His Angel

Chapter Nine

The first thing she did after he left her alone, was rush to the bathroom, ripping off her clothes and hurrying under the hot water shower spray. She scrubbed her skin until it was red as blood, washing her hair numerous times with shampoo and conditioner she had found in the cupboard under the sink. It had no scent. She watched through eyes hooded by wet hair, as the small pieces of dirt and debris fell over the white porcelain of the tub and slipped into the drain, disappearing away. She found herself starting to crying under the spray, tears blending with the water falling from the shower head. She probably stayed in that shower for hours, scrubbing and scrubbing, but it never felt like enough. Her ankle was in so much pain, and the hot water aggravated the raw skin. She didn't have anything to tend to it with, so she hoped it would heal with access to the air. Dinner was hidden under a metal dome on top the desk when she got out, consisting of steak, peas, and mashed potatoes smoothed with milk. Did he make this? She concluded it was very unlikely, he didn't look like much of a cook

She scarfed down the food so fast she nearly choked, the portion was small, it didn't feel like enough, but she knew why. He probably felt if she ate a normal-sized meal after going without for however long she did, it would only lead to vomiting the food back up. So, she settled for being unsatisfied.

~

The girl was sleeping, it's was all she had spent doing the last few days, he couldn't blame her much, it's not like the basement was very comfortable, it wasn't meant to be. He wondered how horrified she would be to know the things that had happened in that place, right where she was forced to convulse in the cold, some even done by his own hand. Luckily blood could be sprayed away, at least what could be seen with the naked eye. Taking a black light to those walls would have probably blinded you. What he didn't understand was that with all the fucking sleeping, the king-sized bed had remained unused, still with perfectly folded sheets with rigid hospital corners. Instead, she had slept on the floor, her head on the edge of the dog bed, pressing her forehead right into that of her pup, who snoozed on the remaining bed beside her. She didn't even use a fucking blanket, just slept on the floor like a common rat.

His eyes kept wandering to the new monitor that sat to the right, despite his better judgement. He had spent most of his time at his desk, so it made sense to set the camera in her room to project there, with one in his bedroom as well. It was annoying, he kept accidentally bumping the damn thing with his arm and nearly knocking it over. Electronics weren't a huge thing in this place, they collected too much data on their users. Instead, here they were often bought for a single purpose and after that purpose was done, they were thrown into the nearest landfill so it would never trace back to them. Though, now it seemed like this one was going to stick around to his dismay. It was too damn distracting! even though she continued to sleep without a single twitch, his eyes kept grazing back to the screen over and over again instead of focusing on his actual work like he should have been. A hard knock on the door sounded, forcing his eyes from the screen, knowing just who it was, the sound never changed after all.

"Come in" Lancy was the same as always, hair greying and slicked back, dressed in his creaseless suit. Max had no idea why the guy continued to dress like he had the world's largest stick up his ass, impeccable without a piece out of place. His father had always been the one so strict about that kind of stuff, Max wouldn't give a shit if Lancy came to work in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and he had clearly told him that numerous times. But, the older man simply ignored his words, continuing to dress the same as Max remembered him to be when he was growing up in this place.

"Sir" he stepped into the room in a gentle stride "You sad that if the girl asked for anything, that you should be alerted before it was bought" Max raised an eyebrow, glancing down at the small piece of paper held out to him, a sticky note from the stack that had been left on the desk. Max took it from Lancy's gloved fingers, unfolding it and squinted behind the frames of his glasses to read the lines across the page. "I found it on the floor in front of her room, it appears that she managed to slip it underneath the door" He attempted to identify what it said, but her writing was so messy he could hardly understand, like a child's kindergarten scribble.