Chapter 10
Lexa woke up with a jolt. She just had some very vivid dream, and whether it pleased her or not she didn't know, but it was enough to shock her awake. It was a little disappointing because as soon as her deep turquoise eyes were open, she couldn't remember a thing about what she dreamt about. She didn't really get dreams that much, probably because you only get dreams when you are in REM sleep or whatever that was, and since Lexa's body was always so tired her whole life, her body probably couldn't afford any light sleep so she always passed out like a log whenever she was given the chance. That had some repercussions, however, as she may not be able to wake up as alert as she would like when her previous masters would come in. That would be when she would be slapped awake, and her day would begin.
But oh, how times have changed. Lexa tried to smooth her rather messy bed hair with her bare hands and sat up straight on the bed. It had also been mentioned how Lexa's posture had improved significantly since she set foot in the Griffin estate. This was a good thing, as that meant that the brunette's back was not as problematic as before, her old wounds have nearly completely healed, and she was gaining confidence.
And why would Lexa not have confidence? She felt like she was on top of the world: she managed to snag the most amazing girl that the world has to provide! Just the thought of the blonde made Lexa's heart swell with adoration and pride. She was so lucky.
Clarke liked her, as more than a friend. Truth be told, Lexa had not known that the jolts of electricity that she felt shoot down her spine, the rabble of butterflies that pooled in her stomach every time she got to close proximity to the blonde, was attraction. It wasn't until Clarke kissed her in that night under the moonlight in the confines of her room that Lexa had realised that she had a crush on Clarke.
Up to this day, Lexa still could not quite believe it. What's so good about her that Clarke sees? Nevertheless, that night, fifteen days ago, was the best night of her life. Easy.
Excitedly, Lexa got up to her feet and put on the shirt that said "BEST" on it. She knew that her relationship or whatever they were was meant to be kept a secret to Mr Griffin, but at this point, Lexa didn't really care. She was going to put a jacket over that shirt anyway, as it was early morning and it was quite cold, so no one was going to see that shirt. It had become her favourite shirt out of all the ones she had, simply because of all the sentimental value that came along with it and it reminded Lexa of all the fun they had the night that they bought it. Although now Lexa knew better than to eat too much food, the feeling when you're about to empty the contents of your stomach is not pleasant at all.
After putting on her clothes, Lexa left her room and closed the door with a soft click. It wasn't completely bright yet, but Lexa didn't care. She ran up two flights of stairs, following the route that she was so familiar with now. Within no time, she found herself in front of the white door to the room that she spent more time in than anywhere else.
The door was unlocked, so she opened it and let herself in. After closing the door lightly, she cast her eyes on the figure that was sprawled on the bed. Clarke was still sleeping, breathing in through her nose and breathing out her mouth with a small puff that was so adorable that Lexa just wanted to plant her lips onto the blonde's.
"Wake up," Lexa whispered, walking over to Clarke's side and shaking her shoulders. "Wakey-wakey!"
After a few seconds, murky blue eyes opened and Clarke looked disoriented. But soon, they cleared and Clarke rubbed her eyes.
"What time is it?" Clarke mumbled.
"Early," Lexa said. "I don't think anyone else is up yet."
"Oh," Clarke sighed, evidently still very tired. "Why did you wake me up then?"
"I just wanted to see you," Lexa admitted. "I couldn't wait after I woke up."
"Aww, that's so cute," Clarke closed her eyes again. "Come here," she said, scooting over a bit and patting the empty space on the bed next to her.
They had done this a few times before, but Lexa was still hesitant in getting into the same bed as Clarke.
Clarke could sense Lexa's hesitation, even though she wasn't even looking at the brunette. "Come on," she said, still patting the empty space. "I won't bite."
"Okay," Lexa said quietly, slipping into bed next to Clarke.
"Hmm," Clarke smiled sleepily and scooted back across, draping an arm over Lexa's midsection. Then the blonde yawned, probably because she just woke up and she wanted more sleep. That was understandable: it was still pretty early, after all.
"Is being pretty so tiring?" Lexa cooed, saying the first thing that popped into her head. After realising what she had just said, Lexa mentally patted herself on the back – that was smooth!
Clarke opened one eye and looked amused. "Hmm, maybe. If that was the case though, then you should be exhausted."
Damn it. Lexa couldn't stop the blush that spread through her cheeks and up her ears.
Clarke just laughed heartily and pulled Lexa closer, burying her head into the brunette's shoulder, falling back asleep.
By the time that turbid viridescent eyes opened for a second time today, the sun was already pouring in through the curtains. When Lexa managed to gather her surroundings, she realised that she was not in her room, where she normally wakes up. Temporary fear had her in a vice grip before the events of what had transpired a few hours ago came back to her, making her relax instantly and closing her eyes again in relief.
When she had taken a few deep breaths in the aftermath of her momentary shock, she opened her eyes and the first thing that she could register was beautiful blue orbs staring right down at her.
"Are you staring at me?" Lexa mumbled, voice still a bit low and raspy from sleep.
"No," Clarke instantly said, maybe a little too quickly. When Lexa stared her down, Clarke relented, "Okay, maybe."
Lexa smiled. "What time is it? How long have you been staring at me for like a creep?"
Clarke blushed. "I wasn't staring at you like a creep!" she said defensively. "But, um, for quite a while. You make these small noises in your sleep and you pout, it's so cute!"
"That's really creepy, Clarke," Lexa frowned.
"No, well, it's not my fault that you're so pretty," Clarke cooed, leaning down to place a tender kiss on Lexa's lips.
Even though this had happened more than once ever since Clarke mustered up the courage to kiss her, Lexa still could not quite get used to it. Every time their lips so much as grazed, it felt as if fireworks were exploding in her head. Did that sound right? Lexa was still a bit unsure about her abstract ideas and metaphors. Anyway, the point is that it brings great enjoyment and pleasure every single time.
Since Lexa couldn't find it within herself to be mad at the blonde before her anymore (not that she was mad in the first place, but hey, she wanted to put up a façade), Lexa let a smile grace her lips again. "So, you still haven't answered my question. What time is it?"
"About nine," Clarke answered, still staring at her with this funny look on her face. "Maybe we should get up soon."
Lexa nodded, but Clarke's staring did not waver, making the brunette slightly uncomfortable. "What?" she said, self-conscious. "Do I have a spider on my face?"
"No," Clarke said. "You must be exhausted."
Lexa was a bit confused. "Huh? Why? I just woke up."
"Because you're so pretty that you've been running around my head all day," Clarke explained, shrugging.
There was stark silence that reverberated around the room for a solid fifteen seconds.
"That is so bad," Lexa said, and then couldn't help but start laughing.
"Hey!" Clarke defended her lame joke. "You laughed!"
"Yeah, because it is dreadful!" Lexa snorted, unable to suppress her giggles.
"Fine," Clarke pouted petulantly. "Let's get up, and go get breakfast."
"Running around my head all day," Lexa mocked, still laughing hysterically as she got out of bed.
Clarke gave her a good-natured slap on the arm. "Shut up! I shouldn't have said anything in the first place!"
Lexa paid her no mind as she slipped on her sandals, because she was too busy laughing. "Running… haha…" she was still giggling when she left the room.
Clarke sighed and left the room after the brunette.
"Huh?" Clarke said as she got to the kitchen. "Why's there no one here? Where did Echo go?"
Lexa appeared by Clarke's shoulder, after having not initially thought too much of it when she turned up at the kitchen before the blonde. "She doesn't have to be here in the mornings, you know," Lexa said. "She's probably upstairs doing the laundry or something, for all you know."
Clarke still looked a little worried. "Okay," she said slowly. "Well, we can prepare our own breakfast today then."
"You worry too much," Lexa said, chuckling, as she dug out a pan from the cupboard.
"Yeah, probably," Clarke said. "What are you doing?"
Lexa oiled the pan and turned around. "What do you mean? What does it look like I'm doing?"
"It's just that I haven't seen you cook before," Clarke said. "It's always been Echo."
"Oh, well now I must show all my skills off," Lexa said playfully, standing up straighter and starting to tilt the pan from side to side so that the oil covers the entire base. "I bet you, your jaw will be on the floor by the time I finish."
"It probably will, to be honest," Clarke chuckled. "I'm absolutely useless in the kitchen."
"Well, that can easily be fixed," Lexa shrugged, cracking open an egg with one hand and spreading it across the base of the pan flawlessly. "I'll teach you sometime. But not before I show you how good I am, how skilled my fingers are."
Clarke stifled a laugh.
Lexa whipped around. "What's so funny?" she asked. "Why are you laughing?"
"No, it's just," Clarke wiped at her eyes. "You said how skilled your fingers are."
Lexa stared blankly at the blonde before her before she realised the double meaning. "Oh god," she said in horror, face flushing. "That's really embarrassing."
"It is," Clarke agreed, still laughing. "Well, so what are you making?"
"An omelette," Lexa said and Clarke widened her eyes. "Ooh, Echo never cook that for you?" Lexa taunted, manner jaunty and regaining some of her confidence.
"Nope, she normally makes more or less the same thing every day," Clarke said. "Guess she wants to do all the work with minimum effort. I don't blame her, she has a lot on her shoulders."
"Fair enough," Lexa reached over for some pepper and some cheese. "It's about time we had something different," she said, sprinkling some pepper over the eggs. She was just about to flip the egg like how a pancake is flipped by chefs when a loud shout made her jump and lose control. The egg fell unceremoniously, landing on the floor with a wet splat.
"What were you saying?" Clarke said, raising an eyebrow. She didn't seem to have realised that someone had shouted rather loudly upstairs. "About really skilled fingers?" she teased.
"Shh," Lexa put a finger on her lips to demonstrate her point. "Listen," she whispered.
Clarke stopped her motions and the two girls listened intently for about ten seconds. When there was pure silence, Clarke opened her mouth to talk again.
But before a single word could come out of her mouth, a loud shout came again.
"What the fuck are you doing?" the voice echoed through the house, making the walls vibrate. "Get up! Get up, you worthless bitch!"
"That… is trouble," Lexa whispered, ignoring the egg on the floor and moving towards the exit. Clarke soon followed.
As they ascended the stairs, the shouting continued.
"I didn't buy you so that you can have a fucking lie-in! Get up!"
Lexa was almost at the top of the stairs when a new voice made her freeze.
"I'm just really tired!" a voice that she was almost certain was Echo's came. "Please, just a little longer!"
"No, fuck that!" a voice that was most definitely Mr Griffin's shouted.
"I do all the chores for you, I'm not a machine!" Echo shouted back. "I need to rest too! I can't work if I'm too tired!"
"You talk back to me, bitch?" Mr Griffin growled, and that was quickly followed by a loud slap and a cry that chilled Lexa's bones.
"Why did you stop?" Clarke hissed. When Lexa looked back, the blonde's eyes were glazed. "Keep going!"
Right. Lexa's legs started to move again, but now they felt numb.
"I don't give a shit!" Mr Griffin snarled. "You get up when I want you to get up, you do the things I tell you to do! End of story!"
"You have no right to do what you're doing," Echo growled. "I'm a human being too! A human being! I'm so sick of you treating me like I'm nothing! Because I'm not nothing!"
The next few seconds were filled with silence, but it was deafening. Lexa's footsteps increased in speed, hurrying to get to where Echo slept.
"Clarke brainwash that shit into you?" Mr Griffin said, voice dangerously low, and now Lexa was close enough to hear what he said. "Because you know what? You're never going to be anything other than nothing. And you want to know something else? I'm sick of you too. I don't need any more attitude in my life."
Lexa burst into the room, and Clarke stumbled in quickly after.
"Jake!" Clarke shouted, and at first, Lexa was a bit confused as to who Jake was, but then she quickly realised that it was the name of Clarke's dad. Guess she held on to what she said earlier, huh? She no longer called her 'daddy'.
Mr Griffin whipped around. "What, Clarke?" he sneered. "Trying to save your pathetic slave friends?"
"As a matter of fact, yes," Clarke said, defiant. "You're making this a bigger deal than it is, you're overreacting."
"I'm really not," Mr Griffin said, an icy smile appearing on his normally impassive features. "Echo's time is done here."
"What do you mean?" Lexa asked, surging forward, fearing for her friend. "What do you mean, her time is done?"
Mr Griffin looked disgusted with the notion that he had to deal with the brunette. "Away from me, filth," he snarled, pushing Lexa harshly away.
That made Clarke incredibly angry. "Don't touch her!" she screamed, rushing forward to grab Lexa, who was about to stumble.
"Just go mind your business," Mr Griffin rolled his eyes. "This has nothing to do with you." With that, he turned back around and that was when Lexa could see Echo for the first time, for Mr Griffin was no longer blocking her from view. Echo had a nasty green mark across her left cheek, and looked so painful that Lexa winced just to look at it.
"Get off me!" Echo screamed as Mr Griffin dug his arms around her midsection and lifted her straight out of bed. "Get off me, you fucking worthless bastard!"
"Who you calling worthless?" Mr Griffin roared, gripping Echo's throat with one of his thick hands. "Huh?" he spat into her face. "What did you just say, slave?"
"You are a fucking spineless psychopath that cannot deal with his wife's death and resorts to bullying children," Echo gritted, in pain but to her credit, she was still defiant under Mr Griffin's terrifying glare. "You are a coward, you hear me? A coward!"
Mr Griffin took a deep breath for a second, and Lexa thought that he was going to let go of Echo, but then he did something different.
He reached for his back pocket, pulling out a device and pressed it straight onto Echo's stomach.
Lexa could smell something burning, and Echo's screams were so loud that it brought back memories that Lexa had nearly succeeded in forgetting.
As if that wasn't enough, Mr Griffin let go and pressed the device onto the young brunette. There was screaming, and soon she fell limp in Mr Griffin's arms.
It wasn't until Lexa looked at Clarke that she realised that the screaming had come out of the blonde's throat. "What the fuck did you just do, Jake?" Clarke cried, hysterical and extremely angry.
He held up the device, and it was a taser. "Had to shut her up somehow," he grunted as he lifted Echo and hoisted her over his shoulder. "Don't want to ever see that bitch again."
"So what, you electrocuted her?" Clarke screamed as Mr Griffin walked towards the exit, where the two girls were standing.
"Get out of my way," Mr Griffin ordered, a metre away from the blonde.
"No," Clarke said bravely.
When Mr Griffin raised the taser menacingly, Clarke showed no signs of retreat. But when the blonde saw Lexa's pleading look, begging her to not get themselves into any more trouble, Clarke stepped slightly to the side.
"That's what I thought," Mr Griffin grumbled as he shoved past his daughter, bumping her shoulder along the way.
"Where are you taking her?" Clarke demanded.
"Out," was the simple response before the tall man disappeared around the corner and down the stairs.
Lexa had no idea what to do. Clarke was breaking down in front of her, and she had no idea what to do. While she feared what Mr Griffin was going to do to Echo, she feared what they just witnessed was going to do to Clarke more. Things were just looking up for them, and now Mr Griffin was just destroying their peace and happiness. She had never hated someone so much.
"I can't believe it," Clarke seethed, sobbing. "Who the actual fuck is that man? Why? Just why?"
"Shh," Lexa rushed over to Clarke and held her in a tight embrace. "You still have me, Clarke. You still have me."
Clarke just continued to sob into Lexa's shoulder relentlessly.
It had been about three hours and since it was about time for lunch, Lexa decided to cook lasagne for Clarke given that she had told her that it was her favourite food a couple of months ago. Lexa just wanted to cheer the despondent blonde up: her shirt was still damp from all the crying and it just broke her heart to see Clarke so broken. Never had she seen a non-slave that was this miserable.
Now lasagne wasn't as hard to make as Lexa thought it was initially, it was mostly layers of pasta that were cut into big squares with cheese and minced meat inside. While it was hard to get right, Lexa found, once she had done the first layer after making the pasta, the rest was a smooth ride. She was proud to say that she got the thing in the oven after only forty minutes. She didn't manage to impress the blonde over breakfast, as she never finished making her omelette, but hopefully she will be able to impress her now with lunch. She just prayed that it tasted good. She had never attempted to make lasagne, after all.
She was just washing up the dishes while it was baking in the oven when she heard the sound of tyres on the gravel outside. Instantly freezing her movements and turning off the tap so that she could hear better, she could make out the sound of the car door slamming outside.
This most likely meant that Mr Griffin was back. Which meant that it was probably best if she didn't stay here, alone, for any longer. Lexa decided that she would leave the dishes to after the meal, if there even was a meal in the first place, and she would go upstairs to Clarke's room, which had become her sanctuary over the past few months.
When she creaked open the door to Clarke's room, she could see the blonde lying motionless on the bed at first, but when Clarke heard the door open, she sat up.
"Hey," Clarke's voice was a bit hoarse.
"Hey, I just got lunch set up," Lexa said. "I came up here because your dad's back."
"He's not my dad," Clarke said coldly.
"Okay, well, um, Jake is back," Lexa felt a little uncomfortable referring to Mr Griffin with his first name. "And I don't know, the food is downstairs, and he's downstairs, um…"
"Don't worry about that," Clarke said. "We'll still go downstairs to eat, he can't do anything to us."
"Okay," Lexa nodded. "If you're fine with it, I'm fine with it too."
Clarke gave her a small smile. "So, what did you make?"
"Your favourite," Lexa grinned. "It should be ready in thirty."
"Well," Clarke drawled. "In the meantime, stay here? I don't really want you down there alone."
"I thought you'd never ask," Lexa smiled.
Mr Griffin ended up sitting with the two girls at the lunch table. It wasn't ideal, and Lexa had not planned on it happening, but as she was preparing the plates for the two of them in the kitchen, Mr Griffin just walked in, saw that Lexa had prepared a plate, took one, and left to sit at the dining table. Lexa knew better than to intervene and say that that plate belonged to Clarke.
He did say thank you, however, which confused Lexa to no end.
Anyway, Lexa explained the predicament to Clarke when she came into the kitchen, and Clarke just let out a heavy sigh. She said that they shouldn't let Mr Griffin affect their daily lives, that they shouldn't eat in the kitchen or on the sofa because of him, so they were still going to sit at the dining table, where they should've been at in the first place.
There was so much tension in the air that it was tangible. Mr Griffin just ate with his knife and fork, keeping to himself and not really bothering the two girls. Judging by the fact that he did not complain about the food, it probably meant that it was decent enough. With that in mind, Lexa tasted it and yes, it did work out a lot better than she expected for a first try.
The silence was broken about five minutes into the meal, however. Clarke looked like she had wanted to say something for quite a while now, and it seemed like she couldn't resist anymore.
"Where is Echo?" Clarke demanded.
Mr Griffin merely looked up with a bored expression. "Why do you care?"
"Where is Echo?" Clarke repeated. "You left with her and returned without."
"Gone," was the simple answer and Mr Griffin turned his head down and continued to eat.
"Where?" Clarke shouted, slamming her knife down with a loud bang. "Where is she?"
"Calm yourself, young lady," Mr Griffin scolded, picking up his napkin and wiping his mouth. "I said that she was gone, do I need to explain any more?"
"Yes," Clarke said. "I will not stop until you tell me where she is."
"Fine," Mr Griffin set down his cutlery. "I freed her."
That took both Lexa and Clarke aback. What on earth?
"Y-You freed her? Is that even possible?" Clarke said incredulously.
Mr Griffin just shrugged nonchalantly and picked up his cutlery again, eating.
"Where is she now?" Clarke asked.
"I don't know?" Mr Griffin said. "I took her down a few blocks and dumped her outside. She's probably still there if she hasn't woken up yet."
"What?" Clarke nearly whispered, outraged. "That is not freeing!"
"Yes it is," Mr Griffin shot back. "She said she got sick of me. I got sick of her. I took her away and left her there. She now gets the whole world to explore, and I'm rid of her. It's a win-win."
"It's not," Clarke seethed. "How can you do this? You left her out there to die! She has no food, no water, no shelter! She's going to freeze to death when night falls!"
"That's not my problem," Mr Griffin shrugged. "She'll figure something out if she's smart. But I don't really care."
"This is what you did to every slave, isn't it, that you've owned before. That's why they all disappear one day, isn't it?" Clarke growled.
"Yep. I'm doing them a favour. Most of them were happy that I was freeing them. I don't know about Echo, though, she was still unconscious when I threw her away."
"You're a monster," Clarke said, irate. "Threw her away? You want to know something, Jake? I have never felt such hatred towards one person before. You heard that? I hate you." With that, Clarke slammed her fork on the lasagne and stalked away.
Lexa caught Mr Griffin's hurt expression before she decided that she didn't want to be at the table anymore, so she got up as well and left briskly.
"I don't even know how to feel anymore," Clarke muttered as they were now both safely in the confines of her room again. "He killed her. Echo's gone."
"I don't think so," Lexa said. "Echo is really clever. She will find a way, don't you worry."
"How can you be so confident?" Clarke asked, meeting the brunette's eyes.
"It's just a gut feeling, and gut feelings never lie," Lexa said, pointing to her midsection. "She'll be fine."
"I sure hope so," Clarke sighed. "I'm sorry about lunch, Lex, I just couldn't bear to see Jake anymore. It's like he didn't even care."
"It's okay," Lexa said.
"No, the lasagne was really nice," Clarke said, grabbing onto one of Lexa's hands. "I'm sorry not finishing it."
Yep, there they were, the butterflies and the tingles of electricity.
"I'm a good cook, aren't I?" Lexa smirked, trying to lighten up the situation.
"The best," Clarke said, leaning forward for a short peck.
That peck may have lasted a second, but to Lexa, it meant more than the eighteen years she had before she met Clarke.