Page 39

He wouldn’t just not come back to me.

After a while, laughter chimes in my ears, and I welcome it after a long, long day of excruciating silence. I keep my eyes closed. Not that it matters since tonight is dark, with no hint of moonlight in the sky.

It is a memory, I’ve decided. The laughter. A different memory for each person. Everyone laughing at me on the airplane, then Ezra and Naomi laughing at me when they were going through my stuff after we crashed.

And Nigel…

Not that he laughed much, but it’s the moment when he found me alone, right before he killed Maison—that dark, sinister laugh. When I hear it, it’s the anger from that night I cling to that keeps me from completely breaking.

None of the laughter belongs to Micah because he never fucking laughs. No one is here, or near, watching me. I’m hallucinating all of it and have been for months.

The laughter lasts most of the night until a streak of light finally appears in the sky and I can make out the shadows of the room.

Nearly twenty-four hours have passed since Micah left me like this.

My stomach grumbles. I’ve grown accustomed to eating regularly due to how well Micah takes care of me.

I ignore it.

My hunger is the least of my concerns, and I can deal with going without food for days on end. It’s the pit in my stomach that hurts from the grief and the fear he won’t ever come back. It’s my dry lips and cracked skin from the lack of water.

A loud bang startles me, as if someone threw something on the side of the cabin.

A rock.

Then another, a soft bang this time, from the other side of the house.

I squeeze my eyes shut as the walls start to close in on me. The laughter begins again, and I realize I am not hallucinating this time.

Someone’s here.

More than one person, from the sounds of it, and they are fucking with me. They keep throwing them, one after another, before the rocks bang into the siding like a drum. Every time one hits, I flinch until my body clenches so hard I have no choice but to collapse.

I let out a whimper, knowing there is nothing I can do because Micah left me helpless to them. I sway slowly and bite the inside of my cheek, waiting for them to stop, and eventually, the banging stops. But it’s the whispers of my name that make every hair on my skin stand on end. I wish they would come in here and do whatever it is they have planned for me instead of taunting me like this… I’d much prefer the physical pain to the mental anguish of knowing I can’t fight back.

My bladder lets loose, providing me with instant, blissful relief. I’m able to shift my body so most of it drips onto the floor, though there isn’t much that comes out.

Still, it’s so humiliating.

“Micah,” I moan out, calling for him, hoping that, somehow, he will appear.

“Micah’s not here, baby,” a soft, deep voice whispers in my ear.

I startle. My eyes open and scan the limited scope of my vision. My heart tightens, not in fear but in relief. The familiar voice has my body instantly softening.

“Maison,” I manage a small whisper. The laughter outside disappears, and a stillness fills the air. “Is that you?”

He appears to me in the corner of my eye. I want to reach out and touch him so badly. He crouches beside me, just out of reach, but I can see him. He’s wearing his gray hoodie, the one he died in. He looks so real, so tangible—nothing like a ghost.

“It’s really me, baby.” It even sounds like him.

I let out an uncontrollable sob and lay my head down, staring at his pretty dark eyes and soft face. “I miss you, Maison. I miss you so much. You have no idea how much I miss you.”

I see his face, the one I have not let myself picture during these past few months with Micah. I never used to notice the subtle differences between them, but they are so clearly etched in his expression now. He lets out an adorable grin, one I hadn’t realized I longed for since Micah still prefers to scowl. He peers down at me. “I’ve missed you, too, but I’m not gone, not really. I’m still here with you, baby.”

“He won’t let me think about you, Maison. I’m sorry I’ve blocked you out. I wish he had died instead of you.”

He tilts his head. “You don’t mean that, London. But Micah’s like that, baby. I warned you before you fell in love with him.”