The creature before me swallowed deeply before stepping into the light and revealing himself in his entirety.
He was perfect. The long slender shape of his body was enhanced with a bulk of muscle and flesh,
his pure black eyes glared at me with what I now realised was pity and his dark mahogany hair fluttered in the glimmer of the daylight.
Magnificent. "Does it hurt?" He asked me sincerely. Confusion immediately swept over me as I became dumbfounded.
"What?" I croaked
"Your cheek, does it hurt?" He probed, more forcefully than before, as if his life depended on my answer.
I carefully lifted my hand until it touched my cheek before sweeping my fingers along the surface of it.
A warm, sticky substance melted onto my fingertips. I scrunched the features of my face into a grimace.
"I don't understand."
The alluring creature stared at me for what felt like a lifetime before answering "I'm sorry Emily, please forgive me"
"You did this to me?" I questioned unbelievably, why would this Adonis want to harm me?
"No, you did it to yourself." He stated sadly before receding back into the shadowed corner of the room.
That was the first time I noticed it.
The dreary white walls and the plainly painted furniture, not much: a small single bed with a thin creaky mattress;
the drab curtains hanging awkwardly from their post; a feeble bedside lamp stood on a miniature bedside table
and a medium sized dark wooden wardrobe that looked like it would break with a single touch.
The confusion that still consumed me had almost evaporated into anger. Almost.
"Where am I?" I questioned immediately.
"You know where you are. You live here Emily" The creature spoke to me; sympathy lined his voice.
Slowly, he walked towards me a lifetime passed before he finally reached me. I expected warmth to radiate from him but I felt nothing.
His frail hand reached up towards my cheek as he mopped up the blood that had escaped
from my wound and cleaned his now wet fingers on a handkerchief that had appeared suddenly from his trouser pocket.
I shied away from the tingling of his stone cold skin against my warm flesh. "Say something." as he whispered,
the alluring scent of his breath surrounded the skin of my face and filled my nostrils. I couldn't help but breathe it in.
"Why do I live here?" came my bleak answer.
"Think Emily. Your blocking it all out but if you really want to know then think" He kissed my forehead tenderly and the icy feel
of his lips send shivers down my spine. Suddenly, the beautiful creature was gone and I was left in the darkness of the room.