@odevrise
What a fuckin’ mess. Octavius thought as he heard Eittie shuffle from her bedroom to her bathroom. It was one thing to have to keep an eye on her from afar every now and then, but since the attack Teague had asked for someone to stay closer. In this case, one of Teague’s safe houses with her. Just a couple of weeks, he’d said, but this was week three- pushing four. O was a light sleeper, trained to be, and every time Eittie had a nightmare he woke up, even if someone else was manning the surveillance room and he was in the spare or passed out on the couch. If she got up, he didn’t make some excuse for checking on her, he just did. It wasn’t like him, he’d been tough about death since he saw his first person die in front of him when he was too young to even know how old he was… probably part of the reason he was unfazed by his own job when he started. There was something about her innocence that surprised him, like he hadn’t expected her reaction when he’d killed the person trying to kill her. It wasn’t a feeling of guilt that made him check on her, but he couldn’t put his thumb on the emotion either.
So, there it was, the sound of the box spring and the her sleeping breath gone to panic. He sat up and placed both feet on the cold floor listening. The door to her room creaked open, his was already ajar, and he waited for the bathroom light to turn on, to hear the usual sound of the sink when she’d rinse her face with cold water like she had just about every other night. When he didn’t hear it in the right number of paces he closet the dark space without hesitation. Maybe that’s because, after watching her this long he felt like he knew her, but he did and, whether she wanted it or not, he pulled her into his chest. “You’re safe. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.” O pressed his lips to her temple. “C’mon, tell me what you need to get to sleep.”
It hovered around her like a haze, the constant feeling at any moment she would feel the rush of adrenaline and fear as the memory repeated its self. It was always worse at night time, always worse for being in this strange house. Eittie was lying awake on the bed, her chest tight from holding in the constant feeling of unease. Coming here hadn’t been her choice, having to stay here hadn’t really been either, since that night she didn’t have much of a backbone to push against decision being made for her and a part of her was thankful there was someone else to take charge. At night though, the strange bed, the constant undercurrent of watchfulness and the sinking memory of the gun shots, the choking feeling and then nothingness.
Eittie woke up with a gasp, her legs tangled in sheets. Trying to get free, she struggled with the bed covers and pushed herself to the end of the bed. Every night she saw that mans face. Every night she remembered that his death was her fault. Every night she struggled to cope with the weight of it. The safe house wasn’t helping, especially not now as the fog was beginning to give way to anxiety and fragility and who knew how long it would be before she fell into anger. Even though he had called, she hadn’t spoken to him. Occasionally she heard Octavius or one of the other watchers answer the phone and stiffen, recognising Teague’s voice down the line, but she walked away from it. His absence spoke volumes and the grief that caused only added to her struggle.
Putting her feet to the cold floor she pushed herself up and headed towards the bathroom, intending to go through the same motions she had night in and night out for weeks now but as she moved down the hallway, she could see the spare bedroom’s door was slightly ajar. For a moment, she turned away, thinking only of cold water but something, some awareness in her made her stop and look back as if she could sense Octavius alert and listening on the other side of the door. The hesitation only lasted a minute before she turned and headed for it, growing more sure with every step. What she needed, more than anything, was human warmth.
Despite the realisation, she hadn’t anticipated finding it so quickly. The solid form hit hers with a soft force and the feeling of being touched was almost a shock to the system. At his words, everything seemed to quietly fall apart and she leaned into him. Despite his aloofness, despite his distance, she didn’t have anyone else to fall into right now. Eittie’s arms curled in to his chest and she took in slow, deep but shaky breaths as she tried to keep herself measured even though she wanted to cry. What had happened, the expression on the mans face, the horror she had felt were still there but right now, in the middle of the night, it was the complete isolation from any comfort that was making her feel like she was drowning. ‘Take me home. I just want to go home to Scotland, to my house. I don’t feel safe here. I’m alone here.’
Swallowing, she turned her head and glanced down the hall towards the room where she knew someone was watching the surveillance cameras and her voice dropped. ‘If I can’t go home.. can I at least sleep next to you? It’s been weeks without any comfort. Without any human contact. I won’t do anything.. I just... I don’t want to be alone.’ Already stealing herself for the sharp no, waiting for it as her mind tried to think over her next option. ‘I’m going mad here.’
