Chapter Thirty Five

*Ariya*


“Ivan is someone from my past. I don’t remember him though. He was a memory that was locked away by Drake. But until he remembers who he is, I won’t remember everything about my past.” I told Justin.
“Isn't that convenient.” Justin scoffed.
“It's not like I'm the one that made the lock. That was all Drake. But yeah. It is pretty convenient.” I laughed.
“Let me guess, you don't even know who this person is, do you?” Justin asked.
I sighed, “Justin…please….”
“What?”
“Please don't make me lie to you.” I said looking down.
“Fine.” Justin said as he walked closer to me. “I need to fix you up. That's the reason I got sent in here. Boss wants to make sure that you are ready for tomorrow.”
I flinched. I knew tomorrow was going to be awful and I was scared. My body began to shake uncontrollably as I thought about what they might do. It was Justin's turn to look down. He got that look on his face that told me he was fighting something deep inside him.
“Penny for your thoughts?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood slightly, though I knew that this subject wasn't going to be light even in the slightest.
“Huh?” Justin looked up at me.
“You look like you're fighting something in you. You always have that look on your face that you are going through an internal battle. What is it? What are you fighting?” I asked.
Justin looked at me. I couldn't read his expression. It was like a mix of pain and anger and something else. Something I couldn't put my finger on. Justin didn't answer me. It was like he couldn't find the words but also didn't want to say anything. He walked up to me.
“I need to make sure nothing is broken and if it is I need to fix it. I'm going to put my hands on you. Is that ok?” Justin asked, looking me in my eyes like he was looking in my mind.
“I don't really have a choice…” I said, staring back at him.
“You do with me at this moment. It has to happen. But I can wait until you are ready.” He said softly.
I stared at Justin in disbelief, “I don't understand. Why are you being so nice to me?”
Justin didn't answer me. He just shrugged his shoulders.
“You know I can feel if something is broken right?” I asked.
It was Justin's turn to look at me in disbelief, “Really?”
“Really.”
“So…is everything broken?” Justin asked.
“Oh yeah. Duh. Sorry. Not much. Couple ribs, my nose, and I'm pretty sure my shoulder is out of its socket. The rest is just bruising and little cuts.”
“Should probably fix your shoulder first.” Justin said taking stock of my injuries.
I looked at Justin, opened my mouth to say something then stopped.
“What is it, Ariya?” Justin asked, looking at me curiously.
I hesitated, “You should probably fix my nose first…”
Justin cocked his head to the side, looking at me unsure.
I shifted uncomfortably, looking down, “Justin… I…I just…I can’t always control myself is all.” Justin stood there, waiting for me to say more. I sighed, “I’m new at this. I don’t know how to control it completely yet. But I can feel that I’m hungry. I’m guessing that when you start breaking bones to put them back into place that I’m going to get hungrier. If I lose control…I just…I don’t want to hurt you again…”
Justin nodded, “We’ll start with your nose then.”
Justin walked up closer to me and lightly put his hands on my nose to fix the break. I flinched in pain and my breathing quickened. I was scared. I knew this was going to hurt and I was scared of the pain that was coming. I squeezed my eyes shut, anticipating the pain that was to come.
“Breathe Ariya. I’m going to try to do all of this quickly so the pain doesn’t linger. Try to breathe. Try not to panic so much. It will be over soon.”
Without waiting for me to respond, Justin’s grip on my nose tightened, he pulled down forcefully. My eyes flew open from the sudden shock. My vision blurred. I heard my nose pop as Justin was getting it back into place. I screamed in pain but my scream was quickly muffled by the blood that poured out of my nose. I gagged as it went down the back of my throat.
This sucks, I thought.
As my vision started to restore itself, I felt Justin’s hands on my side. Thinking about Justin touching me so softly, I probably would have been blushing but at this moment all I felt was pain.
How am I going to get through all of this? This is going to be a constant thing. Based on what Boss told me. They are constantly going to be hurting me. I closed my eyes shut.
Justin popped one of the ribs back in place and was working on the other one when the hunger hit me. Hard. It was like a truck ran me over suddenly. My throat burned and my canines felt itchy. My eyes flew open and my vision sharpened.
“Get away from me!” I growled at Justin.
Justin was about to pop my shoulder back in when he froze. He looked at me wide-eyed. My fangs pushed their way out and I growled at Justin. He moved back away from me.
“Ariya, breathe. Get control of yourself.”
I bared my fangs at him. I just wanted one taste. My tongue moved back and forth. Just one taste. I pulled at the restraints holding me in place.
Justin glared at me, “Prove to me that you’re not a monster, Ariya!”
I gasped as my heart pulled in my chest. I looked at Justin wide-eyed. My vision went back to normal, my canines receded, and my shoulders slumped. I looked down at the ground. Ashamed.
Justin grabbed my face from the bottom of my jaw to make me look at him. He released my face and I let my head drop back to the ground. I didn’t want to look at him. I just wanted this to be over. He put his hands around my shoulder and felt where it needed to go to be fixed. After he set my shoulder back in place he took a step back.
“That’s it. Everything should be back in place now.”
I stayed silent, looking at the ground. I didn’t understand it. We were Navi. We’d never been ashamed of who we were. I was never ashamed of myself. But for some reason. I feel ashamed now. I feel like I deserved everything that was about to happen to me. I deserve to suffer for the fear I bring onto others. I deserve to be treated like an animal. Like a thing. I was a monster.