I get to her floor and see Anmara’s door closed. It’s annoying that I still have that dream on my mind, so I rush my steps, open the door, and close it behind me. Inside the apartment is too quiet, and I can’t see a single light on.
Maybe they’re asleep.
The door to the other room is open, and when I get inside, I see Anmara curled up in the armchair next to the window, with her head on her knees, only illuminated by the low light of the moon.
“Hey, is everything alright?” I ask when I get closer to her.
I put a hand on her shoulder, and she strongly trembles, making me frown.
She doesn’t calm down when she sees me either. I can only see a deep fear behind her agitated pupils. She knows who I am, but she is trying to push herself onto the sofa. I take my hand from her shoulder and take a step back.
I look at her, confused. She tightens the hold over her knees while looking at me like she sees her nightmare in front of her eyes.
“Are you ok?” I ask the stupidest question, and then I remember something. “Did he hurt you?”
“How do I know you’re you?” A small, fragile voice answers me, and I start to feel a strong shiver passing through my body.
Blake’s image appears before my eyes. I think the drug kicked in earlier than it should have.
I look around. In the low light, I notice Blake’s body on the bed, his hands and legs tied, and a big pool of blood around his head.
“What the f…” I say and go to him.
“He’s alive, but it’s not him,” Anmara growls slowly before I can get a chance to check his pulse and turn to her.
You’re screwed.
But at the same time, I’m happy that I took that fucking syringe. I only hope it is the same substance that he was administered and not just a trap that those idiots planted there.
I have an even bigger problem now, seeing her chocolate eyes widen with fear.
She thinks I am like them.
I slowly get closer to her with my hands above my head.
“I promise you that I am me, Lucas,” I calmly tell her, but she’s still looking at me the same.
Really? A promise? Wasn’t one time enough?
“Then prove it!”
“Tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.”
She slowly takes her hands off her knees, gets up with her hands clenched to her chest, and goes to the other corner of the room, far away from me.
This time you’ve got away with it.
“Take him somewhere else,” Anmara says after a few moments of silence, pointing to Blake’s body. “And please tell me you got something out of Paul.”
“It would’ve made my life easier, but he’s uncrackable.” A mask of sadness spreads all over my face while I tell her. “Whatever they gave him, it’s strong. Stronger than I’ve ever seen. They somehow made him obsessed over you, and I got a hunch, but I can’t know for sure. Although it’s possible that I could find out,” I say and get the syringe out of my pocket, making her frown.
“It has something to do with Marshall,” she reads my thoughts, like she is feeling my unease while her eyes are on thesyringe. “Where do you have that from?” she asks me with her gaze full of hope, a fact that comforts me.
“I found it when I also came across this idiot.”
“What does this drug do exactly? You told me vaguely, but I need more details considering my experiences.”
“From the stories I’ve heard, in theory, it should make you fall in love with another person if certain quantities of the ingredients it contains are used.”
