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“Damien!” I shouted through the door, the silence on the other side terrifying. Almost as terrifying as rattling the handle and the door refusing to budge. He’d locked me in, and now he was silent. I couldn’t hear his ragged breathing, couldn’t hear him talking to Jonathan on the phone.
“Damien,talk to me,”I pleaded, the knowledge that I was trapped itching under my skin, sharper and deeper with every minute he didn’t reply.
I can’t let them hurt you, too. I can’t lose you, too. Please, please—
“No one’s going to hurt me,” I tried. “They’d never get past you, would they?”
Silence.
Oh, god. Had he left? A worse thought came on its heels, along with a vision of him red-faced, wild-eyed, and gasping for air. Was he hurt?
“Damien?” I banged on the door with my fist. “Say something.Damien!”
He wasn’t responding, and being locked in the bathroom with no way out closed a tight band around my chest. Shit.
The twins began barking at the top of their lungs in the living room, and my breath caught. They only barked when someone was here—or when we left. Either Damien had left me or someone had got into the flat.
“Damien,” I breathed through the door in case he was still on the other side. “I think someone’s here. You have to let me out. Please, Damien.”
Footsteps thundered down the hallway, undeniable. Someone was definitely in our flat, and I couldn’t shake the fear that my husband was hurt.
Shit, shit,think.I spun, searching for something I could use to break my way free, but my breathing grew more and more shallow, and the walls were starting to close in. I could shoot the lock, but what if Damien really was on the other side of the door? I’d shoot my husband.
Out of ideas, I backed up and ran at the door, but it didn’t budge. It didn’t even rattle. Newly replaced, it was still solid. Fuck!
“Shit,” a deep voice swore on the other side, and hairs stood swiftly on the back of my neck. I wasn’t sure I was breathing. “Vasya, you in there? It’s Jonathan.”
I exhaled all the air in my lungs, letting my head fall against the door. It was Jonathan, only Jonathan.
“I’m here. Is Damien okay?”
“Fuck, I don’t know, Vasya,” Jonathan murmured. “Hey, man, wake up—” He grunted, and then snapped, “Fucker! What are you doing?”
“Get back,” an unfamiliar voice hissed, breathy and sharp. Damien? “You’re not taking her, too.”
“Too?” Jonathan asked, and then groaned. “Fuck’s sake. I told you to go to therapy years ago, but would you listen? Look at me! Vasilisa isfine.She’s safe except for the fact you’ve locked her in a fucking bathroom and she’s probably freaked out. So let her out.”
“No.”
Unease dripped down my spine. The walls closed further, pressing on my chest. “Damien,” I said, loud enough for my voice to carry. “Please, I don’t like being locked up. Please open the door.”
“I can’t, Vasya,” he replied, breathless. Pleading.
I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to force it to expand with a full breath. “I need to get out of here, Damien. Please.”
“Let her out,” Jonathan growled, “or I will.”
I drove my fist against the door, the vice in my chest pulling even tighter, until I was wheezing. The walls were brushing my arms, so close I couldn’t move, could only hammer on the door. A horrible pressure built in my head.
“Let me out.Carnation.Let me out!”
I heard his ragged breath, heard his sharp curse, but the bathroom was starting to go fuzzy around the edges. I flinched when movement rushed at me, and it took me a moment to realise I was the one moving—falling. The door had opened all at once and I tumbled out of the bathroom, my head spinning, my chest screaming for air.
I clumsily climbed to my feet just as a solid weight slammed into my side, hard enough that I stumbled back. Sparrow. It was justSparrow.Groaning, I pressed my hand harder against my chest, willing air into my lungs. The bedroom came into hazy focus around me, but for once I didn’t feel grateful to be here. I itched toget out.
“Never—” I wheezed, searching through the blurry room for my husband. “Never lock me up again.”
He was frozen in place, wearing only a towel as he stared at me in utter horror. The whites of his eyes showed nothing but fear.
