Hooked

Ariel was making herself some breakfast when Hook startled her. She hadn’t realized he was directly behind her.

“Smells delicious,” he said, mouth close to her ear. She jumped, her back bumping into his front. His good hand found a place on her hip, either to steady her or have an excuse to touch her… she wasn’t sure. “Easy, darling. Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself again.”

She grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand from her hip before spinning around and pushing him away from her.

“Don’t touch me,” she spat.

“Playing hard to get? I like that.”

Ariel huffed in exasperation, turning back around to finish cooking her eggs.

“Would you like anything to eat?” she asked. She wasn’t sure why she was worrying about being polite… she shouldn’t have bothered asking him if he wanted any food. She should have made him fend for himself, but it was too late now—she’d already asked.

“Whatever you’re having would be wonderful,” he said. She turned to stare at him and was glad to see that he had sat himself at her kitchen table, instead of hovering uncomfortably close to her.

Once the food was done and doled out onto two plates, she brought them to the table and sat down to eat.

They were silent as they ate, Ariel staring a hole into her plate as Hook watched her.

“There a reason you were wandering around in the middle of the night?” Hook finally asked, breaking the silence.

“There a reason you’re not minding your own business?” Ariel shot back.

“I don’t think you’re one to talk, lass,” he said. “You definitely were not minding your own business when you trespassed on my ship.”

“How long are you going to be staying here?”Ariel snapped, ignoring what he had said.

“Probably just until I have my revenge,” he said.

“Revenge?” she asked. “On who?”

“Let’s just say the crocodile who took my hand,” he said, raising his arm where he had placed a fake hand in place of his missing hook. Ariel could sense there was more to the story, but she chose not to ask. She really needed to try and distance herself from this man—he was dangerous and she knew she couldn’t trust him.

---

It wasn’t until after Ariel had taken a shower and gotten redressed that she realized that Hook was gone. She was surprised, but she wasn’t going to get involved. Whatever that man was up to, she didn’t want any part of it. At least with him not here, she didn’t have to worry so much.

She started to wonder if he was even coming back, when he didn’t return that evening, or the next day, or the day after that. She tried not to think too much about it, but she wished she would know if and when he was coming back so she could at least be ready.

---

Ariel woke as per usual from one of her lovely dreams, the memories that seemed intent to haunt her for a long time. She wiped at her face with a tissue from the box she had started keeping by the bed. She seemed to be waking up crying a lot more often.

Nothing was working. Not the walks, not the liquor, nothing.

She wasn’t as shocked as she expected to be when she saw Hook sat on her couch, one of her glasses in his hand filled with what she could only guess was some of her liquor.

“Hook?” she questioned, her voice still thick from crying. She cleared her throat as he turned his gaze upon her.

“Killian, sweetheart,” he said. “Call me Killian.”

Ariel furrowed her brow in confusion. He just didn’t seem quite like his usual self. She saw that he had his hook back. He turned his head back in the direction of the window and threw back the rest of his drink.

“Would… would you like another drink?” Ariel found herself asking. “I was just about to go make myself one.”

“Do you always get up in the middle of the night to make yourself a drink?” he asked, holding the glass out for her to take.

“Not always… but probably more than I should,” she answered quietly, taking his glass. “I don’t know why I bother though. It doesn’t fix anything.”

“Aye,” he replied, his eyes meeting hers. Even in the dark she could see that they were blue. “I’ll agree with that.”

Without another word, Ariel went into the kitchen and fixed each of them a drink. She handed Hook Killian his drink and she took hers over by the window.

“What are you looking at out there, lass?” Killian questioned from the couch. She turned to look at him.

“Nothing in particular,” she said. “Just the town. It’s kind of comforting.”

She stepped away from the window and sat on the couch, at the opposite end of where Killian was sitting. She sipped her drink, thinking how odd this all was.

“Do you have anyone here in town?” he asked after a few minutes.

“No,” she answered. “I’m all alone here.”

“Is that why you can’t sleep?”

“I’d rather not discuss that issue.”

“Well, if that’s the case I’m sure we could think of plenty of other things to do with our mouths besides talk,” he said. And there it was; he was back.

Ariel finished her drink with a sigh and stood up.

“Goodnight, Killian,” she said, leaving the living room to bring her glass back to the kitchen before returning to her bedroom. Killian was still sitting on the couch when she walked by. He didn’t look at her.

As Ariel lay in her bed, she found herself starting to think that there was more to this pirate than she previously thought.