Chapter Thirteen



Aryia's P.O.V.

I try to make the most out of being cuffed to Justin as he's teaching Mike. It seems like that guy can actually ride a horse properly, so I try to learn something while I'm standing in the middle of the arena. If I don't do that, then I'm going to go out of my mind with boredom. Todd and Louise are also watching Mike, but Todd keeps looking at me and smirking in his creepy way. I want to smack that smirk right off his face.

I mutter, “If he keeps looking at me like that, I'm gonna rip his eyes out...”

Justin doesn't miss a beat in his instructions to Mike, as he whispers, “No you're not, Ariya. Just ignore him. Be the bigger person.”

“Bigger person? You're a joker...”

If he hears me, he doesn't let it show. Instead, he barks out another instruction to Mike. Something about slowing the lope down, whatever that is.

Once all the work is completed for the evening and we're sitting for dinner, Justin says, “We're having a movie night. Y'all can pick a movie to watch and we'll take a vote on 2 to watch.”

My stomach churns a little. Is he deliberately trying to embarrass me? If he's so sure I know nothing about movies, then he certainly is doing a good job of trying to annoy me. I'm actually not hungry, so I just sit at the table, cuffed to Justin's wrist. Todd sees this as a perfect time to comment.

“You enjoying yourself there, Ariya? What's it like having Justin watch your every move? Have you had to take a dump yet?”

Before I can even respond, Justin's voice growls, “Enough Todd. Ariya is taking her punishment quite well, but don't try to wind her up. If you don't want to get a beating when these cuffs come off, then I suggest you shut your mouth. Ariya, eat your food.”

The fact that he's just ordered me to eat makes me not want to eat even more.

I push the plate away with my free hand and say, “I'm not hungry.”

“Seriously? You're going to do this again? Just because you're annoyed about your punishment, doesn't mean you need to stop eating...”

I chuckle at the childishness of his statement, “Dude, that's ridiculous. I'm actually not hungry. I'm full from lunch.”

He eyes me suspiciously, but then just nods before turning to his food.

It's actually annoying when he's trying to cut his meat, because my hand has to follow his.

I mutter, “Maybe you didn't think this through too well, huh? Showering is going to be interesting...”

“Shut it, Ariya.”

I smirk at his response and sit quietly during dinner, tuning everyone out again. I'm not interested in their conversation so I go through different boxing moves in my mind as they eat.

Justin actually allows me to shower after dinner, but he does sit in my room waiting for me to return. I can't really blame him for not trusting me. I wouldn't trust me either. Although I don't have any plans to leave, Justin doesn't know this. Despite what I say, it would be foolish of him to trust a criminal. I know I'm not lying, but he doesn't.

After I return from the bathroom, Justin says, “So, are you looking forward to movie night?”

“Nope.”

“Really? I'm doing it for you.”

“I'd rather spar, thanks.”

“Seriously? You had a fight last night and a session with me earlier, how are you still wanting to fight?”

I shrug, “I like fighting.”

“Clearly. Well, now you're going to try something normal. Something you probably haven't done in a while. I'm teaching you to be social. Think of it as part of your rehabilitation...”

“You make it sound like I'm a drug addict.”

“I think you're addicted to fighting. I think you need that form of release to keep your temper at bay. I also think you need to fill your life with good things and then you won't be so angry all the time.”

He has no idea what he's talking about. I don't get good things in life. I never have and I don't expect it to change now.

“You have no idea what I need. You should stop trying to figure me out. There's nothing to figure out, so stop trying.”

“See, I think you're wrong. Something happened to you; something to make you so furious all the time. I'm trying to help you, Ariya. I want to help you... No, don't argue about that. You don't know what I'm thinking or what my motives are, just like I don't really know what you are thinking or feeling. Despite what you think, I do actually want to help you. You'll see. Let's get downstairs to the den. They're probably waiting.”

I don't respond to his little speech. I don't want to give him any reason to think he's right in any way. I've dealt with people like him before. Any response you give, they'll find an answer from it. I know he's trying to goad me into doing or saying something to give information away. I'm not going to give him the satisfaction. As for him saying he wants to help? Yeah, I don't trust that. No one in this world wants to help, especially for no reason. The government is not paying him enough money to deal with that part of me, so I don't actually believe him.

I'm cuffed to Justin's wrist again and when we step into the den, everyone is waiting with snacks. The whole scene makes me cringe and I'd rather just go to bed, honestly. This 'perfect family' scene is a complete farce. Everything about this situation is messed up. Todd and I are criminals and are here because the government is paying Justin. Louise is only here because her brother is away, and Mike is probably here on Justin's orders. Yeah, great family scene right here. Cue the eye roll.

I quickly sit on the arm of a chair, so Justin can't make me sit in the middle of it all. I might catch something, being that close to all the mushy freakiness of this whole thing. I never did this in any of my foster homes. I spent as much time as I could out on the streets or locked up in my room. There's a certain amount of freedom that being in a foster home allows. Your 'new parents' don't want to push you away, so they allow you to adjust at your own pace. When they finally figure out you're not going to change or settle into their way of life, they just ship you back. Then the process starts all over again, well, after being given the lecture about trying to fit in and trying to adjust to a new way of life. The guilt trip always followed me being sent back.

Something along the lines of, 'These families want to take you in; they want to care for you but you're not allowing them to do so. Don't you want a family? Don't you want a normal life? Do you want to stay in the orphanage for the rest of your life?' Blah, blah, blah. I forget the rest because I always tuned out by then. I learned when to give the appropriate responses, to give them what they were looking for.

I was the child that families thought they could 'help'. They pitied me and thought they could 'fix' me. Like I was some kind of broken toy. I resented that back then, and I resent it now. The way that Justin keeps going on like I'm broken. I'm not broken. I've learned to adjust to my surroundings, there's nothing wrong with that. You try being in care, in and out of homes, some of them terrible places, and then living on the streets. That kind of life does not fit with a meek and mild personality. I'd have been trodden on a long time ago if I was like that.

I feel Justin tug on the handcuff as he asks, “That movie ok with you?”

I don't let him know I wasn't listening to anything they just said, and I nod. I don't care. I'm not going to watch it anyway. I'm bored and I'd prefer to be doing something physical right now. I don't really like sitting still, if you hadn't guessed.

I'm not very interested in the movie until I see the start of a fight scene. I know it's coming when the guy picks up some form of stick and makes his way out to the street, where there's a group of guys trying to steal a car. The actor is English and he looks tough. As soon as he whacks one of the guys on the knee with the hockey stick, I chuckle. The blow is forceful and I can't help but mutter, “Nice.”

Everyone turns to me, but I don't care. I can see Justin watching me closely, but I only half pay attention to him. I tune out the parts of the movie that I'm not interested in. Although, I do catch a few tuts when a cop gets killed and I say, “Get the filthy pig scum...”

I'm mostly interested in the violent parts of the movie, and I can see that grabs Justin's attention.

When the movie is ended, Justin whispers, “See? That wasn't so bad, was it?”

“I'm gonna try some of those moves...”

“Oh yeah? On who?”

“You, of course. Can I go to bed now?”

“No. I'm not done here, so neither are you. Lou, your movie is next. What have you got for us?”

“Pirates of the Caribbean.”

Todd groans, Mike chuckles and I see a fleeting look of distaste flash through Justin's eyes. The thought that he doesn't actually like this movie causes me to chuckle.

“What?”

“You don't even like this movie...”

He makes no attempt to lie, so Louise quickly says, “We can watch something else. It's ok...”

“No, Lou. That's what you picked, so that's what we're going to watch. Ariya, here, is going to have a lesson is socializing and learning that friendship is about give and take. We respect each other's opinions and choices, even if we don't like them ourselves. That's part of being a nice person.”

She nods and pops the DVD in the machine. As she does this, Justin says, “You better make yourself comfortable, Ariya. This movie is pretty long.”

He yanks me onto the couch and I'm squashed between him and the arm of the couch. Now I'm angry. How dare he touch me without permission! I get that I'm cuffed to the man, but he doesn't have to make me almost sit on his lap. I don't want or need to be that close to him, especially seeing as he didn't even give me any warning or time to prepare.

I'm quietly seething as the credits start rolling, and I get to work on getting myself out of this situation before I actually do attempt to rip his head from his shoulders. Of course, that would come after ripping his arms out of their sockets and beating him with them.

Before Justin can say or do anything, my cuff is off and I'm sitting on the chair to the right of him. I decide that sitting on the arm is too risky, and he'll only drag me back on to the couch.

“What the...?”

He looks over at me and I can see fire in his eyes. Well, not literal flames, because that would be really painful and dangerous for him. I bite back a chuckle at my thought process, knowing that it won't go down well at this time. What can I say, I find myself highly amusing.

Justin hisses, “What do you think you're playing at, Miss Flynn?!”

“I sat on the arm for a reason, Justin. I don't want to sit next to you. You need to stop with this whole touching, close personal space thing.”

“Get back here...”

“You make me do that, and I swear I'll hurt you. I don't want to sit next to anyone and I don't want anyone touching me.”

I don't care that I might be giving him information right now. I really, really don't want any more touching. I only like being touched under my terms and he keeps getting into my personal space. We're seriously going to come to blows if he keeps doing that.

“You can't just get out of the cuffs like that. There's a reason why you're in them; because you broke the rules. Don't make things harder for yourself.”

He stands up and makes his way towards me, so I jump up and take a fighting stance.

He sighs, “I'm not going to fight you, Ariya.”

“You touch me, I'll hurt you.”

“What is your problem?!”

I'm calm, but clearly furious as I say, “My problem is the fact that you keep doing this whole touching thing. Just stop.”

“I'm going to put the cuff back on you and you're going to sit on the arm of the chair. For now, I won't make you sit on the couch, but you are going to sit on the arm. Otherwise I will make you sit there. You will watch this movie and you will stay in here with us. And we will discuss this later.”

I can deal with that compromise, as long as he doesn't touch me again. I don't mind being touched if we're going to fight, but not anything else. My need to control that is stronger than my need to cover it up, which is the reason for my brief explosion.

No one says anything as Justin snaps the cuff on my wrist and I quietly sit on the arm of the chair. I make sure there's as much space between Justin and I as the cuffs will allow, but I don't watch the movie. Instead, I berate myself for the lack of control over my emotions. I remember all the horrible things people have said to me and I take all of their comments on board. I am exactly what they say I am.

Through the course of their movie, I can't help but think, 'He was right all along, Ariya. You're weak. You can't control your emotions or your life. I have no control over anything, just like he said. I'm going to be just like her, just like he promised. I can't let that happen. Even if I have to die, I won't become her...'

My thoughts are interrupted by Justin's voice, “Did you even watch any of that movie?”

At first my brain doesn't process his question because I've just noticed we're the only ones in the room. How did that happen? How did I get so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice everyone leaving?

I mumble, “Huh?”

Once my brain has caught up, I answer honestly, “No.”

“Was it that bad? I mean, I know I don't like it, but surely it isn't that awful...”

“I'd like to go to bed now.”

I stand, but can't go anywhere because Justin is still rooted to the spot. Is he seriously going to be that childish and not move.

“No, we need to talk about your little tantrum earlier.”

“It wasn't a tantrum.”

It actually wasn't. It was a legitimate... problem. Half of me wants to say a fear, but it's not a fear. It's more like a really strong feeling of disgust and rage.

“Right. You're gonna have to do a whole lot better than that to make me believe you. We're not going anywhere until you give me some form of explanation.”

“You want me to shake the cuff? I can do that again...”

“No, I want to you to talk to me. No talking at me, no excuses, no sarcastic comments; just talk to me. You don't have to give me your whole life story, but you do need to give me something. You can't just explode like that out of nowhere. Not in front of everyone and not like that. You give me a calm and reasonable explanation and we can go. Until then, we're staying right here.”

I sigh. I don't want to give him anything, but maybe if I play the game here, then I can go sooner. If I can give him enough to appease him but not give anything away, then I can get out of this place quickly; before I actually do something I can't return from.

“I don't like being touched.”

“I noticed. Any particular reason for that?”

“I like to have personal space.”

“And why is that? You're not really giving me any reasons here.”

I shrug, “I don't trust you. I don't trust anyone.”

“I'm starting to realize that. Thank you for being honest. Let's go.”

I almost feel like a weight has lifted off my chest. I didn't know how far he'd go with making me answer questions. If he'd have pressed much more, then I'd have to get out of there. Then I'd be in serious trouble.

Justin pretty much has to drag me up the stairs. I'm fully dreading this night. Is he honestly going to make me stay cuffed to him the whole night? I'm not sleeping in the same bed as him, not only is that highly inappropriate, I'm sure it's against the governments rules or whatever. Now, I know I like to make a lot of suggestive comments and pretend I have a one track mind, but I'm truly not a slut. I'm not a prude either. Sleeping in the same bed as Justin would go against my no touching rule, especially seeing as I haven't initiated the contact.

He lets me off my 'leash' so I can use the bathroom and clean my teeth, but he sits on the bed in my room, waiting.

When I return, he says, “We can stay in here.”

“Are you really going to make me stay cuffed to you all night?”

“Yep. It could be worse, right?”

“I don't see how...”

He chuckles, “You could be cuffed to Todd. I did consider that as a punishment.”

“I'm not going to lie, I'd have ripped his arm off, beat him with it and then ripped his tongue out so he couldn't talk.”

“I figured as much, which is why you're stuck with me. If you can learn to behave yourself, then you won't need to stay cuffed to me.”

“Whatever. I'll take the floor.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep. I prefer it. Besides, I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you.”

“Wow, no sugar coating it there. Am I really that bad?”

I don't hesitate in my answer, “Yep.”



I throw a pillow and comforter on the floor and wait for him to lay on the bed. He has to lay with his arm hanging off the side of the bed, which is unbelievably awkward for him, but he chose this punishment. Somehow, I think he's punishing himself more than me, but whatever. I have to at least pretend I'm going to sleep, so I lay down, but I keep my eyes open as I mutter the Jet's and Giant's team rosters under my breath. I'm not planning on going to sleep tonight; not when Justin is in the room, so I need to do whatever I can to stay awake. I just need to make sure I don't wake Justin up in the process.



A/N: I'm offering 100 bonus points for the first person who can correctly guess the first film :) I hope you liked the chapter.