RAVI'S POV

    I slowly came awake, peeling my eyelids open and feeling as though bits of sand had been stuck under them. There was a tightness in the skin of my face and my lips were chapped, rubbing together roughly when I them, trying to bring some moisture to my face. My hands twisted habitually in my bonds, searching for any weakness and listening to the leather creak and groan. 
    I swallowed with some difficulty, my throat feeling sandpapered and raw, my breath scratching in and out. I finally thought to raise my head, looking around the small room. I startled when I saw a man slouched against a wall nearby, his hands in his pockets and his blue eyes scanning me. 
    "Hey." His voice was quiet, and he walked slowly to the nightstand next to me. There was something familiar about him, and I studied him as he slowly raised a pitcher of water and a glass. 
    He took his time pouring the water in one single glittering stream, listening to the droplets sing against the glass, pinging into the silence. My hands tested the leather again and I began to feel it—a tiny tear in the knot next to my right wrist. My eyes widened a little and then I carefully smoothed my face, focusing my efforts on my right hand and straining at the tie. 
    "You need to drink something." He said gently, one hand cupping the back of my head and lifting me up. He held the glass to my lips but I paused, searching the water for any milkiness or powder. 
    "There's nothing in the water. You're safe." He reassured me. I met his eyes, finding nothing but crystal clear trust in his blue eyes, and I nodded slightly. 
    He tipped the glass towards me, water rushing over my lips and into my mouth, and now that I knew it was safe, I couldn't get enough. I gulped and strained at the glass, water running between the corners of my mouth and over my chin, dribbling cold and soothing over the burn on my neck. 
    "Easy, easy." He took the glass away when it was empty and I gasped, choking and feeling more water bubble up from my throat. 
    "Who are you?" I panted, my voice still half its strength, rasping into the room. He was pouring another cup of water and he flinched at my question, the pitcher clattering down harshly onto the nightstand when he closed his eyes. 
    He didn't move for several long moments and I held my breath, eyeing the taut muscles of his shoulders and the pained crease between his eyes. His hair quivered where it felt just over his eyes, reflecting his shaking hands. He exhaled, a long lonely sound, and picked up the pitcher again, pouring the cup steadily. 
    "Leo." He said quietly, eyeing me ever so slightly before returning his eyes to the cup in his hands. "My name is Leo."
    "Oh. The girl—Youngmin—she talked about you." I said, offering what little information I had about him. He had looked at me as though I had slapped him and I didn't understand why, blinking confusedly. 
    "Yeah. Do you want more water?" Leo asked, holding the glass. I nodded silently and he helped me drink, his hands soft on the back of my neck. 
    "Do you need anything else?" Leo asked when the glass was empty, setting it beside me and chewing on his lip. 
    "Can you...can you take these off?" I asked, tugging at the leather. Leo shook his head and my vision fuzzed suddenly, startling me. 
    "I'm sorry, I can't. Just relax now, Ravi. You're safe." Leo said, his hands brushing gently over my shoulders even as rage and drowsiness bubbled up inside of me. 
    The water had been drugged and I had believed him, like some stupid animal caught in a trap. Leo's face swirled and blurred and I bared my teeth at him, ripping at my bonds even as my muscles liquified, becoming useless. 
    "We're not trying to hurt you; you need to sleep so you can heal." Leo's voice bubbled to me through the air, seeping into my ears. 
    "You lied to me!" I yelled, ignoring his hands on my shoulders, holding me down. I fought against the black tide that edged my vision, ready to surge forward and pull me under, hold me under the weight of all that water and keep me from breathing. 
    "Ravi, relax!" Leo begged and I struggled against him anyway, wanting to throw him off, at least make it difficult for him. 
    "Ravi. Please." Leo said quietly. His voice was achingly familiar and I stilled, struggling to open my eyes and look at him. His eyes were fire and water stirred together, gold and blue and purple in the slant of the light across his face, familiar and alien at the same time. 
    "Trust me, Ravi. Just trust me." Leo sighed and I relaxed, his fingers curling through my hair as I obediently slipped away. Leo's voice was a raft to ride against the swell of the black wave, and it claimed me peacefully, folding me into the ripples of the current and tucking me away. 

    When I woke again, my sight was fuzzy and there was a dry ache behind my eyes. I looked down, searching for the weak spot in my leather tie, and felt like crying when I saw my ties had been swapped. Instead of the brown leather, there was black nylon cord ringing my wrists and ankles, draped across my waist and chest. 
    I gave an experimental heave at the nylon and I could feel the weight of a metal length running inside the cord. I gave another heave, surging up and feeling the cords pull tight against my bare skin, biting into the newly healed flesh with a metallic clank from the sides of the bed. 
    Fear began to raise my heartbeat, the walls and ceiling creeping in on me. I rattled the cords and felt tears begin to leak from my eyes, tightly shut against the image of the floor swallowing me whole. I began to sob in earnest, twisting and squirming and struggling, my limbs seizing. 
    Pure animal panic shot through me and I felt like I was trapped in a straight jacket, my arms and legs pinioned tightly to me, useless. My own body was betraying me and I struggled to breathe, the air from the room suddenly gone. 
    The door burst open and I flinched when it hit the opposite wall, still writhing in the bed. The sheets were tangling around my feet now, adding more restraints to my body, and I struggled to catch a breath. 
    The sound of pattering feet over the wooden floor was gone a few moments after it started, and there was warmth encasing my entire body so suddenly it startled me. It was like someone had draped a fur blanket over me, holding me down and comforting me at the same time. I stilled, registering hesitant hands against my temples, gentle fingertips tripping against the skin under my eyes, wiping away the tears there. 
    I made out soft whispering in my ear, words echoing around my ears and filling my head like a tide. 
    "You're safe, I know it's scary right now but there's no one here to hurt you, you're safe here I promise you, just relax, you're going to hurt yourself. Please don't cry." I didn't recognize the desperate voice, but the warmth didn't leave and there was a gentle hand squeezing mine. 
    I stilled, sinking into the mattress and letting the gentle hands