Ocean Deep, Mountain High

Alyssa nodded, taking in a deep breath- pain filling her chest as she did so, but she just ignored it until her lungs felt fit to burst. She breathed put slowly, focusing her eyes back on him. She didn't move her hand from his at all, just offered him a weak smile. "Thank you for keeping me safe" she whispered. She still didn't trust him, but she figured she was better off going along with it than to show her doubt. She let her eyes flutter closed, feeling her whole body begin to relax.

Her eyes bolted open as she heard shuffling, looking up at Zachary. "Don't go" she said quickly, biting down on her lip. "I mean... Can you just stay here a while... It makes me feel better" she said. She figured that at least if he stayed on the room she could buy herself a couple of hours knowing he couldn't have possibly told anybody about her. "I can make room if you need to rest pr whatever.. please don't go" she repeated.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe

Zachary gently squeezed Alyssa's hand. "I will stay right here then." He assured her. If Alyssa felt like she needed him, there was no reason why he couldn't stay for an hour or a few. His other crew mates could handle the ship for a bit and this seemed more important to him. Though he would need to try to sneak out when Alyssa had fallen asleep. He didn't want them to bring them to shore tonight when this going on. There were so many questions he wanted answered but she needed to sleep.

Leaning back into his chair, he moved a bit closer to her before relaxing and letting out a small breath of air. "I will just stay right here. Go ahead and get some rest, you really do need it." Zachary looked down at her gently before averting his glaze. Even though she wanted him to stay, he didn't want to be creepy and just stare at her while she slept... besides he had a lot of things to think about now.

Alyssa smiled gently at him as he agreed to stay. "Thanks k you" she whispered, pulling her blonde hair out of her face as she settled down comfortably in to the blankets. She let out a small sigh,her eyes brushing over him before she let them flutter shut. They we're heavy with tiredness, but that didn't stop them from flashing open each time she heard Zachary shift in his seat, nervous he would be quick to leave and report her thinking she was asleep. Eventually after around an hour, her eyes fell shut and stayed that way as her breathing became slower and she turned away from him, her body curling in to the fetal position in the bed.

When she woke several hours later, a sense of nervousness came over her when she realised he had left. The boat didn't feel like it was moving as much anymore. She saw that her clothes had been placed on the chair, dried but slightly stiff from being saturated in salt water. She quickly got changed, wincing at the pain and stiffness in several of her joints. Once ready she moved toward the heavy wooden door placing her ear to it to see what she could hear.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe

Before Zachary had left, he made sure to set some things up in Alyssa's room. He left some food and water for her on the desk. The closet had a few clothing items for her to wear but he also left her original clothes on the chair for her. Zachary had also ensured to remove anything dangerous from the room and locked the door behind him when he left. While he didn't love doing it, and it was kinda a safety hazard on a ship, he felt like he needed to in order to ensure that the woman would not be able to hurt herself again.

He then spent his time, going to his crew and telling them about the situation, and that they were not going to go to shore tonight. They seemed to take the news rather well, but he was sure they were a little disappointed. Though, besides that, the men agreed that it was better to watch over Alyssa. He could sense that there was something more to her situation and just leaving her back on land to deal with it was not a solution. They ended up finding a location out in the sea to spend the night, and after making a few calls to his supervisors, Zachary made his way back down to Alyssa.

Alyssa looked around the room as she listened, slowly making her way over to the table where some food had been left. She sniffed it cautiously before taking a bite and a small sip of the water. She glanced all around the room, noticing several things missing, inluding the old-style corded phone that had hung on the wall. Immediately, her mind began to race. Why would he have removed the phone? Who didn't he want her calling? She never even thought outside of that pattern.

She quickly got to her feet, steadying herself as she had a moment of dizziness. She quickly tried tugging on the door, and then pushing at it. She started to panic when she realised it was locked. She began to wonder if she was wrong to have given him any trust. Panicked, she once again began to pull at the door growing more and more frantic as she tried to get it open, tears streaming down her face. "Fuck" she mumbled, leaning back against it,her chest rising quickly as she tried to regain her breath. Before long she felt the wood being pushed against her back and she scrambled to her feet realising someone was opening it. She looked up to see it was Zach and she backed away from him. 'why do you have me locked in here, what have you done" she asked quickly, her eyes red.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe

Zachary had not been expecting to see such a panic stricken face when he came into Alyssa's room. So when he went in and she immediately started demanding answers, he froze for a moment as he stared at her. Though once the first wave of surprise moved over him, Zachary calmed down immediately and took a deep breath. "I was afraid that you would try to throw yourself off of the ship again. I locked you in here because there was no one who could currently watch you," He explained calmly. "If you want to move around the ship, you can but someone will need to come with you."

As he spoke, the man eyes glanced over her face. He could see the stress the young woman was under and he was trying to think of a way to reduce it. How could he help her? First, Zachary had to worry about her harming her body and now that was solved, how was he going to help with her mental and emotional state? There was clearly a lot going on here that Zachary did not understand and he had no idea how to solve it. "Tell me, why are you afraid? I want to help you."

Alyssa eyed him wearily as he spoke, still keeping her distance from him across the room. Her body felt tired still,but she didn't want to sit down and seem off guard. She shook her head softly staring at him. "Don't lock the door. I won't leave the room without asking, I promise.. just please don't lock it" she asked him gently, pulling her hair back off her face as she watched him glance over her.

There was a certain softness in his eyes, one that she was not really used to seeing in many men which put her at ease slightly and that worried her, she didn't like how calm she felt around him it felt like her instincts were failing her. She sat down on the bed and sighed loudly, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I just... I was trying to get away from some bad people and we'll... They have connections everywhere" she told him flatly, realising that whether he was one of them or not this information couldn't harm her. "I'm afraid that you're lying, that you're just keeping me here for him" she stated, staring him down.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe
Zachary listened to Alyssa speak, eventually giving her a small nod at the end. He needed to come up with an idea that would make her comfortable but keep her, him and his crew safe. While they were on a government boat, Zachary was not concerned about the 'bad people' trying to come after her. It would be rather ballsy - and a mistake - to come aboard to get her. An incident like that would immediately give cause for the government to come after them in full force. 

Once Alyssa sat down, Zachary decided to go ahead and do the same, wanting to be as non-threatening as possible. "I promise I am not keeping you in here for anyone." His voice was soft and soothing as he continued. "But, I am sorry, I can't let you be in here alone with the door unlocked until I am sure that you aren't going to try to hurt yourself..." 

Running a hand through his hair, Zachary tried to think of other solutions he could give. Though none were really coming to mind. "Can you tell me about the people who are after you? Who are the bad men?"

Alyssa stayed standing for as long as she could, but she was tired and eventually sat down on the edge of the bed, smiling softly as she watched Zachary do the same thing. As he spoke, she did find herself slightly comforted by his words, he was calmed, and like he wasn't really expecting to hear anything she had said. She felt a little more relaxed in his prescence. She was beginning to think if he was just holding her here, somebody would've come for her by now.

She looked him in the eye and shook her head softly "I don't want to hurt myself" she told him quietly "I just needed to get away". She took in a deep breath as he asked her to tell him more about the people who were after her. She looked up at him for a minute before turning away to put her back to him. Slowly she unbuttoned her top and lowered it, revealing her shoulders and pale back to him,covered in burn marks and scarres. "That's why they're bad. I don't want to talk about it anymore" she said to him, her voice small like a mouse. She glanced down at her hands quickly before rebuttonong the too and turned back towards him. "It's just... It's a really long story" she stated

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe

A burning sickness ran through Zachary as Alyssa showed him her scars. It was disgusting, what he saw and he was worried to know more about what had happened to her. Zachary immediately felt an intense need to protect the woman that was in his presence. But it was more than that. He felt anger, wondering what kind of monsters would allow something like this to happen. Though he knew he shouldn't show her these emotions. What Alyssa needed was someone to support her, to help her. Not someone to pity or feel anger for her.

"You are away now." Zachary assured her as he looked at the woman with gentle eyes. He didn't make a move, despite how much he wanted to reach out. He didn't want to scare her or push himself on someone who had clearly gone through a lot. "If you talk about it, if you tell me about them, I might be able to help." Zachary said, his voice quiet. "The more I know, the more I can do for you... I would like to hear your story if you would allow me to."

Alyssa bit down on to her lip as she looked at him, nodding softly. "You promise you won't take me back?" She asked gently, pulling some of her hair behind her ear as she watched him cautiously from her seat on the bed. She nervously fiddled with her hands, biting at the edge of her nails as she sat in silence for a number of moment. "You couldn't help... It's already happened" she told him softly, her voice hopeless as she pulled her knees up close to her chest with a soft sigh, thinking about his question of her story.

While she didn't really want to recount everything that had happened to her.. a little voice in the back of her brain was screaming for her to tell him everything. She stared down at her pale legs thinking for a while. "My mom was an addict, a functioning one but an addict all the same. When I was around 3 she took off for a year and left me with my grandma. She wAs a little too old to be looking after me but he really tried her best... I guess that part was good. But uh.. my mom came back, she had cleaned herself up, married this Reverend guy... All sounds great right?" She asked with a weak, uncomfortable laugh, blinking her eyes hard. "They um... Took this religion think pretty seriously so uhm, a lot of those scars were cuts they gave me when I "sinned"' she told him pausing for a second. "They uhh... Said so e bullshit like it was payback for the trouble I caused so good would know I had silucfered enough to deserve mercy.. pretty fucked right?" She added, still trying to come at this story with an uncomfortable humour angle.

I ran away from home when I was thirteen. I lived rough for a while until I looked old enough to get a job in a strip club... There I met Axel. He promised me the world and I believed it.... Breaking news, he did not give me the world. So some other shitty stiffappened and here I am" she said. Flatly, wiping a tear off her face. She realised she had left out very large Tracy's of the story, but she did not feel she wanted to discuss any of those things.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe

Zachary was quiet for a moment after she had said her story. He could already tell that there were a lot of parts missing to him. She gave him a very brief overview of what had happened. And it was clear to him that it didn't explain why Alyssa thought anyone was after her. Though, it was clear that she had been through enough and just knowing a little of it would be able to help Zachary help and protect her. He then gave her a nod. "Well, you are safe here, I promise. It's just me and a few other guys that I trust with my life." He said softly. "And, when you're ready to tell me more, I am ready to hear it. Though, one last thing and then we can move on from this business, what is your full name?"

With her whole name, Zachary would be able to do some research on her, find out who Alyssa was, who these other people were. Maybe get some information on some things she didn't want to share... Plus, if he was going to help her, Zachary wanted to truly help her. Like, maybe make sure none of the people who hurt her could ever do so again.

Alyssa had been watching Zachary closely as her story Drew to a close... He seemed somewhat surprised and didn't question any of it, so she trusted that he had no clue who she was. That or he was just a good actor. She took a couple deep breathes, her eyes flickering over him as he gathered his thoughts. The blonde chewed on her lip nervously waiting for him to speak. She nodded with a soft smile when he told her that she could trust him, reaching her hand out gently to Pat his, a gentle thank you. That same smile faltered quickly when he asked for her full name, her eyes zoning in on him as she pulled her hand away. "Why would you want to know that?" She asked him quickly, the colour draining from her face once more. "So you can tell people I'm here,make sure you've got the right one?" She demanded, a sense of anger beginning to fill her chest at the thought that she had almost trusted him.

Alyssa stood up from the bed beginning to look for anything she could defend herself with, but there was nothing. She stood in the center of the room, glancing about aimlessly for a moment, before giving up and just sitting on the floor, pulling her knees up to her chest so she sat in a little ball, her knees supporting her cheek. She knew it was futile, there wasn't really anywhere for her to go, even if he was lying, and after last time, she figured she definitely wouldn't make it off the boat. "My name is Alyssa Stone" she said with a sigh, letting her eyes close, she didn't want to watch him anymore. "Alyssa Margaret Stone" she repeated.

@ BearGirl

@ Aoibhe
As Alyssa stood up, Zachary stayed firmly in his seat. He could tell that the question had quickly stressed the woman out, and he did not want to add to that stress. It wasn't like he was concerned about her attacking him or running away. If needed, he could defend himself or catch her again. Though he did keep an eye on Alyssa as she moved around until she sat down in the middle of the room and gave her name. Then, slowly, Zachary turned in his chair to face her again. He brought himself low, his elbows resting against his knees as he looked at her gently.

"I am not going to tell anyone that you are here, I promise," Zachary said softly. His voice was gentle and full of concern for the woman in front of him. "I want your name so I can try to pull up some information so I can help you. Also, I do need to know who is on my ship." He gave the woman a gentle smile. "It would be irresponsible of me not to ask that question, as captain." Zachary reached out and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. "You are safe here. There is nothing that will hurt you while you're on my ship."

Alyssa offered him a weak smile, feeling her eyes beginning to well up slightly. She had not expected to be here having a conversation like this. Not just the boat, but alive. She had wanted it to be the end, or at least she thought that's what she wanted. A part of her felt happy to be here, to be alive without the torture of what had come before. She took in a deep breath, letting her green eyes find the man's and blinking softly for a moment before speaking.

"Do you have any books here?" She asked him gently, loosening her arms around her knees and sitting up a little straighter. While she didn't trust him fully quite yet, she decided she was going to act like she would, convince herself this was it, she was free. Even if it wasn't strictly true she could enjoy a small few hours of just being herself. "Maybe of you wouldn't mind... Could I come above deck and just read for a while?" She asked softly.

@ BearGirl