her own situation, she simply wasn’t able to cope. She’d lived in war zones, yet she had never experienced war herself. She was being faced with a situation that a week ago would have seemed so fantastical she would’ve asked if it was the plot to a movie. It was no wonder she had no idea how to react to everything happening.
Shaun pushed herself off the hard, wooden pallet and stood on shaking legs. She walked unsteadily to the sink and turned the cold water tap on. She splashed her face and then cupped her hands and drank some of the water. She used her wet hands to smooth her hair back.
Feeling better, she went back to the pallet and sat down, curling her legs underneath her and leaning against the concrete wall. She took a good look around and shuddered.
The room was a square concrete box, approximately 10' x 10'. She was sure it was meant to hold prisoners. There were no windows except for the one in the door, which had bars in it. There was a single dull lightbulb swinging from the high ceiling. Too high for her to reach.
Shaun tried the door but found it locked. She decided she wasn't brave enough to call out and see if there were any guards on the other side of the door. She didn't know who would answer and the possibilities frightened her. What if Jozef was on the other side and she called him back? What if he finally put a bullet in her head this time? What if one of his cronies was on the other side? She was vulnerable, easily hurt. She didn't even know how to defend herself if she had to. She only knew how to run and so far, even that hadn't worked for her.
Far from being able to think of another plan to get herself out of the situation, Shaun was exhausted. Her long shopping trip, her sprint for freedom, her tense wait for Jozef with his aunt, being dragged down to this prison: it had all worked together to sap every ounce of energy from her. She lay on her side on the pallet and closed her eyes. She didn't think she would fall asleep, but at least she could rest.
Shaun counted her breaths, four beats in and seven out. She’d learned the technique in a mindfulness class that she had taken online. It actually helped her calm down. To release the stress from her body.
After several minutes of counting, Shaun drifted into sleep. When she woke again, she was confused and disoriented. She shoved herself up on the hard pallet, flinching from the stiffness in her joints. She squinted into the semidarkness and it finally dawned on her where she was. A prison.
A hand touched her shoulder and Shaun jumped, twisting around, bringing her hands up in defense. Lying next to her was Jozef.
"Wh – what are you doing here?" she stammered.
Her eyes travelled down his body where he was sprawled out, his hands tucked behind his head. He was alert and he didn't look tired. Shaun suspected that he came in to lie down with her but hadn't fallen asleep yet. Perhaps the jostling had woken her.
Rather than answer, he reached up, took hold of her arm and tugged her back down to his side. Shaun tried not to overthink it as she sank against Jozef, pressing her face to his hard chest and tucking her hands against him. The pallet was so narrow that she was forced to push herself flush against him. He didn't seem to mind.
Shaun lay in tense silence as his arm came around her body and his hand wrapped over her shoulder. When he made no other move to touch her, she allowed her eyes to droop. She began breathing and counting again, drawing his scent in through her nose and breathing it out through her mouth.
Her body flooded with tingles as she breathed him in. She tried to tell herself that there was no way she was attracted to her captor, but Shaun knew it was bullshit. She was a doctor; she was well aware of what her physiological responses to Jozef meant. Her body didn't care what her mind knew. Her body didn't care that she could die at any moment. It wanted Jozef.
Shaun drifted back into sleep, the warmth of Jozef's reassuring presence lulling her. When she woke up in the morning, he was still there, his arm around her shoulder