31.

During the days that followed, it turned out that Klaus adopted the silent treatment method due to my last reaction to his kind behavior. I needed to protect myself from him somehow, to keep myself safe, even though I wasn't; but I needed to make sure that I wouldn't fall into another one of Klaus's traps, even though he was trying his hardest to avoid it.

During the day, we kept our distance, Elijah returned to the house and stayed around Klaus. Everything changed when night fell; I still slept in Klaus's room, in his bed, and even though we didn't talk or even look at each other, we maintained this "routine."

But at a certain point, I couldn't take it anymore. I felt more caged than I had ever felt.

Sighing, I entered the office at the back of the house, finding Klaus in the room. The moment I walked in, he moved his phone away from his ear, raising his eyebrows, focusing his attention on me.

"I want to go to the doctor," I mumbled, which made him furrow his brow.

"You...?" He began, without me even looking at him.

"Can you take me?" I asked abruptly, unwilling to answer any of the questions he should have gathered over the past few days.

Sitting nearby, Elijah looked at him and then back at me, getting up after grabbing the keys from the table.

"I'll take her," she said with a brief smile, winking at him.

Klaus took a deep breath, and I could see that he was slowly giving in, even though he clearly didn't want to do this.

"Keep an eye on her and don't mess around," he said seriously, glaring at Elijah.

"I've got it." Leaving Klaus's house felt like leaving a prison, a cage. I even had the impression that the atmosphere changed just by leaving that house.

"We can have that girl talk," Elijah said as he drove, giving me a quick glance.

"Ah, better not."

"I won't tell Klaus," Of course, he would tell him as soon as he started pressuring her to find out what was going on with me. I crossed my arms over my chest, looking out the window, ignoring the comment as he tried to get closer to me.

"Fine, then. It's your choice, and I won't pressure you to talk."

"At least that."

He let out a sharp breath, stepping on the gas. In those last few days, I had even more time to think about my life in general, even as I kept myself busy with all the household chores I could find. I always found myself thinking and being tormented by the past, which was becoming more and more present. Even though Klaus didn't humiliate me anymore, let alone torture me, my mind was still doing it for him. It was as if he had programmed it that way, and just by looking at me, he knew it was working, and he would soon get what he wanted.

With my eyes fixed on nothing, I felt like I could hardly breathe. It was as if the oxygen was running out.

"What exactly are you feeling?" The doctor asked in front of me, with the stethoscope pressing different areas of my body.

"My heart is beating strangely, and I think I have a fever, and there are also tremors," I listed one of the symptoms I had been experiencing in the past few days, fidgeting my hands under my lap, feeling a certain familiarity.

He took a step back, his brow slightly furrowed.

"I don't think you're sick," he said finally in a gentle tone. "At least, not the way you think."

"I'm not feeling well," I rephrased, believing that this way, he would realize that something was wrong with me, in addition to ruling out that possibility within a few minutes after a quick "examination."

Pulling the chair behind him, he sat down, with his arms between his legs, still looking big even while sitting.

"I mean, what I'm trying to say is that you might be experiencing anxiety," he said, maintaining his gentle tone.

"Anxiety?"

"Yes," his eyes were comforting. "Something is making you feel this way, perhaps... the situation you find yourself in." The reasons were infinite if we were to take them into consideration. "I can prescribe some medication for you. They might help..."

"I want all of them," I said without thinking twice, quickly surprising him. "I just want it to stop."

Hesitating, he nodded, getting up just as Elijah entered the room abruptly, looking concerned.

Something told me it was time to go, even without her saying anything.

"We have to go. Klaus wants you back home."