She smiles brightly, convinced that she is winning, but she’s dead and doesn’t even know it yet.
I wait a few minutes before I say anything.“You okay?”I say through our bond.
“You should win an award for all that bullshitting you’re doing,”he says with amusement bleeding through our bond.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Talia
Day Six
Yesterday, nothing happened. Literally.Micah fed me, but that was it. No one spoke to me. No one touched Soren or me. I didn’t see Julie or Henry. They just let me sit here in what they see as boredom. Sometimes I would lie on the bed. Other times I would pace the room. Because I have access to the house, I would also pace the hallway. I just pretended to be as bored as fucking possible.
Soren and I don’t speak much because there isn’t really much to say. He understands what I am doing, and that’s all that matters. He knows that our bond is as strong as it was before we came into this hell-hole, if not stronger.
Today, I am going to seek out Julie. I think I have done a pretty damn good job pretending, so I’m going to push her a bit. I don’t pay Soren any attention as I get up from the cot and walk out of the room. The moment I have the door shut, I perk up a bit and pretend to be happier now that I’m out of the room. I go down to the bathroom before I find Julie’s room and knock.
“Come in,” she calls out.
“Hey,” I say, forcing a small smile.
“Did you need something, Talia?” she asks, sitting at her table with Micah and Henry.
“Yeah… I just had a question.” I say shyly. “I… Am I allowed to sleep anywhere else?”
“Why would you want to?” Henry asks casually.
“Look… I appreciate the food, the bed, and not hurting me. But…” I start, but stop.
“Go on,” Julie says, turning to me as if she gives a fuck.
“I am so fucking bored,” I say, and she smirks. “All I do is sit there and stare at the fucking wall. He is fucking lifeless overthere, and it’s pitiful. I would just like a change of scenery or maybe a sedative so I don’t have to look at his pitiful ass anymore.”
“You can stay in Micah’s room if you want,” Julie offers, testing me.
“Can I?” I ask, forcing a small smile onto my lips. I don’t want to appear overly eager, but I want her to think that I’m excited about the notion of being closer to him. When in reality, I would rather dip myself in acid and roll around in salt.
“Yeah,” Julie says. “Go grab your blanket, and Micah can show you his room. When you are done, come back and talk to me.”
“Thank you,” I say happily. Micah stands with a smile and gestures for me to leave the room. I lead the way down to the room and walk in without even looking at Soren. When I gather my blanket, Micah stops me and cups my face.
“Are you sure you want to move to my room, Bunny?” Micah asks sweetly.
“Yeah,” I say, forcing a shy smile. “Can we go?”
Micah gently presses his lips to mine, and I sigh and lean into him. It’s partly an act, but it’s instinctive in a way that makes me nauseous. “Let’s go,” Micah says, taking my hand.
I bounce out of the room with Micah, but make sure to push through our bond to speak to Soren.“Has he always been this fucking stupid?”I ask.
“It’s shockingly worse when he thinks that he has taken you from me,”Soren says carefully.
“He is pathetic. Not even you can make me stop loving you,”I say as I pull the door shut. Moving rooms should feel awful, but it doesn’t. It feels like hope when we’ve been surrounded by nothing but dreadful silence. It’s a reminder of why I am here and the fact that we will survive long after this place. But they will not survive me.
We go down the hall and step into a different room. I take initiative to immediately turn and kiss him. It shocks him for a moment, but then he wraps his arms around my body to deepen the kiss. It is absolutely nauseating, but I keep going.
“Micah,” I pant dramatically, resting my hands on his chest.
“Yes, Bunny?” he asks.
