Can You See It?

Leave Everything Else Behind

Punishment came in the form of no food. Left in her room alone, Lauren drank from the faucet in the bathroom frequently, trying to make her stomach quiet by tricking it into thinking it was full. Needless to say, it didn’t work too well. Several days passed with no food or visits from the masked person and Lauren tried to ignore the gnawing pits in her stomach and mind. While the lack of food was hard to ignore, her mind often wandered off to thoughts of Kate, wondering if the woman was alright or if she’d been…

No, Lauren wouldn’t think about that. The “what if”s were too overwhelming to think about and left her feeling sick.

Lauren had figured that at least four days had passed by the time her bedroom door finally opened, the hooded woman standing in the doorway. Lauren sat up, scooting to the edge of the bed closest to the door in anticipation, good or bad. The menacing face of the mask drew closer before stopping in front of her, staring her down with hazy eyes. After what felt like much too long, an unnaturally pale hand reached out and lightly pulled at Lauren’s shirt.

Glancing down at the red, short sleeved piece of clothing, Lauren said, “I got a bath and changed my clothes.” When the woman’s hand moved down to her upper arm, Lauren added, “I changed my bandages too.”

The person’s body language was impossible to read but Lauren didn’t think she was still mad; at least, she didn’t seem nearly as enraged as before.

The woman’s hand disappeared from her body as she continued to stare at her. Lauren decided to fill the awkward silence with more apologies.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated from days before. “I heard someone crying and - and I thought it might have been Kate…”

Her voice broke on her friend's name and tears stung her eyes, but she didn’t bother trying to keep them from flooding over.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to leave. I just thought it could have been her…” She wiped her face with the palm of her hand. “I was afraid she could be hurt.”

A finger under her chin had Lauren’s head lifting up so that she was staring at the dirty white mask. The woman’s other hand came up to wipe the tears from Lauren’s face with her thumb and Lauren was instantly convinced that she was no longer in trouble.

Firm but gentle hands grasped Lauren’s hands and pulled her to her feet slowly. Lauren swayed unsteadily before pitching forward, her hands grasping the woman’s dirty hoodie in tight fists as her knees gave out. Two hands were quick to grab her hips, pulling her back to her feet and holding her in case she fell again. When Lauren was sure she could trust her legs again, the hands on her body disappeared, one hand moving to press lightly at the small of her back. It was a familiar gesture and a small part of Lauren felt a flood of relief at the familiarity of the situation (though her brain told her that was an inappropriate reaction; she promptly ignored that thought).

Lauren’s legs wobbled slightly as she descended the stairs and it reminded her of the first time she had been allowed from her room, though something about this time held more relief than tension. At the foot of the stairs, Lauren could still feel the hand on her back as she made her way through the dining room and into the kitchen, taking a seat in her usual chair at the square table. With the woman preparing some kind of food in the kitchen to the left, Lauren noticed that the plant on the center of the table had recently been watered and it looked to be doing much better. A small feeling of pride surged through her and it also made her realize that, dangerous though she may be, the masked woman was only human. Well, perhaps a little more than human, but still human at her core.