—Leda's POV—

I let my eyes adjust to the light and stepped off of the door step. I had no footwear on but it didn't really matter. Little things like that weren't important when you were free.

I headed down the driveway and out of the yard a smile painted prettily on my face. It was stupid but I didn't care, I spread my arms wide and turned slowly, loving the way the sun tickled my skin, there was no breeze other than what I was making with my own movements. That felt beautiful.

The grogginess felt endless, it was something that wouldn't lift. My mouth was dry as I opened my eyes.

"Jesus I've been trying to wake you for ages" Mike said relieved (the complete opposite of how I felt looking at him standing in front of me) A heavy ache filled my chest, I scanned the room frantically, walls, walls, endless walls.

No—I was screaming inside my head.

"Are you okay?" Mike looked at me like I'd grown two heads. Was I okay? No I was no where near O.K. — I nodded, choking back the tears, looking at the floor, wishing I'd dissolve into it. "You were laughing in your sleep" he pointed out

"Laughing?" I mumbled, still looking at the floor

"Yeah...it was weird" he paused

"Oh" was all I could say. I was probably laughing because I was so glad to be free. Little did I know I was lying to myself. What a cruel trick to play on myself.

"Leda..."

"What?" I snapped keeping my gaze down, he couldn't see me cry, I didn't want him to know what my dream was, I didn't want him to feel guilty that I dreamt of getting out, that I dreamt of being free.

And the fact he couldn't let me go.

"Something is wrong" he stated

"Wow you're a genius" I rolled my eyes and my voice cracked. Fuck sake.

"Woah, woah, woah, what's wrong?" He rushed over to me and stroked my cheek with the back of his hand, I cowered away from his touch.

"Nothing" I whispered, barely trusting myself to speak.

"Why won't you look at me?" I considered looking up at him, letting him see the tears in my eyes and letting that answer his question. But I didn't. I just didn't reply, trying my best to hold in every single emotion.

"Leave me alone, please" I closed my eyes, trying to stop the tears before they fell but just my luck, they fell anyway.

"Leda...talk to me" he whispered. Finding my hand and holding it in his. I was grateful the chains were a reasonable length and my wrists weren't chained to the wall or something, otherwise I'd never be able to rest them and they'd just ache all the time. My hand felt comfortable in his, like it was naturally supposed to belong there.

"Please" he urged and I sighed in defeat, opening my eyes and looking at him, he was knelt centimetres away from me, leaning even closer towards me in a concerned mother kind of way.

And I broke.

I began to sob hysterically, trying my best to hide my face away from him so he couldn't see, but he held my head firmly between his hands, watching me shed my mask of strength. Brushing away stray tears that made it to my chin.

"It felt so real, Mike"

—Mike's POV—

She began to cry and I cursed myself for causing her to open the flood gates. She obviously didn't want to talk about it but I had to just keep pushing and pushing her—I'm such a dick.

She kept turning her head to the right, trying to hide her face away from me. Probably scared of me being a witness to her outburst of emotion.

I couldn't help myself. I reached out and took her face between both hands, softly brushing my thumbs over the tears that never ceased to fall—terminating their journey almost instantly after it began.

She stopped trying to cower away from my touch because I held her face gently between my hands. Instead she looked head on, straight at me. Her beautiful blue eyes had become a couple of shades lighter—or that's just how they looked against the red blood shot pattern of the—usually—whites of her eyes. Either way they were beautiful.

"It felt so real, Mike" she spoke slowly, like she was afraid of saying the wrong thing, like the slower she talked the more chance she had of stopping herself from saying something that she deemed stupid. Something flashed in her eyes as the words slowly paced out from between her lips—and I knew it instantly. This girl has secrets. Dark secrets. More intense than things she's already told me, but how much more intense?

I found myself wanting to know more. Wanting to know everything I possibly could know about her, this fragile broken thing.

"What felt real?" I managed to say after a silence that stretched for too long. I was so distracted by her beauty and delicate nature that she tried to hide so profusely—and succeeded most of the time at doing so—that I forgot I should've spoken.

"You know how women who want babies so desperately end up having a phantom pregnancy?" I cocked one eyebrow at her. No, to be very honest Leda I didn't know. I was also wondering what the hell this had to do with something feeling real, could she be having a phantom pregnancy? What even is a phantom pregnancy?

"You look confused, I'll clear it all up for you" she pulled her head away from my hands and even though I didn't want to, I let her. She looked at her fingers, twisted in her lap for a short few seconds and then looked back to me and jumped straight into an explanation.

"A phantom pregnancy is where the mind tricks the body into thinking its pregnant, even though it isn't. Causing you to grow a baby bump, have morning sickness, you know, everything you'd feel if you were pregnant for real. Some even say they felt little movements from a baby that isn't even there. I guess it's all psychological I don't know" and again, I wondered what the hell this had to do with well...anything.

"Are you trying to tell me you're pregnant? Or fake pregnant?" I canted my head to the side, sincerely not understanding her point. She shook her head and gave me a watery smile as if to say: no you jackass, keep listening and you'll find out.

So I kept listening.

"That's how I feel" she said plainly, upturning her lips into a disgusted, painful expression. "I want freedom that badly, I convinced myself I had it" up to this point the tears had ceased but now they filled her eyes again, threatening to break down every single wall of fake smiles and pretending that she'd hand built. So that's why she was laughing in her sleep? She was dreaming she was free. I felt guilt sing in my veins.

What could I say? I couldn't just unlock her chains and set her free.

I'd be killed.

Also my dad wouldn't even tell me where he keeps the key for her chains anyway.

"I'll see what I can do, I don't know if I can get you out but I'll see what I can do to make it more accommodating for you" I told her, having no idea what I actually meant. She laughed a little, in a disbelieving way and I asked her what was so 'funny'

"What are you going to do? Get me unlocked from the chains, bring me some coloring books and some pens to color with? Bring me a giant jenga set so I don't get bored?" She rolled her eyes and my eyebrows knitted together. "I'm still a prisoner regardless of what you do to make it more accommodating for me. Unless you can physically let me get out of this house, there's no point trying to make me feel better"

And just like that, I disliked her. I got it, pain changes people, and I guess being locked in the same room for days on end does too (not that I've ever experience that) but I was just trying to help. I was doing all I could, what the fuck more did she want from me?

"Excuse me for giving a shit" I mumbled, standing up and putting some much needed distance between us. I rubbed my face with my hands, I was exhausted, I needed a years rest to cure this tiredness; but I still wondered if even that would be a decent amount of sleep to cure the exhaustion I felt. Probably not.

"You know, I'm the only person that comes in here and tries my best to keep you company." I stated exasperated. She was in a tough situation but still, she was being ungrateful, I was only trying to fucking help.

When she didn't say anything I added "So the more you push me away and treat me like shit, the more time you spend in here all on your own" I shrugged and I saw some emotion dance across her face that I recognized straight away as fear. "And we both know how much you love being alone" I probably should have smirked and folded my arms over my chest, showing dominance and masculinity, it would have fitted well with the situation, it would have worked well with my words. Showed I had control over the situation. But I didn't, I just stated it helplessly with my arms by my sides, like some weak guy that had fallen for a girl he couldn't have.

Wait, what? Fallen for her? Pfft, I hadn't fallen for her, it was just an apt simile.

Keep telling yourself that, Mike

All of a sudden I felt like I couldn't breathe, it was strange and I didn't like it. "I'm sorry" she sighed but she sounded far away and I knew she was only saying that because she didn't want to be left alone. My head buzzed and I staggered slowly out of the room without a second glance back.

"You look like shit" my dad pointed out as I closed the door behind me after I'd stepped out into the corridor.

"Yeah, er, thanks" I said confusedly. I didn't really care right now. "I think I need a lay down" I rubbed my eyes hoping my vision would somehow un-blur itself. What the fuck was wrong with me?

"Yeah, go on upstairs and rest. I'll look after the whore" he smirked and grabbed his crotch to specify his version of 'looking after'. I wanted to get angry, lash out, pin his back against the wall and knock all of his teeth out. But I couldn't, I felt helpless, something was wrong.

I stumbled part way up the stairs, by about half way I was crawling up them. The world was fuzzy. I staggered into my bedroom, my vision temporarily un-blurring enough for me to see where my bed was, I rubbed my eyes. It didn't help but it didn't make it worse.

Flopping onto my bed I folded my arms over my face, hiding the blinding light that was seeping through the curtains. It was too early to sleep but I felt like death. A headache was creeping just beyond my forehead, waiting to begin to pound and cause me hell.

In addition to the hell I was already living in.

"No, it's not about mom, Mike. It's about her" I sat up, dizzy and feeling almost sedated but I saw Vic, sat on the floor, just like I'd left him—how didn't I see him as I came back in?

My jaw dropped. He just spoke.

And then everything went black.

Notes

Muahahaha. (I don't know evil laughter felt necessary)
LIKE I'D KILL VIC OFF, SILLY!
The only person that guessed it was a dream was eliseypoo :) four for you Glen Coco :* haha.
Vic talked bckebfkehflsvfkjdfvfjdh
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Have a nice day :)