"Did you miss me?"

Alice raised her eyes blinking, too tired to lift her head. She thanked whatever deity watching her for numbing her broken hand, though it could also be shock.

"You left?!", she rasped sarcastically. Alice had fallen into a restless- but much needed- sleep when Trent left, trying to save her energy in order to hold out longer. But now that he was back and annoying as ever, she didn't have the strength to suppress her sarcasm any more. "I wish there was a mute button I could use on you."

"Harsh." Trent gasped in mock-offence putting a hand to his heart. "And here I wanted to apologise and make you a peace offering." He pulled out a water bottle giving it a slight shake.

Alice gulped, she was dying of thirst. At this point she'd even drink wastewater, but fresh water was definitely the better option, even if it was coming from him.

Unscrewing the bottle he held it to her lips, smiling as she took greedy gulps. "Would you believe me if I said it hurt me more than it hurt you?"

The water tasted divine, but not good enough for her to forget that he was the enemy. He'd have to do more than bringing her water to make her side with him. Coming up for air- the bottle empty- Alice rolled her eyes at him. "I doubt that-"

"But it did. I'm really sorry I had to do that, but you hurt my feelings.", he tried to justify his actions. "Do I regret it? Yes. Would I do it again? Probably. But as long as you'll stay a good girl I'll try not to hurt you again."

"Oh my god, really? That's all I have to do?" She fluttered her eyelashes, flipping him off right after. "Nah- not happenin'." Now that her thirst was quenched, she could think a little clearer. But that didn't make his reasons any more plausible. On the contrary, he sounded even more crazy than before.

"Why are you like this? We were getting along so well.", he whined, throwing the empty bottle on the ground.

"When? When you slapped me or when you broke my right hand? You do realise I'm right-handed, right?", she glared at him.

"You're still mad about that?"

"No~, it's fun being kidnapped and abused. How did you know I'm into that?" Sighing Alice laid her head on the backrest of the chair. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes- the stress of the last days finally catching up with her- but she refused to cry in front of Trent. Closing her eyes and taking deep breaths, she asked the question that haunted her in her dreams. "Why the Porters?"

"Porters?"

Snapping up her head she looked at him in disbelief. "You don't even remember their names?", she asked him incredulously. "Daniel Porter was an oncologist, Sarah Porter was an elementary school teacher. They were people like you and me-"

"They were not like me, and definitely not like you.", he interrupted her. "And since when do you care? You didn't care about people in the past-", he froze seeing her glossy eyes wandering to the ground.

"Wait. You don't feel guilty, do you!?", Trent realised. He honestly was surprised. "Is this because of Sherlock? Did he make you care?" Alice snorted at the accusation which he interpreted as her agreeing. If he knew-

"He got some nerve." Trent mumbled. In his eyes Alice had always been a bit like him. Just- more soft. Like a kid, she was still too easy to influence, and people like Sherlock took advantage of her. Like the time they made her testify against him. Trent didn't blame her though, but he also couldn't watch her protect the people who only pretended to be her friends. So it was Trent's job to protect her from those brainwashing monsters.

"You don't have to feel guilty about that Porter guy. It was his own fault, really.", he tried to comfort her. "That idiot thought that I would let his wife live if he shot himself- pathetic." Alice stared at him in shock. "Yes, don't look at me like that. Remember all the times we joked about how we wished all idiots would die?"

"I never meant it that way." Alice snapped at him. How could he not see how wrong that was? She shook her head with a sigh. "That's so wrong, Trent."

"No, it's not.", he said like a defiant child. "How can I make you see? I'm not the bad guy here-"

"Yeah, and The Silence of the Lambs was a movie for children." Alice mumbled, turning her head away from him. She was tired of constantly arguing with someone who didn't value a human life.

"Why are you so- God, Alice.", he groaned, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You know what? I'll let you cool off a bit. Maybe then you'll be more cooperative."

"I wouldn't count on it."

Closing the door behind him, he left her alone in the darkness.