His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t say anything.
“Remember that next time we need answers,” I continue. “She’ll poke at that weakness until it bleeds if you let her. Don’t.”
He lets out a slow breath and nods once.
If he slips even an inch, she’ll make him pay for it. And something tells me she’ll enjoy every second of it.
Chapter Fifteen
Finnic
The sunlight aligned perfectlyto my eyes, waking me from a deep sleep.
I blinked multiple times before slightly propping myself up on my elbow. I sunk down into the mattress but was able to look over at her sleeping face. She was snoring as usual.
Of course, she’d tell me I was lying about her snoring. I’d been planning on taking a video of her while she slept to prove I was telling the truth, but usually never woke up earlier than her due to working late on my construction shift.
I leaned down to whisper into her ear, “Hey, Snorlax. Wake up.”
Maya moaned out a sound of disapproval as she pulledthe duvet up over her head. “I do not snore.” She replied groggily.
I let out a low chuckle before tickling her side with my fingers, “Oh, but I think the video I took this morning would beg to differ.”
She automatically shoved the blanket off of her face before turning to face me. “You didn’t!”
My head shook as I smiled. “But I could’ve. Though, I guess I don’t have to now since you just proved my point. Defensive much?”
She flicked my nose, causing a brief thump noise. “Don’t be an ass.”
I leaned forward and placed a small kiss on her nose. “It’s out of love.”
She grumbled, “I’m sure it is.”
I placed my hand behind the small of her back, pulling her in closer to me. Her breath tickled my face as she leaned in. “I do love you though, you know that right?”
Her smile fell, “Why are you asking me that?”
A shaky exhale left my chest as I leaned away from her temporarily to grab the small black box from inside the nightstand behind me.
I felt her sit up into a criss-cross position behind me as I turned back toward her. “Listen, I know it’s not the fairytale way of proposing, but-”
Her body lunged forward, throwing me back into themattress. Her lips then touched mine briefly before she sat back, “Yes, shut up. One hundred percent, yes.”
She then placed light kisses all over my face and in that moment, I couldn’t have been happier.
The hallway goessilent again after Dante leaves.
I remain outside her door. My gaze fixes on a thin crack that splits the concrete near my boots. It zigzags like it can’t decide where it wants to go. I follow it with my eyes, trace it back and forth, count how many times it branches out. It’s easier than letting my mind drift back to what I’ve done.
To the sounds she made when the water continuously hit her in the face.
Her panic isn’t something you just forget.
I swallow the thick dry lump that develops in my throat.
I can’t understand why this is affecting me so bad. I’ve been in worse rooms than that and have seen men beg until their tongues are cut out. This isn’t new. None of it is.
So why does it feel so different? Why does it nick at the thing inside me that I thought was long dead?
