HALE, WILLOW ROSEMARY

You're shaking. Everything has suddenly gone dark even though you're fairly certain that your eyes are open. What happened? Why has your vision suddenly gone? Naturally you want to reach out across the way to touch Sawyer because he's never too far away from you and he provides immediate comfort whenever you wake up from nightmares like this... but the vague memories start to wander back into the forefront of your hazy mind. You were... working. Yes, that was where you had been before the world suddenly went dark around you. The flower shop you work at has been slow because of the winter season but that doesn't bother you. Probably better given the fact it's your job to not make friends. Keep a low profile. That's what Sawyer is always telling you. So that's what you do. You keep quiet and pay more attention to the flowers instead. The manager asked you to go around to the back to get some more vases for the display case in the front of the store. It was quiet but you hadn't noticed the wrongness of the quiet until it was too late. Someone put a hand over your mouth and you breathed in something sweet. Not long after your vision faded in and out until eventually there was nothing but darkness.

the sound of footsteps fills your ears and your heart immediately picks up the pace. the lingering childish innocence within you hopes that maybe it's sawyer coming to rescue you, but the more mature part of your brain tells you that's ridiculous. the cologne is too strong and too different from the way he smells. this is a stranger approaching you and you have no idea how to handle that. so you fidget, squirm, and squeak as quietly as you possibly can in attempt to break free from the ropes around your limbs. however, it's not long before you're frozen with terror when the blindfold is ripped from your face and the blindingly bright lights shock your eyes. for a second you can see nothing but white... and then your pupils begin to adjust. there's a large man casting his shadow over you, making it pretty difficult to see around him, but the place is metallicly colored. there's chain fences that look like large cages and metal tables a few feet away. some of them have dark puddles of something ominous on them, but you quickly avert your gaze so you don't begin to make assumptions about said liquid. instead you focus on the man in front of you. he is absurdly tall and firmly built. his face his clean shaven and composed of hard edges. he frightens you and makes you shrink back in your seat a little. you don't like the look in his eyes. it makes you nervous. 

the question catches you off guard because he sounds so... gentle. like he actually care and is concerned about your well being, maybe he is here to help you. you bite your lip a moment and let your blue eyes flicker down to your lap. what would sawyer say? what would he do? "um... n-no. i'm okay t-thank you..." he would tell you to say no. what if the water wasn't just water? what if the aspirin wasn't really aspirin? refusing the offer would be the best idea you've decided. 

"oh... okay. that sounds okay..." no it doesn't. you're not supposed to be anyone at all. that's what was decided after you ans sawyer ran away from home. the two of you were no longer anybody... but you always took that as the chance to be anybody. you were always giving people a different name when they asked you for it, whenever they did actually ask you for it. and your history was your own for the making. you could create your own story and make it however you wanted. but what if this man knew you were lying? what if you said the wrong thing and he hurt you because of it? your heart pounds more rapidly in your chest and you bite your lip even harder and twitch involuntarily. this causes him to wrap his massive hand around your dainty shoulder, crushing it underneath his grasp. you screech out in pain and try to writhe away, but there's no use. "i... my name is... it's... it's willow. i'm e-eighteen... i arrange... f-flowers..." tears slip past your eyes and tumble down your cheek as you try to ignore the searing pain in your shoulder. 

a rushed breath of relief escapes your mouth the second he releases your shoulder. there's still an aching left behind, but you no longer have to fear for the fragile bones within your body and whether or not he is going to break them... at least not for the moment anyway. however, even though he let you go, he doesn't look pleased at all. he looks rather irritated actually, and you wonder what it was that you said that bothered him so much. you just answered his question... "oh... no. i'm s-sorry... i didn't mean..." you shake your head a little and decide it might be better not to say anything more. at least that's what sawyer would probably tell you. he would tell you to keep quiet so that he could do most of the talking. he was never really a chatty person, but whenever the two of you get into some kind of trouble, it's usually best if you keep your mouth shut. "i... um, no? i don't know. i mean, i'm not sure who would put me here... that's what i m-meant, sir." the words tumble out of your mouth in a rush, just fumbling over one another because you have no idea what you're supposed to say. you do think you're good... but a long time ago you did something bad. or you saw something bad. you saw these men kill someone... and they took you and sawyer. the only reason you escaped was because someone helped you and ever since then you've been running from them. maybe it was those people who put you in this seat, but you don't bring it up because what if it isn't? your internal conflict begins to stress you out to the point where you being to cry at a steady rate, but you're not sobbing. not yet. sawyer taught you to be a little stronger than that. 

"i don't know..." the words just left your mouth when his hand comes firmly across your face, no doubt leaving its imprint there. you cry out in pain and tug against your restraints because you want to cradle your now swollen face. but you can't and the rope bites into your skin, causing it tear open and bleed. you flinch and cry more and struggle, but he hits you again to bring you back to reality and out of your panic. "i'm sorry... i'm... no. i'm not like that at all... i p-promise that i'm not. no, not at all." how can you be defiant when you have no backbone? following the rules is your specialty... or at least you think it is anyway. you're a dreamer and a wanderer. most of the time your head is in the clouds and you forget what you're even doing. everything rouses your curiosity and you do things that you shouldn't without meaning do. of course you don't want trouble. trouble frightens you and adds stress onto sawyer's shoulders, so you try to avoid it as best you can, but you're a magnet for it honestly. that was something you could never help. regardless of that though, your spirit is pure and full of wonder. you want to know everything about anything and are fascinated by the simplest of things. your heart is kind and gentle, but your words are few and timid because you are not to speak to strangers anymore. you have to stay quiet and hidden because you're supposed to be invisible. that way no one can find you... and no one can hurt you. that was how it was supposed to be, but you're always messing that up and getting into more trouble. "i'm just... i-i just like to know things... i'm c-curious. i don't know..." right then your mind wanted to take you away to some far off place in your imagination, but sawyer isn't here to handle the situation for you while you escape the harsh reality in front of you. you need to pay attention and try to keep yourself alive. 

this whole situation has you shaking in fear. the chair rattles beneath you as you shiver and quake. the area of your face where he hit you continues to swell in size until it's almost impossible for you to see out of that one eye. it hurts and you're scared and tired. all you want to do is curl back up within the tent that you and sawyer share. you want his strong arms around you while you hide your face into the curve where his shoulder meets his neck. you fit perfectly there against him and that's where you want to be. your mind almost takes you there... but the sound of the stranger's voice brings you back from your daydream. "i think that... yes... i think they would." you offer him a weak nod to go along with your words. people would call you curious, but they would also call you odd and a mute. strangers hardly ever hear you say a word, but they can see the light in your eyes. the wonder you have when you look at the stranger characters that wander around the LA streets or how certain flowers bloom brighter than others. people would call you weird because of the way you dress or how you cling to the tall blonde who has a permanent scowl plastered onto his face. no one knows a thing about you and that makes them just a little bit uncomfortable... but you're so sweet and gentle in nature that they usually can't help but to feel some sort of compassion towards you. they're drawn to you because of your pure innocence, and sometimes that isn't always a good thing. sometimes that is a very, very bad thing. 

your heart drops into your stomach when he asks about your story. what do you do? do you lie? tell the truth? both? if so... how much of the truth are you supposed to tell in order to make it believable but not give anything too important away? tears continue to tumble down your cheeks as you try not to break down in some uncontrollable panic attack, but that's exactly what you want to do right now. the walls around you seem to be moving closer and it's suddenly so much harder to breathe. you want to be anywhere else but here right now because what do you say? how do you handle this situation? "my... my family and i... we don't really s-speak anymore... i left. some time ago." that was true enough, wasn't it? of course you failed to mention why you ran away and that your family is probably under the assumption that you were kidnapped and murdered, but that was your secret that no one was supposed to know. when you were ten you wandered over to the wrong place at the right time and witnessed a murder. sawyer was always charged with the duty of walking you home... so he was with you when it happened. it was because of you that he was taken in too. it was because of you that he had to leave his family behind... because of you that he is forever bound to you because he is the only one who can keep you safe and alive. there's no way you could have ever done it yourself. the only reason you managed to travel from one city to the next without freezing or starving to death was because he took care of you and told you what to do. he adapted and became the protector and provider. the two of you grew up together, forever linked to each other because of your mistake. of course you feel guilty. he doesn't deserve any of this and sometimes you tell him that he should go. he would be okay without you. he could live a life in some small town without you and keep out of trouble. he would never have to run again and he could be happy. but he never does leaves. he stays with you and gets you out of trouble. why he does this you don't understand, but you're glad that he does because you feel warm and safe whenever he's around. which is why you want him with you right now. you don't want to be alone in this room anymore. 

at this point, all sides of your personal space have been breached so it doesn't matter to you just how close he gets or whether or not he makes you bleed. the smack to the face stings like no other, but exhaustion makes you sit in defeat. granted, you never really put up much of a fight anyway but all of the resistance is gone now. you have nothing left. you're tired and you want to go to sleep. "no. i don't have one." that was a half lie and truth. yes, there is someone you want to spend the rest of her life with but that was also because you are partly obligated to. is he you lover? no. not really. you decide not to over think it because what does it matter now anyway? you love him, yes, but you're stuck here and therefore it seems pointless to evaluate to what extent your love stretches to.

you are curious. you're always curious. you want to know who this man is and why you're hear but you don't dare to ask because you figure he won't answer anyway. so you keep quiet until he mentions someone... you never used sawyer's name, but who else could he be talking about? he's the only one you have. the only one you care about. "NO! PLEASE!" you scream at the top of your lungs and pull so hard on your restraints that the chair would have tipped over had it not been for the fact that the man grabs you before you can fall and injects a needle into you neck, causing you to pass out almost instantly.