Caged in Darkness by J. D. Stroube Page A

Liam, but I should have
handled it differently.”
    She looked at me from the third step of the
staircase and smiled hesitantly. “I’m still upset with you, but
I’ll come around. I do expect you to apologize to Liam too.”
    “I take it that means you are seeing him
again?” I didn’t like the sound of that.
    “Yes, I think I am.” She smiled and turned
to go upstairs. I followed closely behind. My mind was working at a
face pace to process, what it would mean if she saw Liam again and
how I would react to it. The idea of her dating him made me
queasy.
    Savannah stopped at the entrance to her room
and leaned against the door. “You want to come in? We could watch a
movie? We haven’t done that in a while.”
    There was a very good reason why we hadn’t
done that in a while. Lying on her bed watching a movie was not
easy for me. After tonight, I didn’t think it would be a good idea
to refuse. I could use as many points with her as possible.
    “Yea, sounds like a good idea. No girlie
movies, okay?”
    “Ha! After tonight, I get to pick the
movie. I’m thinking Titanic or Ever After …”
    I groaned. Three hours of Titanic was
not appealing and Ever After wasn’t much better.
    “Mmmm, I’m not sure I could withstand the
pain of watching either of those.” I feigned a yawn, “I’m suddenly
exhausted.” Savannah playfully punched my arm.
    “Okay, how about a romantic comedy?” I
nodded and followed her into the bedroom. She put on Made of
Honor and we curled up on her bed. Her head tucked into the
crook of my arm and we relaxed into a familiar routine.
    She fell asleep on my chest halfway through
the movie, while I lay awake tempted by the scent of her lingering
perfume. When the movie reached the last ten minutes, she startled
herself awake. Sitting up she turned to glance around the room with
a confused expression on her face. Her eyes lit on me and I was
entranced by the expression that crossed her features.
    “Ash…” The voice that escaped did not sound
like my Savannah. She sounded like the frightened little
girl she used to be. It was the sound of the lost child, who didn’t
believe anyone could love her. Her eyes widened and her voice
pleaded, “Ash…” I couldn’t bear the pain that emanated from her. It
wasn’t merely her voice or appearance; I could feel her aura
calling out for me to heal her. She was back in that metal cage
being forced to witness her parents sacrifice innocent after
innocent. I could hear her longing, her profound need to be saved.
“Ash, please…”
    Her hand reached for me, while her eyes
remained locked in her mental prison. I circled her wrists with my
hands and pulled her to me. I meant to wrap her body with my own
and offer warmth, but when I cradled her to me her cheek pressed
against mine.
    Her hand gripped my skin hard enough to
bruise me. It was painful, but not nearly as much as what she was
enduring. Every night since she came to live with us, I watched her
be torn from the inside out. Her demons ate away at her every day.
This was different. Lately, her nightmares had worsened and I
didn’t know how to banish them. I wanted to keep her safe, but I
didn’t know how to save her from herself.
    Her tears moistened my cheeks and my heart
broke at the contact. Something snapped in me then. My chest tore
in two and I bridged a feeling that until now had been barricaded
by as many shields as I could muster. I took her face in my hands
and kissed her with the passion of a lifetime. Everything I ever
felt for her was in that kiss. My need to protect her, my amazement
at her respect for every living being, my love… I couldn’t convey
enough, but I tried. None of my emotions could overcome the
amazement at the response I received. She kissed me back.
     
    Savannah
     
    I was restless. I fell asleep before the
movie ended and woke up to a cold bed. Ash was nowhere to be seen
and the window onto the terrace was wide open. I shivered and
climbed out of bed to