Falling With Grace

“Who are you looking to fight?” His grip tightened. “Me?”

I shook my head, my chest squeezing like a vice. “No. I-I mean…”

A smirk played on his lips as he released his hold. Standing, he moved towards the door. “Make sure you don’t givemea reason to fight you.”

I nodded, licking my dry lips. “Elias? Can I ask something?”

He squared his shoulders as he put his hands in his pockets. “Depends.”

“May I spend time with your mother?” I glanced down at the bed and tossed the covers away from my feet, kicking the shoes off and to the floor.

He raised a brow as he shifted on his feet, his focus lasered in on me. “Why?”

“It’s just…”

She’s the only person who has treated me as a human being in years.

“I heard that social interactions can benefit individuals with Alzheimer’s.”

He set his jaw,turned his head to the side, and marched back to my bedside in three long strides. His fists clenched at his sides, and his nostrils flared.

My throat closed as I leaned away from him, my knees drawn up. “I’m sorry.”

Thick fingers laced through my hair and jerked my head back, spreading thousands of sharp needles into my skull. “I don’t want your apologies.” He brought me face-to-face with him, his biceps flexing, his breaths heavy through his nose. “I want to know who told you about her.”

His fingers dug into my cheeks as my lashes blinked like Morse code, signaling anyone for help.

What did I do wrong?

I shook my head the best I could. “N-no one.” His grip tightened. “I mean, Rosa did. In the garden.” My molars bit into my cheeks, the copper tang spreading across my tongue.

“Liar.”

“I’m not lying. I swear it.” My voice trembled as I wrapped my clammy hands around his wrist. “She told me she didn’t believe the doctor’s diagnosis. That she hadn’t forgotten a single thing since you were born.”

A change flickered over his features; the harsh lines at the corner of his eyes lessened, and his lips parted enough to show the tops of his white teeth.

“And it’s kind of obvious.” I licked my lips as his fingertips loosened around my cheeks and slid down, tightening around my wild pulse. “In the short time we were together, she’d repeat herself or forget she’d said something.”

His gaze dipped down as he applied pressure. “After all I’m doing for you, Grace, I hope you remember to tell me the truth.

I nodded, the copper in my mouth dissolving. “Yes. I’ll remember.”

“I hope so.” His grip slid out of my hair and off of my throat. “I’d hate for you to forget my generosity.”

A slick sheen of sweat prickled against my spine as he stood.

“Keep your interaction with Rosa limited. I’d hate for her to grow attached to you.” He reached over and clicked the light off at my bedside—not that it did a bit of good with the three other lights on.

My fingers replaced his on my throat, rubbing the soreness as he left.

“Breakfast is at eight.” He flicked off the main light, dousing me in a dull glow, then closed the door behind him.

A strangledsob stuck behind my pressed lips, my ragged breath whistling through my nose.

If I couldn’t speak with her, then who?

Even though we were prisoners in the compound, I still had friends.