9
There was a calm silence between us, his finger twirling in one of my curls which were still wet from the products I put in it. I slowly pulled back from him and looked up at him.
"What will happen to the girls you brought?" I asked. Dennis just gave a light nod.
"You already know." he replied. I gave a light exhale and looked away some.
"When will he come back?" I asked lightly. He inhales calmly.
"I don't know." he replied before slowly backing away. "Patricia will be back to get you so you two can eat together." I only nodded and watched him exit the room. I heard the familiar click and once more I am reminded that I am a prisoner.
I was alone to my thoughts again. Looking at these walls all day, I knew this was no way to live. I couldn't be here all day, every day. I was sure to go crazy. How was I even going to get these other girls out? The door opened and in came Patricia. She was in a black turtle neck and skirt with a brown wrap over her shoulder.
"I'm back." she said in almost a celebratory fashion, like I was a pet awaiting her arrival. She held her hand out to me. "Are you hungry darling?" I was honestly still full from the spaghetti, and so I shook my head.
"No, Patricia thank you… is there any way I'll be able to talk to Kevin? Will I ever see him again?" I asked, but she was already shaking her head, her tender smile remaining as she came and sat on the bed beside me.
"I'm afraid Kevin is too weak to speak dear. The Beast coming made him so very tired. He's resting." she said lightly and I nodded slowly. There was more screaming ripping through the calmness of our conversation. Patricia sighed and shook her head.
"Those two have way too much energy. How will we ever get our beauty rest?" she said and I just looked up in the direction of the yells. I needed to know when the other personality would be back so I could think of how much time to escape. "What's on your mind, little dove?" I looked back at Patricia and shook my head. Dennis may not know, but maybe Patricia did.
"Just wondering when I will see the Beast again." I said and she already gave a deviant look.
"Oh someone has taken a liking to her protector." she teased and I looked down hiding a fake smile.
"Maybe I am worried about the dress I am to wear before he comes back." I replied carefully and she gave a sympathetic look.
"You need not worry. I have spoken with Ansel and Barry. Barry has made multiple dresses already from Ansel's designs. Since the Beast will be back soon, it would be wise to already have dresses prepared." she said. How exciting. I am to be dressed up again as a human sacrifice to be ravaged by the same guy just of a different mine. Maybe this was my chance to get out of this room for a while. I cleared my throat some and tilted my head at Patricia.
"Can I see the dresses, so I can choose?" I asked. Patricia's eyes sparkled as she leaned in to me.
"Now that sounds like a fun adventure. But I promised I would let Ansel take the light so he could meet you. And since they are his drawings, I am sure he will be able to help you pick out a proper dress." she said standing up. "He will come and greet you."
That's all she said before exiting the room. I was a bit nervous now at what this meant. A new personality was coming to see me. How would they act? Were they nice… or dangerous? Ansel's letter didn't seem threatening. I moved over to the desk and grabbed the sketch book with the many drawings of me inside. Maybe I should pick one before he gets here. This book was thick and by just skimming the pages and getting to the end, I could already see every page had a drawing in it. The door was slowly opening, and I looked up cautiously, my heart speeding with fear. What if he was a killing personality like Dennis or the Beast? In came Kevin, only this time he was dressed in a white t-shirt and blue jeans with a brown coat over the shirt.
His eyes were stunned as he looked at me. Tucked behind his ear was a pencil.
"You must be Teleya." he said coolly. He didn't have an accent like Dennis did, but his tone was mildly edgy.
"Ansel?" I asked and he nodded with a small smile.
"It's nice to finally meet you." he said and I nodded once.
"I got your letter." I replied and he smiled genuinely moving further to me. I was still tense holding the book close to me.
"Good. I was sad to find out my dress was ruined by… him." he said and I just nodded watching as his hand reached out for the book. "Well let's go look at some dresses. We will find something that can be easily ruined." I looked at his open hand before slowly moving to put the book in his hand. He smiled and placed the book in his other hand and reached out to take my hand. I was not so sure and my eyes showed it.
"I'm not going to hurt you." he assured, and I swallowed some before slowly taking his hand. He helped me from the bed and we moved from the room. "I hope you liked my drawings. I was worried I may not have been detailed enough in some pictures." We walked side by side, his hand never leaving mine. Maybe he was worried I would escape and didn't want to be the personality responsible for losing me. I didn't struggle though. I just shook my head.
"No you are really talented and I can't wait to see more of your drawings brought to life." I said casually. I honestly didn't want to do anything to stress him out in any way. Ansel smiled happily.
"Oh good. I'm glad you like them." he said before suddenly stopping, his eyes saddening some and he looked at me with deep eyes. "I'm sorry this has happened to you. We do not all want you to be a prisoner. We do not want you harmed. But you make Dennis and him happy. We can't lose you."
I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just nodded and he smiled and we continued walking until we were back in the small office before that led to the break room. There was another changing booth with numerous outfits on them. From what I could see they were all dresses.
"Well let's get started. Any pictures in the book come to mind?" he asked. My eyes were skimming over all the dresses. They were all for me? I didn't even know what to say or which to choose. They were all so beautiful and glamor like.
"W-well… they are all so beautiful, but I wouldn't want to wear any of them to meet the Beast." I said. Ansel looked at me shocked and stunned. He took a step back as if hurt. I shook my head immediately. "What I meant is, he is just going to rip the dress right off me. You worked too hard on drawing them and Barry worked too hard on creating them. It's not fair your work has to be destroyed."
Ansel sighed gently with relief before nodding.
"You're right. We cannot let these works of art get destroyed." he said placing his hands on his hips in thought before smiling and raising his pointer finger. "I have something." He handed me his sketchbook to hold before moving the rolling station to reveal another door. He opened it and I leaned over to see it was just a closet. Not a place to escape to. He then pulled out a blood red gown. It wasn't elegant like the other dresses. It looked like it was brought from a Victoria Secret or something. He moved back out in front of me and I just observed the gown more.
"Did you make this?" I asked. Ansel shook his head.
"No. This belonged to Amelia." he said with mild disappointment. I tilted my head.
"Who is Amelia?" I asked. Ansel looked at me with a shake of his head.
"She was someone… Kevin knew." he said. I tilted my head some.
"Were they…friends?" I asked. Ansel nodded.
"Yes. She worked with Kevin… wanted to be friends… more than friends. The Beast did not want her…" his voice was cold and icy as he trailed his words off. Did she not know pain? I gently reached out to feel the dress. It was smooth and nice. Maybe Amelia tried to make a move on Kevin and one of his other personalities got in the way.
"She dead?" I asked slowly and looked up at Ansel. He looked down and nodded with guilt.
"We aren't all dangerous, you know. Some of us want discuss movies, other history and art-"
"Or some of them just want to draw." I added. A small smile played on his lips and he nodded. I wanted to ask more about him but he held the gown out in front of me.
"The color is rich and makes your skin tone pop. I wish I could stay long longer, but I have to go. We should get you back to your room." he explained as I slowly took the gown from him. I only nodded wondering what personality I was going to see next. We walked back down the hall now and as we did, we heard the banging from the other door.
"Is someone out there!" one of the girls called. Ansel and I both stopped and looked at the door. I could see the look of indecision on his face.
"You could let them out you know. You'd have the power." I replied and Ansel looked at me now with guilt in his eyes.
"If I let them out, then I will never be allowed into the light again. And that is worse than death itself. I wouldn't get to feel anything, see anything. I wouldn't get to talk to anyone again. And I hope you and I can keep talking. It feels good to be here and I don't want to mess that up." he explained. Each of them have their own mind, their own ambitions and hobbies, but they do not get to exist as much as Dennis and Patricia. I guess there was still more to Kevin I am not fully aware of. I was escorted back to my room.
"Good bye, Ansel. I hope we can talk again soon." I said as I stepped inside the room. Ansel nodded with a warm smile.
"I hope so." he replied before closing the door behind him and locking it.