“Nina!”
“Nina!”
Mason?
* * *
Mase
Tortured cries haveme bolting upright in bed. I gave up on Nina letting me in after she locked me out, and her soft cries haunted me for hours after as I sat outside her door, waiting until I was sure she was asleep.
But now she is crying again, and it’s not the same cries as before. It’s a tormented shrill. She sounds in pain.
I jolt from the bed, my head working faster than my body, causing me to stumble to the floor in my haste. I run down the hall and try the handle, knowing it will be locked.
“Nina! Open the door!” I shout, slapping my hand on the wood. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Nothing.
“Nina!” I continue to rap my knuckles on the wood.
A broken wail seeps from the room, and the fear in her cries wrap around my throat, threatening to strangle me.
“What the fuck?” I pull on the handle, trying to force it open.
“Nina. Please just open the door!” I shout, punching the plaster surround. “Fuck!”
I let my head fall to the door, feeling at a loss as she continues to cry.
I hear a thud followed by a howl, a chilling, blood-curdling sound that has me taking two steps back. Panic fills me, feeling unhinged at my lack of control. I square my shoulders, lunging into the door and taking the lock clean off the wall. The plush carpet breaks my fall, but I barely touch the ground before I’m around the bed and kneeling at her feet.
She is curled into herself, arms wrapped protectively around her knees.
“Nina,” I rasp, my chest rising and falling rapidly.
“Nina, baby.”
I reach out to touch her, and her eyes snap to mine. Red-rimmed and wild, pure fear etched on her beautiful face. “Nina,” I frown. “It’s okay. I’m here.”
Her body shakes uncontrollably, dripping in sweat. I try to grasp the blanket she’s holding from her hands, but she grips it tighter, flinching as I retract my hand.
What the fuck?
“The blood. So much blood,” she mutters, sounding crazed.
I start to search her body but fail to find any blood.
“Nina, you’re not bleeding. There is no blood. I’m here, it’s me, Mase,” I say softly, unsure as to what I should do.
She squeezes her eyes tight, opening and closing them until her wary eyes find me. “Mase?” she asks.
“Yes, I’m here.” I grab her, seizing the opportunity whilst she lets me. “Fucking hell.” My heart hammers in my chest as I sit on the floor, holding her tight. Her body is slick with sweat, her hair damp.
“Mase,” she cries, fisting my T-shirt and burrowing deeper into my chest. She breaks down in my arms.
For the first time I see her distinctively. No barrier, no wall, just raw, unfiltered pain—it’s what I wanted, right?
More than just her body.
