“They moved?” I ask.
“No, they’re gone.”
“No!” I say, my voice cracking. I grab the nearest creature, pulling at the top of his shirt. The boy's eyes widen when he sees me. “Where are they?” I growl, and he blinks at me.
“Who?” he asks, looking around the room.
“Them,” I say, gesturing wildly. “The four of them—Jagger, Killian, Lucifer, and Vinny—where did they go? Did you see them?” I ask, and his face twists into confusion.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” he says quietly, and my stomach drops.
“That’s not funny,” I snarl.
“I’m not—” But I shove him away, making him stumble into the table, his metal tray slamming against it.
“Stop lying!” I scream, and heads turn. Eyes crawl over my skin, penetrating through my body. “They were here,” I snap. “They were right fucking here!” No one answers. No one reacts. It’s as if I didn’t say anything, like I’m not even—real. “No,” I whisper as my chest tightens. This isn’t right. This isn’t—I spin, looking again, searching harder. Under every table. In every corner, over every face.Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
“They’re messing with you,”Jethro says.
“They can't,” I fire back, gritting my teeth as my fists tighten at my sides.
“They can.”
“They wouldn’t,” I seethe.
“They already did.”He chuckles as my fists begin to shake. I grab a tray, I don’t remember picking up, and it slips, clattering against the floor. Everyone stops for just a second—then—everything keeps going like I don’t matter, like none of this matters. “They were here,” I say again, only quieter this time. Almost desperate. “They were here.” No one answers, because if they were—someone would know—someone would remember… right? Right?
“What if they don’t exist?”Jethro says, and the thought hits like a blade, cold and deep.
“No!”
“What if it was just you?”he taunts.
“No!”
“What if you made them up?”He smiles sinisterly.
“Stop!” I scold, my voice echoing loudly. The room tilts and the walls shift as the noise stretches into something distorted. I press my hands to my head. “No! No! No!” They were real. I felt them. I remember—the room. The drug. The hallway. The blood—
My breath stutters… What if— what if that wasn’t real? What if none of it was? My stomach twists and my smile cracks. I feel it. Splitting, breaking. “I’m not crazy,” I whisper.
“You are.”
“I’m not—”
“You are.”
My knees hit hard against the floor, but no one moves. No one helps, because they don’t care. “They were real.” Silence greets me as a tear falls down my cheek.
“Were they?”Jethro hums, and everything stops. I don’t know, and that’s worse than anything they’ve done to me. I laugh—not giggle. Just softly laugh a broken tune. If they weren’t real—then what does that make me? And if they were—then where the hell did they go? My head tilts slowly as my smile stretches again. “I’ll find you,” I whisper. “I know you’re real,” I say, my voice shaky. Because now? I’m not sure if I’m trying to convince them—or myself.
I don’t get up right away. The floor feels safer—solid and real. My fingers press into it. Hard.
“Stay,” I whisper, like it might leave me too,
“It will,”Jethro says softly.
“Shut up!” I growl.
