Blackened veins of skin curl their way around the cut on my torso. I noticed the change of colour yesterday. The pain has been increasing over the last couple of days that have passed, but I haven't told anyone about it, especially not Ryder. Ryder hasn't gotten around to taking me on the tour of the castle yet and he hasn't been around as often as he was for the first two days. He has begun to distance himself from me. Over the last five days Ryder has only come up to the room for half an hour every night to eat dinner with me, apologising for not being able to see me more and for not allowing me to leave the suite either. It wasn't that I wasn't seeing him as often and that I was bored in the room with only the guards to talk to, it was that he hadn't touched me in the slightest. He was sitting opposite me and before when his hands use to brush over me he was now calculating his every move making sure he was nowhere near me. Wincing I pull my hand away from my skin, trying to hide the pain I feel, even from myself. I'm stood in the bathroom of the suite. I just got out of the shower and I'm wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, that were too small for Ellie but hugs my still thin frame perfectly and a plain black crop top as a bra. Wet tendrils of hair fall over the top of my breasts and drops of water drip down onto my bare feet. My ice blue eyes that are framed by dark circles from the lack of and restless sleep that I've had since being here, stare back at me in the mirror that stretches over the 'his and hers' sinks of the marble vanity. The shower behind me is a double one and the bath that sits in front of the large window looks as if it could fit about four people in it. It took me a while to realise that the layout of the room is for two people and that the two doors that are on my right have been locked the entire time I've been here. This is one of the only suites on the floor that is as big as the one. Reynolds told me that the floor had another six smaller suites on it and a private sitting room and study that are attached to this suite separating it from the others. The only thing I got from it was that I'm in a larger room than the king. A room that's suited for the king. Its Ryder's room I know it, it's as if I can smell his scent on the sheets and feel his presence around me. I missed the feeling of having his touch and the warm electric shocks and tingles that he gave me. Missing it was what made me realise how much I felt him around even when he wasn't. I was scared of him for a moment after that. I wouldn't let him touch my stomach, or even see what I had beneath my clothes. He knew I was hiding something and he had a very good idea of what it was. My fear disappeared when I knew it wasn't him that I was scared of but it was that he seemed to know what had happened to me. A knock on the door startles me enough that I scream, having to grab the sink to steady myself. My hand grips the grey shirt from the counter, covering it over my breasts and stomach, shuffling back away from whoever might be at the door as I fall to the floor. It took less than three seconds from the small knock against the door to turn into it bouncing off the wall, someone pushing hard to get into the room. I don't know why but I started whimpering, tears falling down my cheeks as I try to hide myself into the corner scared at the memories that flood my mind and what is moving towards me now. "Lottie?" a deep voice questions from in front of me. Its Ryder's voice I can feel it. His breathing is deep and it sounds as if he's scared. I open my eyes to see him crouched a foot away from me, still keeping his distance but I just want to crawl into his arms right now. I don't know much about romance but I do know that you shouldn't fall this fast or feel this way around someone after a week. I don't care though. I like the way I feel around him I've never felt so much at home with someone before. My hands are shaking and I drop the shirt a little and Ryder's eyes follow it eyeing the now revealed cleavage. He shakes his head and looks away from me so I can slip the soft material over my head. He turns back his eyes moving down, worry covering his face as his eyes come to my hands. Slowly and nervously he reaches out to take them in his. I'm still whimpering slightly the tears still moving down my cheeks but the shake of my hands have stopped a little being wrapped up in the warmth of his as he lifts me back onto my feet. It's the most physical contact I've had with him in the last couple of days and having it now is calming. He lets go of one of my hands and goes to run it across my cheek but he second guesses it dropping it back down. Even he seems to be relaxed from the building stress he had now that he has contact with me. Ryder's free arm wraps around my waist and he quickly picks me up and sits me down on the vanity. It only took him a couple of seconds to do it, trying to keep the touch to a minimal, he pulled back quickly when I let out a cry of pain, his eyes moving straight to my mid-section. He lets out a small sigh stepping back away from me. He's here. He's never here of a morning. I smile despite how much pain I feel from my ribs. He's at the double doors, unlocking them and slipping through. He's opened the door so I can't see in the gap that he's left. When he comes back out later he has a pair of socks and shoes the same as his black canvas ones. "Ready for your tour?" He asks with a smile. He doesn't bring up the anxiety attack that I just had. It's been a year since I've had one and that was when a guy tried to grab me in a back alley, I had hidden in an abounded factory after I got away from him and I jumped at every little noise for the next three hours and I couldn't stop the shaking. I love how he doesn't bring it up. As I lean over to take the shoes from him, pain moves through my torso again. I shouldn't bend. I should tell Ryder about the colouring. He notices my hesitance and sits the shoes down near my hip, taking my foot in his hand to slide the socks on. As he's tying the shoe laces, he laughs lightly washing all of what happened away. "What?" I ask laughing back. "You're like Cinderella." He says looking up at me. My eyebrows scrunch together as he lets go of my foot and it swings back and forth. "Who?" Shaking his head he smiles. "I'll show you later. Come on."