My beloved readers, I am so sorry for taking too long. I had initially planned to update earlier but due to writers block and some plot changes that I had decided upon, the chapter was delayed. I'm not sure if I proof-read this well enough so please tell me if I made some errors.
By the way, thank you to all the reviews, favorites and alerts! You guys rock! You give me inspiration to keep writing and improving. Thank you so much for your continued support for this story.
Here it is! Chapter 11!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my OC, Mandy. Loki and any other Marvel characters I add later on belong to Marvel or wherever they truly belong to.
Mandy P.O.V.
Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…
The familiar sound of my alarm clock woke me. Though I was normally punctual in getting up, I really did not want to. For some strange reason, I was exhausted and only wanted to remain in the comfortable position I found myself in. I was listening to the steady sound of a heartbeat while being snugly hugged.
Suddenly, I realized just how wrong things were. I tried to get my head around my situation without freaking out.
I was asleep on top of a man and I had no idea how we got there. Basing on the fact that my alarm clock was there, I was still in my room. My clothes were still intact and the person's hands were innocently on my head and back. Still, none of that information gave me a single clue as to what happened prior to waking up.
I realized that the best thing to do for the moment was to separate myself from the man. He was still asleep so I had to gently pry his arms off of me. Waking him up may worsen things.
The moment I touched his hands, however, I immediately recognized who I was with: Loki. He had the same long fingers and cool skin that I had familiarized myself with. There was no doubt that this was him.
I sighed in relief knowing I was not with a stranger. Of course, that did not mean that I was ok with us sharing a bed, especially since I had no consent in the matter. He should a good explanation for this. I thought to myself.
I got off the bed and tried to silently leave the room. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain on my foot while I was walking out. I shouted in pain before I fell on my butt. So much for silence.
I heard Loki call out my name sleepily but I did not respond. I was more concerned about my foot. He eventually came beside me.
"Loki, what did I step on?" I asked him, knowing he could see it.
There was a hint of hesitation when he said, "Glass, broken glass." He must have been the cause of it.
Since he answered my first question, I took the opportunity to ask him all had been running through my that morning.
"How is there broken glass on the floor? How did you get in the room? And what happened last night?" I must have sounded mad and desperate as I spoke.
I could hear Loki kicking some glass away before he asked, "Do you not remember?"
I shook my head in response.
Loki sighed and said, "You deserve an explanation, but I think it would be better if we discussed this where there are no hazardous items surrounding us."
At his awkward sarcasm, I somehow calmed down and agreed. I tried to get up while he attempted to drag me away but my foot gave us both some difficulty.
He said nothing first but then shyly offered, "Would you mind if I carried you instead?"
It made me happy to know he still asked permission first. Unbeknownst to him, he was clearing himself of my negative accusations.
I nodded and immediately, he scooped me off the floor and sat me down on the bed. He was very gentle and almost modest in handling me.
"I suppose we should treat this first." He said, referring to my injured toe. I could feel him lifting my leg, most likely to inspect it. "It appears to be a mere cut. No glass is imbedded."
Loki used some kind of cloth to clean the wound. I would have considered this a complete turn-around from the roles we had just days ago. I smirked a bit but then I remembered what was really important at the moment.
"Thanks for the help, but I just really want to know what happened last night." I told him with a hint of impatience.
I felt him take a seat next to me on the bed before he said, "Right, I said I would didn't I? Well, last night, in the middle of the night, I heard you screaming from within your room. The door was locked and I thought you might have been in danger, so I broke the window to enter the room."
He paused afterwards, probably expecting me to say something; which I really was.
"I don't really remember that. So was there?" I asked, while trying to recollect what went on the night before.
I heard a sigh before he continued. "No, you were but having a nightmare. Quite a terrible one, I believe."
At those words, memories flashed into my mind. I recalled crying frantically and that Loki was there, either in my dreams, or with me when I woke up.
"You kept insisting there were people coming after you." He continued, but I was not as focused anymore. I already knew what had happened.
"Um, Loki, I think I remember now. I'm sorry I bothered you with that. It doesn't always happen and I thought you wouldn't notice when it did." I told him while trying to hide the shame in my voice.
In a sarcastic tone, he said, "I don't think anyone would not notice. It was alarmingly loud."
I cringed at how he described it. It was embarrassing enough that he heard it, but moreover, I got him involved.
Loki P.O.V.
She spoke as if something like that had occurred before. She had not shown signs of it happening during the previous nights.
How did she recover from it all by herself? I mentally asked.
Mandy was quite visibly upset when she said, "If I knew, I would have tried to stay quiet. I'm sorry I made you worry."
At her last sentence however, I suddenly got angry. Did she just accuse me of feeling concern for her? Did she think that I cared for her? She's nothing more than an aid to me!
"I was not worried about you! Don't misunderstand my actions for anything else but curiosity." I said, almost shouting.
She froze, but not in fear, but merely in surprise. She must have not expected such an outburst. Still, she made no move against what I said. Instead, she went back to the main point of the conversation.
"Loki, listen. Whatever happened last night shouldn't matter to you at all. Just forget what happened." She told me softly, but with firmness to it.
I was dumbfounded. She was brushing off the intense terror she had just experienced and wanted me to treat it as if it was nothing. Perhaps she did not know how much I understood what went on last night.
"I don't believe that I can. I happen to know for a fact that what you had was more than just a nightmare." I said to her, trying to stand my ground.
I saw her bite her lip before saying, "Whatever it was, it has nothing to do with you. That was not you're your problem. Please don't make such a big deal about it. I can handle it."
I was not convinced. I could hear her voice shaking and I knew that she was lying. She was unable to stabilize herself even with my assistance. How could she possibly claim to take care of the situation on her own?
"I honestly doubt that." I smugly said. "Perhaps if you could explain what…"
Before I could finish, she stood up and reached for a pair of slippers from under the bed. After putting them on, she left the room for a few moments. I guessed that she had stormed off because of what I said, but she then returned with a broom and a dustpan.
She looked unhappy as she began to clean the glass off the floor. I walked over to assist her but she pushed my hands away and insisted, "I can do it."
Seeing that she was indeed upset with my insistence, I left her room to give her time alone. As much as I would have wanted to know more, it was evident that she wanted to remain silent about it. Perhaps she did not trust me enough with the information. I had to find another opportunity to learn the truth.
Mandy P.O.V.
I heard Loki walk out and close the door. As much as I did not want to show such negativity to him, I could not help it. The event I dreamt about was too painful for me to talk about.
The very thought of it disgusted me to the core and it angered me every time someone brought it up. My normal reaction would have been to lash out in words how much I did not want to discuss it, to remember any of it.
I knew however, that Loki did not deserve that from me. He had not done anything wrong and he did not know about my feelings concerning those memories.
That was why I had decided stay silent. I used to have my own outbursts when mad and the only way I managed to avoid them, was by not talking entirely. I hoped Loki would understand. He was smart, after all.
I continued to clean up the floor in an attempt to distract myself from the ugly thoughts of my nightmares. Unfortunately, bits of my horrible past kept replaying in my mind.
"You almost got us caught! That's exactly what you wanted wasn't it?!"
"No, I…"
"I'll show you what happens to people who think they can mess around with us. When we're finished with you, there won't be a body to bury!"
"Please, don't! PLEASE, DON'T!"
I did notice that I had stopped sweeping. My hands were trembling and tears began to prick my eyes. I felt a mix or sadness and anger build up in me.
Five years was still too short of time to recover from that incident. The physical scars have not healed, so of course, the psychological ones have not either. Much was taken from me, and some I may never get back.
As soon as I was certain that there was no more glass on the floor, I headed for the bathroom. I was in a desperate need of a shower. It was not because I was dirty or anything. I just wanted that feeling of rain on my skin.
Rain was the marker and symbol of my freedom. It was there when I left home for good and it was there when I had finally escaped the clutches of my captors who had also blinded me. Rain was one of the things that I did not need to see to be able to experience. It made me feel normal even when blind.
Loki P.O.V.
Mandy had not spoken much that day. She did things normally, such as preparing meals and doing other chores, but she avoided talking and staying close to me. When our paths crossed, she would simply force a smile and walk away.
For a while, I merely observed her actions. She was obviously unhappy but she did nothing against me. If I was truly the one she was upset with, she would have thrown me out of her home immediately. Instead she opted to just stay out of my way.
What is with this woman? Have I not disgusted her enough yet? Why did she still bother to let this monster stay here when she could do away with me for bothering her?
She was still a mystery to me and the longer I remained in her presence, the stranger she became. There were many layers to her and it was difficult to identify the real Mandy. The worst part about that was that she was bringing out sides of me that I was unaware of.
I found it hard to comprehend my actions last night. I allowed myself to be swayed by were pitiful state and let her sleep in my arms.
Was I really worried for her wellbeing or was I simply sympathetic towards her seemingly dreadful past?
It took some thinking before I concluded and admitted to myself why I did what that. She seemed desperate for help while she was half asleep and it made me feel wanted, needed.
That however was only when she was not in the right mind set. She did not truly need me. Nobody did.
It was after sunset when I passed by Mandy again. As she had been most of the day, she was silent as she prepared dinner. I followed her into the kitchen but she did not acknowledge my presence at all. I had decided to try talking to her again, in hopes that she might be in a better mood than earlier.
"Good evening." I greeted her in a voice that would not startle her.
She paused from chopping vegetables to say, "Hi. Dinner will be ready in an hour. I hope you can wait till then."
After speaking, she continued moving around the kitchen. She was still avoiding me, but at least she was talking. I attempted to start a conversation with her but at a distance.
"You have been quite busy this day." I pointed out.
Mandy kept on working when she replied, "Um, yeah. I guess so."
She seemed to be in a hurry to finish her statement and go on with her silence. I however, was not ready to end our talk just yet.
"Were you always this way?" I asked her softly.
Mandy looked up and in a confused voice, asked. "What do you mean?"
I saw this as a chance to move closer. While walking, I said "Were you always so quiet while you did housework? Even before you lived alone?"
"Well, I was…or still am." She answered uninterestedly. It was evident that she had enough. She stopped working completely and faced me to say, "Loki, I know you mean well by wanting to talk with me, but now is really not a good time.
"I'm not in the best mood right now and I don't want to drag you into it. I might say things that I don't mean so, please understand that it's better that I just shut up."
I took a moment and then replied, "I respect that." Afterwards I left the kitchen to give her the solitude she wanted.
Just before I had reached the living room, however, I heard her say, "Thank you."
I decided that I had done enough for the night. I had made progress by getting at least one explanation from the long list of questions in my mind. Mandy told me why she was avoiding me. It satisfied me, not merely because of her answer, but because she had given an answer.
Though I was known as the "God of Lies", I hated being lied to. I also hated being kept from the truth. My real heritage was hidden from me. For most of my life I was left in the dark. That was why I was happy that Mandy had explained her actions. Truth and honesty meant so much to me.
The rest of the evening was quiet. I no longer tried to get Mandy's attention and instead spent my time reading. We went our separate ways until it was time to sleep.
I watched her silently head for her chambers before I too prepared for bed. I did not think too much before I slept since I had done that so often this day. Almost immediately, I fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, however I woke to the sound of someone crying. I walked over to Mandy's door but found it locked once again. She was not screaming as she had the previous night but she was still troubled.
I would have gone in, but I then remembered that she wanted to be left alone so I did not bother to help. She did not want someone else to deal with her problems. She made that clear, so I left.
After a while, the sound died down. Seeing that she was indeed capable of calming herself, I soon allowed my drowsiness to take over.
The night was once again silent, just as the day had been.
End of Chapter 11
Well guys, there you go. Sorry Mandy's past wasn't revealed in this chapter but don't worry, it will be soon. I still hope to hear from you. Reviews inspire me to write faster and better. Take care guys!