Awakening - The Tigris Series Book 2

Chapter Five

I had learned a lot over the years when it comes to watching other people and picking up on their routines and their habits. How they carry themselves, how they interact differently with one another depending on their mood. Everyone always has a pattern that allows them to be read. Even when it's something as small as the slightest movement of the corner of their mouth, or the look they give the people around them as they walk by, they can be read and become predictable.

Doctor Adams, however, was near impossible to read.

"Now, Miss Phillips, can I see your phone, please?" he asked me with a smile.

I stared at him, dumbfounded. "What?"

He raised a brow, slightly. "You heard me. Let me see your phone, please."

I kept my dumbfounded gaze on him, slowly reaching for my phone in my pocket. "Why...?"

I handed him the phone, wearily, confused as to why he would want to see it. He took it out of my hand, and flipped it around so the screen was facing him. He turned it on, and flipped through the screens. I watched him carefully as he opened one of the apps, not quite seeing what it was he was looking at. His brows furrowed as he scrolled through something, then he glanced up at me in disappointment.

"You have no contacts saved on your phone." he stated, looking back down at the phone. "You do, however, have messages from Tony, Natasha, and Steve. All of which, you ignored."

I rolled my eyes, finally understanding where he was going with this. "I just didn't feel like talking."

"You never feel like talking, Kara." he pointed out, annoyed by my attitude.

I let out a sigh, glancing away from him to stare blankly at the wall behind him. A part of me felt guilty for not responding to their messages, though I felt it to be better that way. I was thankful that they reached out to me, but I was in no mood or position mentally to interact with others. Besides, the less friends I had, the less likely they'd be to potentially become a target for Hydra.

"Kara, you're isolating yourself. You're digging yourself deeper into that hell that you're in. If you fight this battle alone, you're going to hit the bottom. And trust me, Kara, that is a very, very tough hell to climb out of." he said, looking at me intently with concern.

I shifted my gaze to look at him, blankly. I knew that he was right, but I wasn't sure if I could find the will to do anything about it. Though I wanted nothing more than to get out of my head, and for the nightmares to stop, a part of me felt like I deserved it. As long as there was still people out there that I hurt, I should hurt too.

I only gave him a slight nod in response, glancing away from him again.

He sighed, disappointed that he isn't getting much of a response from me. "You live near Steve, don't you? Why don't you see if he's free?"

I let out a soft huff. "He usually comes knocking on my door every other day. It's amazing he hasn't given up by now."

"Why do you turn him down?" he asked, giving me a dumbfounded look.

I turn my gaze to look at him. "I don't want to go out, anywhere. It's a miracle I come here every week."

He stares at me in utter confusion with his mouth slightly gaped open. "The Captain America asks you to hang out with you, and you tell him no?"

"Yes." I answer, simply. "I take it you're a fan of his?"

He shrugged, quickly collecting himself. "He's the reason I wanted to join the army in the first place, all those years ago. I found him to be America's greatest hero, and I wanted to be just like him as a kid."