Blue eyes stared blankly at nothing in particular. Their owner, sitting with knees pulled up to their chest with thin arms locked around them, unseeing as they zoned out of the activity around them. Since the gala, Lux had barely spoken - other than a few words spoken to Dylan upon ending up in the same cell as the doctor, the teenager had barely spoken two words - and had been acting on automatic ever since. Bruises were set in a variety of colours stood out in stark contrast against her pale complexion, but the teenager wasn’t bothered by her appearance; she had lived with similar injuries and appearances throughout most of her childhood, and a part of her was adament that she wouldn’t shy away into the shadows because of them - she was stronger than that.
At least Lux thought she was.
The messages between her heart and mind were entirely different at the moment. And, while Lux logically knew that the other people in the room were allies - friends even, the events of the gala had brought old memories to the surface that Lux had worked hard to work through. Memories that were causing her heart to speed up any time any of the male rebels got too close. Lux was also not sleeping; her hyper vigilance hitting back with a vengeance, leading to lack of sleep at night and her general stubbornness to be on guard during the day leading to her body screaming for rest. She had barely slept an hour here or there because of her mind in a state of hyperactivity, and it was beginning to show - particularly as it was leading to a lack of appetite; which didn’t help when they were being fed very little as it was.
Sniffling a little due to the cool temperature of the room she was in, Lux found her attention being pulled back to the mirrored room the rebels were brought to every day like clockwork. Swallowing, the teenager began to absentmindedly rub her bare arms in the hopes of getting some warmth back into stiff limbs.
With chapped lips, the teenager absently ran her tongue over them in the vain hope of giving them some moisture, as she commented in a voice hoarse from disuse.
“This year sucks already.”
Building long-term rapport with younger patients was absolutely not part of Dylan’s skillset before he started working with the rebels. Patients were fleetingly in his presence before they went upstairs, and even if they were frequent flyers in the department every case needed a new approach. Lux’s regular presence in the office he shared with Dr McCoy, then, was entirely novel. He knew she’d grown to trust him before all of this happened, but that was the operative word – before.
If he’d stuck to his guns and refused her assistance in the medical bay, perhaps she’d be safe with the others right now. Because he’d convinced himself that he was at fault for her capture, he’d also convinced himself that he was responsible for her safety in this place. The government had tried to break her trust in the male rebels, and he hadn’t wanted to compound that, so he’d given her space as much as was possible. It was obvious that she wasn’t sleeping, though, not that he was faring much better. Keeping his nightmares to himself was getting increasingly difficult.
She hadn’t said anything, really, and that was fine. He’d decided if she didn’t want to talk, he wasn’t going to push her on it. He’d probably terrified the poor girl by arguing with Kol – so much for being helpful. Silence suited him, normally, but if he thought back over it, he’d started said argument just to give him something else to think about. Something that wasn’t Zoe. His protection hadn’t helped her, clearly, and he didn’t completely trust himself to protect Lux either. If I know my compulsions are both irrational and contradictory – why do I keep trying to follow them?
In the mirrored room, he’d initially taken to pacing around it, but quickly put an end to it as a waste of energy. Just as well, because he wasn’t all that capable of doing it anymore. Sitting down was possibly a mistake, as he really, really didn’t want to have to ask for help to stand up again. Especially not from Lux – it wouldn’t do to look that weak.
Wait a second, she just spoke.
“Well, you’re not wrong. Are you cold? You can have my jacket.”
Lux didn’t expect anyone to respond to such a quiet comment; and so Dylan’s voice came as a slight surprise. Turning to the older man she now shared a cell with, when they weren’t in this cold room, the teenager offered him the merest ghost of a smile and a tiny shake of head upon noticing the jacket Dylan was referring to. Despite the layers of dirt (and now maybe blood?) covering the item of clothing, the reflective nature was still obvious; more so in this light. Lux was trying to avoid garnering attention at the moment, despite the older mans kind offer.
“I-It’s too sh-shiny.” The teenager whispered by way of explanation, as she shifted to ensure her back remained close to the wall. With a swallow (which garnered a small wince as bruises pulled slightly), Lux took in the doctors appearance. “Y-You still h-haven’t s-slept. W-why?”
