been reported undamaged. Somebody had lied.

The tape around her mouth was dark against her pale skin. Her unbruised eye was wide with fear. Adrian clenched his fist, examining the bruise from his position across the room. “I told you, not to damage her.” Adrian had to work hard to temper his fury, keeping his voice soft.

The man looked nervous, his face turning pale. “She put up a fight, Adrian. Bill was forced to defend himse~”

Adrian didn’t look at the man, keeping his eyes on the damage on Glenna’s face. Her delicate features were swollen, her dark curly hair wild around her face. “Leave. I’ll deal with Bill later.”

The man fled, and Adrian was alone at last with his obsession. Glenna looked like she wanted to escape. Adrian wouldn’t afford her that opportunity. Not again. Betrayal and rage flowed strongly through his system, and Adrian picked up the letter opener from the table next to him. He had been obsessively sharpening it since Glenna left, trying to keep his hands busy. It was sharp enough to sever a tendon. Glenna began to panic, trying desperately to get away from him.

Adrian advanced slowly, watching the fear on Glenna’s face as she tried to scream. Muffled moans came from behind the tape. She was pressed right up against the door, but Adrian knew they wouldn’t be disturbed. His men knew better. He stood looking down at Glenna, watching her breathe heavily. Adrian crouched down in front of her, holding the letter opener in his right hand. Glenna still looked like she was panicking, and while Adrian enjoyed that she was terrified, he felt he should at least try to reassure her. She was no use to him if she was panicking. “I’m going to cut you free. If you scream, if you struggle, I will hurt you. More than they did. It’s in your best interests to remain calm. I don’t want to damage you further, but I will if you force me. Nod if you understand.”

Glenna’s head bobbed up and down quickly, and Adrian could tell she didn’t believe him. But he had no time for her insecurities. He reached forwards to take the tape off her mouth, and she pulled back. Her head hit the door, and Adrian pulled the tape. The swelling was more prominent close up, the rectangular bruise mottled and purple. As soon as the tape was off of her mouth, she sucked in a deep breath.

Adrian put the sharpened letter opener onto the bookshelf beside them, pulling the petite figure to her feet as he stood. “Hungry?” He was sure she hadn’t eaten since being captured.

Her knees were wobbly, and she swayed back and forward as Adrian went around behind her. He had to hold her steady with one hand, cutting the tape with the letter opener. Her wrists were raw and bruised. Adrian frowned. It was such a shame her skin was so easily marked. Any bruising caused by the tape was an unfortunate side effect of her struggling; expected, and unavoidable.That didn’t excuse the damage to her face, since Adrian had specifically told his men not to hurt her.

Adrian walked through the far door, aware of Glenna’s presence behind him. The wilderness outside was black, and Adrian felt a kinship with the dark silence outside. He was still furious at Glenna for leaving, for wanting to be away from him, but he wanted at least one meal between them before they dealt with the elephant in the room. Adrian sat, indicating to Glenna to join him. She sank into the opposite chair.

She sipped the water in front of her. Adrian watched her, noting the way the swelling extended down her face, like she had been hit with a weapon, rather than a hand. Adrian would deal with the man who had damaged her later. For now, he wanted to ignore the anger. “It’s good to have you home, Glenna.”

Glenna pulled a face, clearly in no small amount of pain. “You know it’s not by choice.” Her voice cracked a little, like she hadn’t spoken in a while. Not surprising, really, given her mouth was taped shut.

The food arrived, and Adrian ate. Glenna pushed the food around the plate, eating a few mouthfuls. She wasn’t eating with any real enthusiasm. “You’re not hungry?”

Glenna sat back in her chair, putting her fork down on the plate. “I was hit over the head with a gun. I need pain killers and some sleep. I need to not see you, Adrian. I just need to care for my pain.”

Adrian felt a surge of anger, but covered it over with cracked charm. He had guessed correctly, after all. He sat forwards, examining his prey critically. “You chose to run, Glenna. You knew the consequences you’d face. You chose this path. If you had come peacefully, you wouldn’t be bruised. You chose that pain.”

Glenna looked suddenly tired, like she had been holding it all together, and had just, cracked. She stood up. “I’ll see you in the morning, Adrian.”

Adrian’s anger surged. He felt the pleasant mask drop, and watched as Glenna froze in response. “Sit.” He wasn’t about to let her out of his sight just yet.

Glenna sat roughly back down, and Adrian pushed roughly to his feet. He walked to the huge windows, staring out into nothing. The anger, the frustration, the pain of Glenna deceiving him and leaving, it was boiling through the cracked façade. Adrian felt it coursing through him, and he wanted to smash the world in response. He turned to face Glenna. “I trusted you. I believed you would be willing to stay.” Adrian stalked closer to her, the rage building with every step he took. He had to work hard to control the fury. He gritted his teeth at the effort. “I closed my eyes for one second, and you tried to betray me.”

Glenna went white, her hand on the glass shaking. “I didn’t betray you, Adrian. I left because I needed to live my own life. I needed to be free.”

Adrian snapped. His hand slammed down on the table, the crockery bouncing. Glenna jumped, her hand clenching on the glass she held. “I can provide everything! Anything you want, I can give to you! You don’t need freedom, you need me!”

Glenna was rooted to her chair, her undamaged eye wide. Looking into that dark eye had Adrian clenching his fists until his tendons showed white and stark against his skin. Glenna needed to leave, because Adrian had reached the end of his tolerance. “Go.”

Glenna found her legs, running out of Adrian’s presence. Adrian heard the door slam, and picked up the glass of water she had left behind. He hurled it across the room, watching the glass smash against the tempered window. Water and shards of glass scattered across the room, and Adrian glared at nothing. He stalked from the room. He had an employee to talk to.