I loathe it, so I scoot over to him and wrap my arms around him to hug him. He startles, his head snapping to me. “I’m not much of a hugger,” I explain. “So sorry if this is a bit awkward.”
“It’s fine.” His eyes explore mine. “This is the kind of stuff that makes guys want to call you baby and sweetheart.” He’s not joking this time.
“If you call me sweetheart, I’m going to call you it,” I warn, hoping that’ll deter him.
“You can call me whatever you want.” He’s being serious. “In fact, when I die, please be at my bedside and call me sweetheart right as I take my last breath.”
“Are you being serious?” I ask. “Because sometimes it’s hard to tell.”
He shrugs, a smile quirking at his lips. Although I’m still not positive he’s teasing me.
Sighing, I sit beside him. “How are we going to get out of here?”
A hilarity in his eyes dims. “I’m not sure, but eventually someone will have to open that door because we can’t live forever on what is stocked in that fridge.”
Right as he says it, the door behind us clicks. We both spring to our feet, preparing to jump whoever enters, but the door doesn’t open. A small compartment in the wall beside it opens, and a tray with two plates of food is slipped through it and across the floor.
Finn sprints toward the compartment, but the door closes before he can reach it.
He whirls around to face me, breathing heavily. “Shit, there went our chance.”
I walk over and pick up the tray of food. “What were you planning on doing? Climbing through that tiny door. Hate to break it to you, bro, but you won’t fit through it.”
“I know that, smartass,” he says with an eye roll. “But someone was on the other side of it. I could’ve grabbed their arm and held them long enough to see who it was.”
I set the tray down on the bed. “Why would that matter?”
He carries my gaze. “Because the more we learn about what’s going on, the better chance we have of getting out of here.”
He’s right. Even if we can escape, we still have an entire forest to make it through, and then the ocean.
The depressing reality is that even if we do get out of this room, we have nowhere to go. Doesn’t mean I’m not getting out of here. I will, and then I’ll spend a lifetime hiding on this island if I have to.
I could do it.
I’m a survivor.
I’ve always been on my own.
But am I even on my own anymore?
What if…
My eyes suddenly widen as I remember the point of Finn and me getting taken together.
Because Mr. Averson wants me to get pregnant.
What if I am?
What the hell am I going to do?
CHAPTER 16
FINN
I can seethe moment Maddy’s mood shifts, the way her mind alters and shatters. She was joking around and trying to lighten the depressing state of being locked in a room. But like a light switch, her light flips off.
Then she plummets into silence. And I hate it.
