And somewhere out there, she’s just…gone.
20 THREE MONTHS
Iused to think nothing could hurt me more than what Daniel did to me.
Turns out I was wrong. Pain fades. But betrayal just keeps echoing. Over and over like it’s on a loop in my mind.
The light hums above me, too bright and too white. I don’t remember when it came back on. My body feels like it’s been scraped raw from the inside out. Every breath stings, every muscle aches.
I’m too weak to do anything. I’ve lost so much weight I can see my ribs. My skin is covered in cuts and bruises. My hair is dry and falling out in clumps. Some parts matted. I’m always cold, and moving too fast makes me feel like I’m on a tilt-a-whirl. My appetite is almost nonexistent, the hunger being replaced by nausea and cramps.
They give me small amounts of food, but even that hurts. My lips are cracked, my tongue is raw. They only give me a bottle of water to last me three to four days and it’s impossible to not guzzle it all down. I’m constantly blacking out, and when I fall asleep, they blast music or alarms into the room to jolt me awake. Even if they don’t, it’s fragmented sleep, plagued by pain.
I’m not sure I’ll sleep peacefully ever again.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been here but it’s definitely been a few months.Everything blends together and with no windows in the room, I have no sense of time.
Butch and Delaine left me on the floor this time. Not the chair. A mercy, maybe. The door clicks open.
No, no, no, they can’t already be back.
My mind begins to race. Boots. A slow, unhurried stride. Not Butch and Delaine. Not Gideon.
I’d know his rhythm anywhere. Even after his betrayal, my heart still lurches when I see him. He stands at the bottom of the stairs, his face shadowed by the light behind him. His usual all-black attire. Gloves. No emotion.
Everything about him looks foreign. I’m not even sure I knew him at all. He doesn’t move. Just watches me.
“You’re awake,” he says flatly.
It’s his voice, but not. The tone’s wrong. Too calculated. Cold.
I try to swallow the dryness in my throat, but it burns when I speak. “Fuck off.”
Jace shakes his head as he walks toward me. Each step is bouncing off the walls.
“Still such a smart mouth.” He shakes his head, crouching in front of me.
I used to fight back. But the lack of energy quickly snuffed that out.I don’t waste the energy to say anything more. I adjust my head to look up at Jace. The light is bright, but I swear there’s a flicker of something in his eyes.
Maybe I imagined it.
There are flowers everywhere.The sun is shining, and there's a soft pleasant breeze ruffling my hair. Clouds float lazily in the sky. I turn, there's a figure standing a few feet away. His back is to me, but I’d know him anywhere.
“Tex?” My voice trembles with disbelief.
Tex turns, smiling at me.
“Hey there, little fighter.” He's dressed in a fitted black dress shirt and black jeans.
“Am I finally dead?” I look around us.
Tex's eyes soften. “No, you're not.”
“Where am I?” I look around us, there's nothing but fields and trees.
I turn back to find Tex, sitting on a blanket.
“Come sit, let's talk.”
