Forever My Lovely

Chapter One: Open Wounds

When Ava woke up she felt as though her head was fit to burst. Pressure and pain were building and bouncing off every inch of her skull. She tried to open her eyes, but her vision was blurred, her eyes stuck together. Her throat felt dry, breathing stale air as she attempted to speak, but only a slight moan escaped her vocal chords.

Her hands reached out; fingers extended as she attempted to feel her surroundings. All she grasped was dirt. She felt cold, confused and alone. As she came to, she felt arms around her. They weren't encircling her to trap her or cause her pain. They were helping her sit up and comforting her. Then, she heard a familiar voice.

"Here, drink this. You'll feel better if you do." He said

"Henry?" She asked, still groggy.

She shot straight up. There was an unmistakable look of terror in her eyes Ava scurried as far from him as she could. Looking like a wounded animal attempting to avoid its greatest predator. Her hands shaking along with the rest of her body. She grabbed her legs and curled into a ball, arms over her head. 

 He stood up, frightened by the severity of her reaction. His standing only increased her fear as she held onto her knees even tighter. Crouching down to her level, but maintiaing a comfortable distanace, he slowly reached a hand out and approached her with care and caution.

"Hey, hey calm down. I wasn't the one who brought you here. I'm in the same situation as you. I woke just a little while ago. I found a pitcher of water and two glasses over by the door, I thought you might be thirsty when you woke up. I was going to wake you when I got up, but you looked like you needed the rest," he spoke quickly, awkwardly stumbling over his own words. 

 Still unsure, and trying to comprehend the situation, she remained in a defensive position until she saw the calm and kind look in his eyes. She didn't completely let down her gaurd at the sight, but slowly she began to feel more at ease.

Relaxing a bit more, she touched her head instinctively from the glaring migraine she was experiencing. She winced as she rubbed her temples and her fingers grazed over a large gash. She removed her hand and examined the blood on her fingertips. It was mingled with dirt from the floor and the sweat from her brow.

"Careful, that looks painful. I was going to clean it off, but you were out cold from whatever the hell was used to keep us unconscious. The drug should be out of our systems soon, but you'll probably remain groggy for a while. At least that's how I felt. Anyway, I didn't want to... touch your wound until you woke up. But, I checked in on you a couple times to make sure you were alive . If you want me to clean the cut, I can do it now."

She obliged and moved closer. He took off his dark blue hoodie and ripped a piece of the worn down fabric. Dousing it in the water, he gently dabbed at the wound until the dried blood was gone and no dirt was visible. He then wiped at the fresh blood until, he was confident the bleeding would stop. She winced at the stinging that occurred every time the cloth came into contact.

"Where are we?" She asked, shakily.

 Her eyes examined the room. Grey cinder-block walls with reddish brown dirt in every crevice. The floor was composed of the same dirt, but dry and dust-like. There was no furniture, nothing on the walls. In the top right corner was a small barred window, the only source of light at the moment. There was a bare light bulb hanging off of the ceiling, but it remained off; no light switch in sight.

"I don't know. It looks like an old cellar. From the smell of fertilizer I'd say maybe it's on or near a farm." He said, still paying attention to her injury.

"The closest farm to my house is nearly fifteen miles away, and this isn't it. It's darker here, colder." She said.

"Looks like you might need stitches, not that there are any here." He said.

"We need to get out of here. We have to go. My mom, my mom will be so worried and she doesn't have anyone, she...We need to go...." She said rapidly, as she felt as though every wall was moving towards her rapidly. All at once she lost her ability to breathe.