The open doorway revealed the overly chubby, ageing baker. His plump frame strained against the confines of his faded baking uniform which, on its own, triggered a flood of unsettling memories for Alexis, memories she had tried hard to bury.
As his eyes met hers, there was a moment of recognition that flickered across his face, followed by a twisted smile that stretched his cheeks into an unsettling grin.
In stark contrast to the disdain Alexis felt, he greeted her with a falsely warm.
"Well, if it isn't Alexis! What brings you to my humble bakery?"
His words oozed with insincerity, each syllable cutting through the air like a knife.
Alexis faltered as she thought of an excuse. Her mind had been so clouded with fear that she hadn't anticipated the moment when the eyes of her nightmares would be staring right through her.
"I'm hungry," she said, reverting to the sentence she had often uttered to the man she once believed was her friend.
His cold, blue eyes narrowed as they slowly travelled down her body, igniting sparks of fear throughout her.
"You don't look hungry," he said, squinting into my eyes before becoming distracted by something sending his gaze in search through the alley behind her.
It could only have been the clacking of Thomas' shoes, as soft as they were, that caused him to lean through the opening of his door and glance down the alley to where Thomas was coming from.
"Well, sorry about that, little lady. I can't help you," he finally said, gripping the door and pushing it closed.
Thomas who had reached the doorway by then reached forward, slamming his hand against the door and pushing it back open.
The baker's eyebrows furrowed deeply as he glared at Thomas.
"What do you want?" the baker snarled.
Alexis felt the involuntary clench of her fists as the voice of the baker penetrated her, and tentatively she took a step back.
Thomas' free hand pressed gently, but firmly against her back, coaxing her to stand her ground as he glared back at the baker. Though it wasn't so much his touch that held her together in that moment, it was the complete defeat that emanated from the baker's eye the moment before he broke Thomas' gaze and took his own backward step.
"Wha ... what do you want?" he repeated a lot less confidently than he had the first time.
"Take us somewhere we can talk," Thomas said, pushing Alexis into the house and stepping in behind her.
Alexis jumped at the sound of the door banging shut behind them. Despite feeling completely protected in Thomas' company, she couldn't shake the lingering embers of fear.
The baker too seemed to be in fright as he backed slowly down the corridor, his eyes rapidly scanning the area in search of an escape, or maybe a weapon he could use to defend himself. Thomas, however, wasn't phased in the slightest, he slowly surveyed the landing before asking Alexis, "Where did it happen?"
Without looking in the direction of a door that was under the staircase, Alexis pointed to it.
"Whatever she told you, she lied," the baker rambled. "She's never been in here."
"Open the door," Thomas said, nudging the baker in the direction of the door and completely disregarding the baker and his plea.
"I'm telling you she's never ..."
CZYTASZ
The Phantom's Princess.
Dla nastolatków**Contains Some Triggers - See Below** After enduring the tragic loss of her mother, Alexis's world crumbled. Love became a distant memory as she was subjected to mistreatment and sold to Blackthorn, a notorious criminal organization, by the man she...
