Please Stay With Me

“This way…” Reiner said as he guided me through the staff entrance.

Reiner’s decision was sensible as always. Lucien wouldn’t spot us if we used the staff entrance because he probably never visits the staff quarters at all. There would be no reason for him to. I was hoping that by now he was already back in his bedroom after seeing that Reiner and I had left the room.

We walked along the corridor for a while before we finally reached Reiner’s room. Unlike all the previous times that I’ve been standing in front of his door, this time I didn’t need to knock or beg for him to let me inside. Reiner opened the door for me and pulled me inside before locking the door firmly behind us.

I flopped down onto the floor right in front of the door as relief washed over me and my legs lost all strength. Reality was very harsh to me, and I started to sob quietly. Reiner crouched down and hugged me gently in his warm arms as I silently cried. I don’t know how many times I’ve asked myself this…

why is this happening to me?

“I’m sorry, Natalia,” Reiner apologized very softly. I couldn’t understand his guilt at all.

“Why…are you apologizing?” I asked in between my sobs.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this sooner. I’m sorry you had to find out like this…”

“How long have you known?” I asked very softly.

“…since the first time I set foot in that room. I’m sorry. I couldn’t find the right time to tell you,” Reiner replied sincerely.

“It’s not your fault…it’s my fault” I said with a sad smile.

“Natalia…none of this is your fault,” Reiner insisted firmly. I’ve heard those words before…a long time ago. Just like all those years ago, I shook my head…

No, all of this is probably somehow my fault.

“What do I do now? I don’t want to go back to that room anymore. Can we just close the hole?” I asked as my mind searched for a solution to this problem.

“Natalia, closing the hole isn’t a simple matter. If it was, I would have blocked it since the first time I spotted it. Do you know what blocking the hole would mean?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, I didn’t quite follow.

“It would expose to whoever put that hole there that you know of its existence and of the peeking activity. It would lead to a confrontation. Without confronting that person, you cannot permanently close the hole. Do you understand?” Reiner explained patiently as he continued to hug me safely against his chest.

If I closed the hole, I would have to confront Lucien about it or I have to confront Lucien first before the hole could be closed permanently. Regardless, I will have to confront Lucien about this issue. Although, I wasn’t the one in the wrong here, I felt like I was at a disadvantage. I didn’t want to confront Lucien about this or about anything for that matter.

“Is this why you didn’t close the hole?” I asked softly.

“Yes. I didn’t think you were ready or wanted to confront Lucien about it. So, I thought I should find the right time to tell you. Meanwhile, I’ve been keeping an eye on the room next to yours…” Reiner explained.

In the end, I will have to confront Lucien about it. I need time to think about how to do it though. During that time what do I do? I will need to rely on Reiner again to protect me. This is all going as Edward had predicted and it’s scaring the hell out of me. Does this mean that I cannot let Reiner go like I had planned? I had been thinking too hard that before I knew it I had already stopped crying.

“Feeling better? Wait here…I’ll get you a change of clothes,” Reiner said as he slowly let go of me.

Reiner got up and started to walk away.

“Wait!” I cried out much louder than I intended as I quickly grabbed his arm.

“Natalia…?” Reiner called my name questioningly.

“Please don’t go…please stay with me…” I said softly as I pleaded for him to stay.

“You can’t sleep in those clothes, right? I won’t take long so just wait here,” Reiner replied as he patted my head comfortingly.

He must see me as such a kid, although he wasn’t that much older than me. This is pissing me off a little…

“I’ll just sleep naked…” I replied stubbornly as I started to strip.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Stripping…” I replied bluntly as I took my top off.

“I meant…why are you stripping all of a sudden?” Reiner asked in confusion.

“Because I’ll sleep naked, so you don’t have to leave me alone in this room. No need to grab me clothes. Just stay…please,” I replied as I took of my skirt and reached for my panties.

“Stop stop stop!” Reiner said with more annoyance than anger.

“Why?” I asked.

“Don’t randomly strip in a random guy’s room,” Reiner stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I guess he was sort of right though, but…

“I’m not randomly stripping…and you’re not some random guy,” I replied stubbornly as I stood up as tall as I could.

“I’m surprised how you could’ve survived for as long as you have with so little common sense…” Reiner said with a huge sigh as he sat down on his chair and turned away from me.

I finished stripping and wondered what I should do next. As I stood there lost in my own thoughts, Reiner spoke up.

“Go to sleep, Natalia. Let’s sort out this mess when morning comes…” Reiner advised wisely as he stretched his arms. He must be tired as well. It’s been a long day and he’s been taking care of me for the whole day.

“Ok…” I replied softly.

--To be continued...