I want the water. I want relief.
I want him to stop watching me like he can see inside me, see the exact second my willpower finally crumbles.
I choke back a sob.
His breath brushes against my ear.
"Do it, Adora."
His voice is so soft. Tender. Just like the way he used to speak to mebefore. Before I betrayed him. Before I ruined him.
I break.
I turn my head toward him, almost shaking. I look right into his eyes when my cracked lips brush the corner of his mouth.
Memories invade my mind. Of a time when I felt loved. Cared for. If I had any left in me, tears would fall down my cheeks.
Instead, grief grips my heart and squeezes so hard my breath cuts off.
When I lean back, he doesn't look victorious. He looks haunted.
Ghost
I win. A piece of her broke right now, and that’s all that matters.
I lift the glass to her lips, tilting it just enough to let her have a tiny sip. She makes a small, wrecked sound. Desperate. Is she desperate enough, though? I pull the glass back, watching her closely. She lets out a strangled noise, half gasp, half sob, her fingers weakly gripping my wrist.
Asking.
Begging.
That’s what I was looking for. But seeing her like this… feels empty. I shouldn’t have fucking asked for that kiss.
I exhale slowly, pressing the rim of the glass to her lips again, watching her lashes flutter as relief finally hits her. She drinks greedily, gasping between sips, fingers still clutching my wrist like she’d disappear if she let go.
When the glass is empty, I let it fall to the ground and keep watching her. She breathes shakily, still trembling, still toofucking soft and vulnerable and fragile. I lift my hand to her face, brushing my thumb across her lower lip, catching the last drop of water before it can slip away. Without thinking, I drag that same thumb across my own mouth.
She stills. So do I.
Our gazes lock, and for one, terrifying second, I'm not looking at the woman who destroyed me. I'm looking at the only person who has ever made me feel anything real.
I hate myself more for this weakness. This isnotfucking happening.
I lean in, my lips a breath away from hers, and whisper, "You're mine now, adorable."
She doesn't deny it or pull away. When I stand up and leave her there, alone in the cell, we both know there’s no coming back from this.
4. Game
Adora
Drinking water again should have made me feel stronger.It didn't.Every glass he brings me sits heavy in my stomach, a cruel reminder that I gave him exactly what he wanted.
How much time has it passed since I've been here?
I pull the rough fabric of the blanket closer to me. It's cold enough in this forsaken place for me to feel it constantly, but not enough to kill me. The tremors in my hands have eased, but they're not gone.
I'm not gone, at least not yet, but Ghost is making sure that will change.
