Captured By The Dragon
Episode 69

Patara

Dylan stayed in bed much longer than I expected. He slept for two days before he finally woke up like he was brand new. By then, Ethan had grown a little and the clothes Erik had brought for him were already getting a little small. It was a good thing he brought enough to last him until he was at least the size of a ten year old.

I only wish I knew how fast it would be until he grew that big. Days? Weeks? I didn’t understand any of it. I wanted to turn back the clocks and hold him when he was a baby. Every ounce of me regretted the day I trusted my mother to do the right thing and respect my wishes.

I knew there was no sense in living in the past. I couldn’t change what happened just because I regretting it all. All I could do was try and make each new day better. Even if there were a hundred more bumps to face in the road.

Ethan didn’t seem as scared as he was the first day he came. But he still didn’t say a word. I tried for hours to practice with small, easy words—but it was no use. He only stared at me quietly while I repeated them like an idiot. The more I tried, the more I felt helpless. It felt like nothing I did was right.

I once knew a girl in school that didn’t speak. She never said a word and wrote down things whenever she had something to say. No one made fun of her for it, but we all wondered why she was that way. I remembered all the rumors that occurred when she was absent. Everyone always tried to figure out why she was the way she was. In the end, no one found out. Now I wondered if she had seen or been through unspeakable things.

Dylan came down the stairs looking as fresh as ever. There was a little hop in his step and I swore my heart skipped a beat when his eyes landed on me. His gaze was always intense, it felt like his hands caressed my spine from all the way across the room.

He looked clean and ready to take on the world, as if he hadn’t been wounded at all. Even the small stubble on his chin was gone and shaven clean.

It was a sight for sore eyes, that was for sure. I stood and he came over to k**s me hard enough to make me stumble back a little. His hand gripped my waist and held me up right.

“I see you’re feeling better.” I said breathlessly as I gripped his shirt. A small smirk touched his lips.

“Much better.” He whispered.

He pulled away from me and went straight for Ethan. “How has he been?”

“I think he’s getting better. He doesn’t flinch whenever I raise my hand to touch him.” I said. I wrapped my arms around myself as I watched them. Dylan glanced back at me.

“Has he said anything? How long was I out?” He asked. “I feel as if I’ve been asleep for days.”

“You were asleep for two days. And no, he hasn’t said anything. He just watches me as if he thinks I’m going to do something. He never takes his eyes off of anything that talks or moves. Even when I close my eyes, he keeps his gaze on me.”

Dylan smiled at Ethan who looked up at him with a slightly tilted head. “He’s going to be alright—“

“There he is, up from the dead.” Erik said as he banged the front door open. Ethan flinched from the sound and moved a little closer to me. My heart froze in my chest, I wrapped my arms around his small body and for once he didn’t look like he wanted to get away from me.

“Ay, watch your volume.” Dylan said and picked up Ethan as Erik approached them. Behind him was a familiar girl that made my eyes widen.

“Cindy?!” I called. The young girl that was taken with me by the traffickers—I never thought I would see her again. I knew that Dylan promised she was safe, but I didn’t count on her being here. I thought she was far away or gone forever and I felt a little guilty that she hadn’t crossed my mind much since everything had happened.

Still, I was overwhelmed with how happy I was to see her alive and well. Not one scratch on her and she even glowed like a ten year old should.

When Cindy saw me, her eyes brightened. She crossed the room quickly and ran into me to wrap her small arms around my waist. “Patara! I was hoping you were going to come back!”

“I didn’t know you were near here!” I said when she pulled away to look at me. I glanced at Erik over her head who smiled a little. “I… I’m so glad you’re safe, Cindy. I only ever wanted you to be safe.”

“I love it here, Patara.” She grinned and looked back at Erik. “I thought it would be scary, but there are nice people here too. Not just evil ones.”

Erik stepped forward and wrapped his arm around Cindy’s shoulder like a brother might. “She’s an annoying kid, but she’s alright.” He grinned when Cindy elbowed him in the ribs.

I smiled when I looked at them. I didn’t realize that Cindy wouldn’t need saving from this world. I thought she was young and needed to get far from here—I swore that Malcom would have found her and brought her out… but it looked like she didn’t need saving at all.

And…. And I didn’t need saving either. This world wasn’t as scary as i thought it was. It wasn’t just full of monsters and nightmares, it could be made of the best dreams and sweet people. And I saw that now.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Cindy. I’m glad you’re happy.” I said. I couldn’t help but glance at Dylan who held Ethan in his arms as he watched us. There was a small ghost of a smile on his face and I couldn’t help but remember the time I thought he had given Cindy to someone that would hurt her.

I should have trusted his word.

“I wanted to come over and ask if we could take Ethan out for a walk?” Cindy said with a hopeful smile. She looked so young, it was hard to imagine that she was taken by men who wanted to use her when she was just a child.

I glanced at Dylan who nodded.

It made my hands tremble at the thought of letting him go, but I nodded. “Yes, of course. Just around the house though, right?”

“I don’t want to risk Dylan hunting me down if I strayed.” Eric winked as he picked up Ethan from his grasp. “Go have some time to yourselves.”

I couldn’t help but blush at Eric’s words… and the meaning behind them.