Claire
Chapter Sixteen
Ifelt the pounding in my head before my eyes even opened.
My eyelids fluttered open as I struggled to take in the room around me, with only the glow of the bedside lamp bathing the space in warm light.
This wasn’t Arik’s bedroom or any other room in the villa I’d seen before.
I crawled out of the bed as the room spun, trying to keep my legs under me as I ran to the door.
The metal doorknob was stiff in my hand as I pulled on it over and over again, my fist banging violently against the solid door as I screamed, “Help! Help me!”
I finally gave up, my chest heaving as my hands moved to the wall, banging again as I felt the windowless room closing in on me.
Concrete met my fist until I recoiled, tears streaming down my face as I crawled back into bed.
I curled up, my knees pressed tightly against my chest, sobbing uncontrollably as my breath came in ragged gasps.
The metal door creaked open, and I froze, heart pounding in my ears. I feared Arik would walk through, ready to finish me off.
My brain tried to warn me, and I did not listen.
To my surprise, when I lifted my head the familiar face of Sam emerged from the darkness, carrying a tray of food and a few bottles of water. My breath hitched in my throat as I exhaled slowly, relieved it wasn’t Arik.
“Hi. How is your head?” Sam’s voice was a soothing contrast to my turmoil.
I wiped the tears from my cheeks, my hands trembling as I spoke. “It hurts.”
Sam sat the tray down on the bed, keeping his distance from me. He moved quickly, placing bottles of water on the bedside table, leaving only one on the tray before me.
Sam spoke softly, his eyes glimmering with compassion. “I have ibuprofen and Tylenol. Something harder if you need it. Which one do you prefer?”
I hesitated, staring at the tray as I considered my options. I kept my eyes fixed on the far wall, my voice firm as I replied, “I’m not taking anything you give me.”
He sighed as he took a step back. “Listen, I understand. It is not what you think.”
My voice rose in disbelief. “Not what I think? I just saw that man, and you, attacking dozens of men on the beach. I saw him…covered in blood.” My eyes shot to Sam, my disgust fully released.
Sam crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, his face turning up to the ceiling in contemplation. He sighed, his words flowing slowly. “You don’t know the whole story.”
I leaned back in bed until my back met the pillows. My eyes shifted onto the water that was dripping condensation onto the tray.
Sam noticed and quickly picked up the bottle, extending it in my direction and motioning for me to take it. He spoke gently, like a parent soothing an upset child. “Please, Claire. Drink something. I will tell you everything you want to know. At least, what I can answer based on my own knowledge.”
I grabbed the plastic bottle from his hand, my fingers gripping it tightly as if it could anchor me to reality. I leaned forward, swiping the ibuprofen and Tylenol from the tray, scrutinizing the pills for any sign of tampering.
I wonder what harder stuff he was referring to…
Sam cleared his throat. “My family has been working for him for a very long time,” Sam started, his voice steady and certain. “All the men in my family, really. My father, grandfather…I even have photos of my great-grandfather with Arik.”
My jaw dropped as my head lowered, eyes peering at Sam as I spoke. “Your great-grandfather?”
“Arik is not really thirty-eight. I mean, he looks like it, but he is not.”
I took a deep sip of water, swallowed the pills, and stared at the ceiling. My mind raced, half listening to Sam, the other trying to reconcile everything I witnessed.
I have to get out of here. I could pretend to be understanding. Go along with whatever the plan was. Act like Arik was the love of my life and I didn’t care about any of this. Then get out of this fucking room.
And RUN.
Sam walked across the room, the footsteps of his boots echoing through the cold cell that had been made up to look like a guest room. He made his way to the furthest corner and pulled the crimson, crushed velvet armchair closer to the bed, facing me directly.
As he sat down, he continued, “Those men you saw last night. They were probably coming to shore to rob the village. Maybe kidnapping? Human trafficking? Who really knows? They were not here to vacation, that’s for sure.”
I inhaled deeply.
All I had been thinking about was what Arik did. I never stopped to think about why.
Fuck. Stop, Claire. He murdered people!
I reached for the sandwich on the tray, my hunger outweighing any skepticism that it may be tampered with. I took a big bite, chewing the turkey and provolone slowly, trying to ground myself in something ordinary.
Sam smiled seeing me eat. He looked genuinely satisfied and it made me relax just a little bit more. He settled into the chair, speaking to me again. “Arik took care of it.”
Sam chuckled softly. “You want to know why we are one of the safest areas in the world? Arik is why. Nothing bad happens here. He takes care of it before it does.”
I looked at him, struggling to process his words.
Sam leaned forward, locking his eyes into mine. “What I can tell you is he is not going to hurt you. For one, he does not feed on women. Period.”
My head snapped up, fear rising in my throat. “Feed?”
“Claire, listen, if you believe anything I tell you, it is this…” Sam paused, his head lowering as he looked toward the floor. “I have only ever seen him feed on the worst of the worst. Those men last night…Arik felt them coming.” Sam stopped, looking at me for some sign of understanding.
My eyes stayed fixed on him as my mind raced.
Fun story. Complete bullshit.
After taking in my stone-cold expression, Sam continued, “He has this ability where he can sense emotions from people. He felt them coming when you were getting into the bath. He tried to take care of it without you finding out.”
I set the empty bottle down and closed my eyes, thinking of the bath. The final moments before everything broke.
Sam’s voice cut through my thoughts, practically pleading. “You were not supposed to come out. This whole thing was an accident! A big fucking accident!”
Confusion, anger, guilt, and everything else I was made of coiled in me like a snake. I screamed, “What the fuck are you saying? Feed? You’re being cryptic and, frankly, I am about to fucking lose it!”
There goes my plan to go along with all this shit and get the fuck out of here.
Round of applause for Claire—fucking spaz to the death. Literally.
Sam stood, his boot kicking the chair back as he squared himself at the foot of the bed. His change of demeanor frightened me and reminded me that he may be young, but he was bigger and stronger than me.
And I was locked in a room with him.
My chest panged as my hand reached up to squeeze it. In that brief moment of fear and realization, I missed Arik. God help me, I felt safer with him.
That’s not love. That’s trauma. That’s madness. That’s me…breaking
STOP. This is Stockholm syndrome at its finest!
Sam locked his eyes with mine, lowering his gaze in a way that made goosebumps form on my skin.
He spoke slowly in a hushed tone, like telling a ghost story.
“He is over three hundred years old, Claire. He has never said what he is, but based on the stories my Nona told me, we have always thought of him to be il vampiro.”
I laughed, a harsh, incredulous sound. My words coming out between wheezes. “Jesus Christ. I came to Italy and ended up in fucking Forks?” A tear from laughter slipped down my face as I regained my composure.
Sam sighed, taking a seat at the end of the bed. “I’m not joking.”
My anger-filled eyes shot to Sam, voice cracking through the room with a mix of anger and desperation. “Are you fucking kidding me? Is this some kind of joke? Some prank you people play?”
Sam spoke again. “What I can tell you is he is not going to hurt you. Again, he does not feed on women. Period. No women, no children, and no innocent men.”
“Awe, that is just so comforting,” I quipped. “But I still don’t understand why I’m here, locked in a basement like a prisoner.”
“I know Arik pretty well.” Sam shrugged. “And from what I can tell, he is in love with you. He wants to fix this.”
I rose to my knees in the bed, my voice booming through the room. “He attacked me! He touched me and hurt me and violated me! That is not fucking love!”
Tears began to stream down my face again as I remembered the feeling of Arik’s hand in my hair. Then I remembered the look on his face as he opened my robe and looked at me like his next meal. My body crumpled down into the bed, my head in my hands as my sobs filled the room.
Sam remained silent, sitting in the chair for what felt like hours.
As soon as my breathing calmed enough to speak, I locked my eyes in on Sam, asking genuinely, “Are you going to let me go?”
Sam crossed his arms, giving me a look that said everything he could not say himself. “You should talk to Arik. He really is not going to hurt you.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, I believe that. I literally watched him kill a bunch of people and almost kill me. Seems like an awesome, trustworthy guy.”
Sam looked down at his feet, his blond curly hair falling into his face.
“And you,” I said, my gaze piercing through him. “You’re in on this too.”
Sam’s blue eyes glimmered as he raised his eyebrow. “Okay. Think of it like this. You saw what he did last night, yes?”
I rolled my eyes and nodded, crossing my arms tight across my chest.
Sam continued, his words fast and fervent, “If he wanted to kill you, don’t you think he would have done it already? He took out a dozen grown men while you were in a bath. I think he could have handled finishing you in five seconds if he wanted to.”
I stopped, considering his words, while also realizing I had been within five seconds of death for days on end. “I guess that’s true, but it doesn’t exactly make me feel safe being with someone who could kill me in five seconds if he felt like it.”
Sam laughed softly. “I guess you have a point.”
I looked down at my body as I lay in the bed, before turning my attention back to Sam. “And who put me in these pajamas?” My hand brushed over the flannel sleep shirt that hung from my frame.
Sam looked down at his feet, his voice coming in a mumble. “Arik.”
My eyes shot up at him, burning with intensity as my voice dripped venom. “So he was alone with me, naked, while I was unconscious? After what he did to me?”
Sam’s eyes widened as he shook his head violently. “No. Absolutely not. I turned away, but I was in the room when he changed your clothes. I swear to you, he was shattered.” His voice broke. “It…it was respectful.”
After a second of silence between us, he stood and collected the empty tray and plastic bottle before turning toward the door. “I’ll leave you to rest.”
I touched the aching spot on my head, feeling the sharp threads sting beneath my fingers. “So, you aren’t letting me go then?” I asked, my voice resonated.
Sam smiled faintly and exited the room quickly—the echo of the lock bouncing off the concrete walls—leaving me alone with my swirling thoughts and the silence that followed.
How the fuck did I end up here?