Isolated

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Alright before we start... can you please just take off the handcuffs?" I asked.  Asked in a very flexible and nice voice, guys.  I wasn't going to be mean even though I felt upset that he handcuffed me.  There was no need for it.  He knew that if I even tried to escape, he could catch me.  Not to mention, I think he understood I was willing to talk to him now that I knew he didn't get any word about where I was.  So I think those were good reasons why he could take the handcuffs off us. But I spoke softly because I at least needed to appeal to him in a more delicate approach.  After all, I just realized that the man went through unbearable pain these past three years.

We were sitting down near the gross water of a very polluted river.  But it was nice enough for us to talk at least.  The gentle flow of water in the background, we rested in the dirt with spaced out strands of grass scattered beneath us.  My free hand was behind me, propping me up beside him as we were facing the water.  Being on a slight incline and hill, Luke matched my hand and propped himself up too with that hand.  And our other hands... cuffed in the space between both of us. Under the cover of blanketing trees, it was dark out at this point. The only thing that gave us the option to see each other and the space around us was the moon and it's pretty reflection in the traveling water.  It was just visible through the small opening of trees but that was all.  It was enough though for me to turn to my right and stare up and see Luke's tortured eyes.  I could only imagine how much worse it was than his eyes were showing me now....

Over his eyes, his brows were flat as were his lips in the moonlight.  He stared blankly at me and that coldness to his expression seemed to have deepened when he heard my plea to release my wrist from the handcuff.  "I told you; I don't trust you," he said to me in a hard voice, a small scowl forming on his face.

I sighed.  "I know you don't.  But don't you think I'm smart enough to not run again?"

"No," he shook his head seriously.  His eyes stared into mine hard, as if asking if I was serious.  He gave a humorless scoff and shook his head, jaw tightening.  He tilted his head away from where he was looking at me and out towards the water.  "You're not smart enough; you're pretty stupid when it comes to that if I remember correctly.  You ran, over and over in the past from me even when you knew it was useless," he said.  His words... were correct, yes.

"All I'm saying is that I'm explaining a lot to you," I told him, turning towards him slightly more to look at him closely.  Driving home how serious I was about that, trying to warn him that this was a lot.  I took a deep breath.  "It would be easier if I had my arm free.  Plus I might need to make hand gestures when I explain," I said, half kidding about that last part to lighten the mood at least a little  But he didn't even seem to hear.  I watched as Luke pursed his lips together.  Looking unsettled and upset more than just that blank look he held before, I let it go. 

Sighing myself, searching his eyes as he looked into mine, a moment of silence existed.  There was nothing but our breath, the water trickling down stream, and the gentle clap of leaves from the soft breeze passing over us.  But more than that, there was a hint of something more. A knowing look there.  Of just how much pain would dominate this conversation. I knew there would be a lot of hurt - a lot.  But I don't think I could even start to understand just how much this impacted him with the intensity that was shining in his eyes.

I groaned, looking away from him and down to the dirt under us, unable to look into his eyes for too much longer.  The small patch of the ground lit up where our shadows and the tree's shadows didn't cross the moonlight.  The illuminating Earth floor seemed much more easier to stare at.... It wasn't filling my body with stupid tremors and pain like his eyes were. It made me see that this would be more than hard but that only meant we should get started as soon as we can.