Chapter 07: Who Are You?

Natalie began to stir drawing Blake’s attention from his reading. He watched as her hand found the bump on her forehead and rubbed across it with a low hiss. The light from the candle beside him illuminated her body enough making her appear to glow with honey undertones. She’d kicked the covers from her body again but this time he stayed where he was watching her awaken rather than place them on her nude form once more.

She moaned and sat up, her hand still on her head as the pounding intensified between her ears. “Hey,” Blake whispered as her eyes fluttered open and adjusted to the light. “How are you feeling?”

“I…um…”

“You hit your head pretty hard and I did what I could for the scratch on your arm.”

Natalie looked down at his beckoning and noticed the white bandage wrapped around her upper arm. She reached out to touch it and recoiled in pain. “What happened?”

“You sprung one of the wires in the main tunnel and passed out. I pulled you out of the sewers and brought you here.”

“Here? Where’s here?” She asked and threw her legs over the side of the bed. Feeling the cool air nip her skin, she gasped and jumped back into the bed quickly throwing the blanket over herself again. “Where are my clothes?”

Blake stood from his chair and placed his book on the table beside him as he moved a little closer to where she sat. “Uh when you fell you landed in the sewer. I removed them to wash for you they’re drying now.”

“My bra and panties too?!” she asked, the same tone of annoyance still dripping from her words.

“Yes I…I didn’t think you’d want to sit in the um…smell so I uh…I didn’t look and I didn’t touch you ok? I just…I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have a shirt or something?”

“Well I don’t have much and what I do have I doubt it would um…I’ll go and check on your things,” Blake replied and quickly exited the room.

Natalie watched as he hurried down the stairs and waited until he was out of sight before taking in her surroundings. It was a small cement alcove hidden behind a metal door, probably used as an old storage area in the Academy’s earlier days. Dozens of books were lined up against the wall and falling off of the modest table in the corner that was most likely his desk.

One candle illuminated the entire room in a light orange hue that caused eerie shadows to lurk in the barely brightened areas. Natalie drew the covers deeper around her neck and waited patiently for Blake to return with her belongings. The stairs alerted her with a creak and he placed her neatly folded clothing on the edge of the mattress and quickly exited again so she could dress. 

Natalie stepped out of the room and started into a larger area that she determined served as a living room, kitchen and dining room. Small pieces of art covered the walls and floor as well as a myriad of photography and painting equipment. She picked up a small frame beside her and analyzed the black and white photograph as Blake watched her closely.

“Um, hey,” he smiled nervously behind his mask as she sat the picture back in place.

“Hey.” She moved slowly into the center of the room bathing herself even more in the lamp and candle lights that illuminated the area.

“I was making some drinks.” A kettle whistled on the stove behind him and Blake moved towards it pulling it from the burner. He transferred the contents to two small cups and looked over his shoulder towards Natalie as she continued exploring the items around the room. Placing the tray on a small rickety table in the center of the room he waited for her to look his way and motioned towards the tea. “It’s probably not the best or um…what you’re used to but it’s all I have.”

She took a seat at the table across from him and babied the herbal liquid in her cup with the spoon he sat in front of her. “So um...w-what is this place?”

“It’s an abandoned power unit. The city has a few of them beneath the streets. It’s where they used to monitor communication towers and utility plants.”

“Oh and you’ve what? Reclaimed them for yourself?” Blake ignored the question as Natalie inhaled the scent of the Earl Grey sitting in front of her. Mindlessly she stared into its dark depths looking for nothing in particular but avoiding his gaze at the same time.

He looked at her cup noticing she was only swirling its contents around, not drinking it, and cleared his throat to gain her attention. “Is there something wrong with the tea? Is it too hot?”

“Oh no, I’m sure it’s fine it’s just that…my Mom would kill me if she found out I strayed from her nutritional plan. ‘Ballerinas must maintain a healthy weight to stay light on their toes’ or so I’m constantly reminded. I can’t have many sugars because that causes weight gain and…my Mom is pretty strict,” she stopped herself before delving too far into her family’s personal business.

“Sounds stifling. You’re a college aged woman, why put up with it?”

“It’s all I’ve ever known really. My Mom can’t have more kids because I ‘broke her’ when I was born so it’s always been just me and she treats me like her pet project or something. Always grooming me and prepping me for some big future as a dancer she thinks I have. I’d much rather be a writer.”

“Why not just tell her no then?”

“You haven’t met my Mother.” The pounding in her head was reducing but she felt her arm throb and looked at it again. “You booby trapped this place,” she scowled running her hand over the bandage that was beginning to soak in her blood once more. “Why would you do that?”

“To keep out unwanted visitors!” he growled in return. Natalie shrunk in fright and he moved towards the sink to grab a wet rag. He placed the compress against her arm and she winced in pain as he began swabbing the area, cleaning off the blood. “I can redo these if you want.”

“No it’s ok, I’ll be fine.” She sighed and rubbed her hand over the bandage again. An odd jingling sound vibrated against the countertop behind him and Natalie gasped noticing her cell phone sitting beside the sink.

“It kinda got doused. I sat it beneath my heater to try and dry it out but…”

She gasped again noticing seven missed calls from her mother and turned to leave. “I need to go. My Mom is going nuts looking for me. I have a schedule to keep and if I’m late.”

Blake nodded his head as he listened to her and felt a bit of sadness hearing her say she had to leave. “I understand, of course.”

“Do I have to go back through the tunnels or is there another way out?” she asked looking over the large furniture realizing he had to get it in here somehow.

“The stairs,” he pointed towards the metal case behind him. “It leads to the old water factory on Cassat.” He continued watching her, amazed at how close she allowed him to stand without screaming and running in the other direction. He had noticed that her eyes danced over the visible scars above his eye but she never once questioned how it happened. It made him smile knowing she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable by inquiring but he knew her curiosity was piqued, it was the only logical reason she would follow him down here.

Natalie rubbed her hand on the back of her head and started towards a set of metal doors. “Is the bathroom this way?”

“No it’s behind the panel in the bedroom you were in.”

“What’s back there more booby traps?”

“Nothing. It’s just a storage closet.”

“Then why is there a large ‘keep out’ sign posted on it?” she asked reaching her hand forward to open the door.

“DON’T!” he roared causing the metal walls to reverberate the sound and echo around them as he moved in front of her. Natalie took a step back placing a frightened hand over her heart. A look of fright washed over her face and Blake quietly rubbed a hand through his hair as he watched her for the third time recoil in fear.

He slowly licked his tongue over his bottom lip drawing it between his teeth as he watched her. He hated seeing that look on her face but most of all he hated being the reason it was there in the first place. “Just, don’t go in there ok?” he spoke calmly hoping to settle the anxiety he felt rolling off her in spades.

Natalie nodded and turned towards the wooden panel. Entering the bathroom, she checked her appearance hoping to fix herself before heading home so as not to scare her parents and started back out to his living room. Blake inhaled a deep breath as she stepped towards the metal staircase and started up. He followed behind her and unlocked the large door leading out to the factory. With one look back in his direction, Natalie started for home thinking about what excuse she would give her mother for her tardiness and the injury on her arm.

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