whumpmas in july - day 13
Day 13: Share a sneak peek of something you’re working on
Ok I clearly haven’t been doing WiJ at all this year, but I have been picking away at the next chapter of Out Unseen! But I’ve done a lot of it and there’s still a lot to go, so I thought I’d drop a little snippet today to show that yes I have been actually doing things haha. Felicia’s having an awkward dinner with Volkan and his friend Davids. Volkan told Felicia that Davids doesn’t know anything and she has to pretend to be a research assistant, and so she thinks that he’s someone who could potentially help her escape. Naturally, she doesn’t know that Davids has been in on it the whole time. She’s in for a nice surprise later 😌
The food was delicious, and it tasted of poison in her mouth. Every picture-perfect element of this perfectly-placed dinner scene threatened to pierce the numbness she’d wrapped herself in, heightening the stark contrast between what her life was and what she was forced to pretend to be. Every movement shifted the bracelets that wrapped like shackles around her wrists. How could Davids not see that she was a prisoner? How could she keep him from seeing until she was sure, absolutely certain, that he could help her?
“So, Felicia,” Davids began, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Tell me more about what it is you do here.”
Her breath caught in her chest. If she said something wrong—if Davids got suspicious and asked a dangerous question—if Volkan thought he knew too much—
“Research,” she finally managed to stammer out. She swallowed and spoke more steadily. “I help out with the research.”
“Research,” he repeated slowly with a smile, as if speaking to a small child. Her cheeks burned. “And how did you get involved in…’research’ here with Claude?”
Smile and look pretty and agree with everything I say. Volkan hadn’t given her anything more than that, not even the barest hint of a cover story. Stalling for time, she looked at him, but he just took a sip of his wine and watched with a smirk in his eyes. Realizing he wouldn’t be any help, she bit her lip, looking back at Davids as her mind raced for something to say. “Well, we—”
“She actually ran into me at one of my dances,” Volkan cut in smoothly. She shut her mouth and let him talk, hating him. “I wasn’t sure about her at first, but she was persistent, and I thought I’d take a chance on her.” He smiled and lifted his glass towards her in a mock toast. “And now I can’t imagine doing any of this without her.”
