Page 57 of Depraved

“Neon was supposed to bring you something to eat, but she’s currently sulking in her room by smoking a joint and listening to Slipknot.”

“Why is she sulking?”

He shrugged. “Granite told her she needs to come with us tomorrow.”

My throat closed. “Us?”

“Us.” The way he said it, the way he stared at me, I knew the “us” he was referring to included me.

“Where are we going?”

“I can’t say.” His words were clipped, his statement simple.

“What are you going to do to me?”

His posture was rigid, hands tucked into his jeans pockets. “Don’t ask questions, Alyx. Just…just cooperate. Don’t try to be brave.”

“I have to be. I have to be brave. Otherwise, how will I survive all of this? How will I survive your brother?” My eyes burned, tears threatening to show weakness. But I swallowed, clenching my jaw as I willed them away.

Blue irises stared back at me, a face much younger than his brother’s. “Listen, Alyx.” He stepped closer. “Don’t fight it, okay? Fighting it only makes it worse. And you’re not strong enough,” he held up his hands, “and I don’t mean that in a bad way. I mean you haven’t been in our world to be strong enough to handle all this shit with a fight. You feel me?”

“Yeah. I feel you.” My words were laced with sarcasm, the smirk on his face proof he picked up on it.

“I give you my word, Alyx. Cooperate, do as you’re told, and you will survive.”

“How am I supposed to trust your word when you’re holding me captive?” It was a legitimate question, and by the way he rocked backward and forward on his feet, he knew it too.

“Believe me, if I could tell you more to help set you at ease, I would. But I can’t.” He roughed a hand through his dirty-blond hair. “I know you have no reason to trust me—to trust any of us. Just don’t fight us. Soon all this will be over, and if you don’t fuck everything up by trying to be brave and stupid, you’ll be back to your perfect little life dancing at that fancy school of yours.”

A low, sardonic laugh left my lips. “I don’t think your brother plans on taking me back to my perfect little life, as you put it.”

He gave me a sidelong glance while keeping his head still. The silence around us gave me the confirmation I needed. Onyx knew just as well as I did there was a good chance I wouldn’t return to my life.

“Alyx,” he started, “I like you. I really do, and I wish I could make this easier for you, but I can’t. Not right now. You just need to trust me when I say this will all be over soon.”

The tears escaped. Not just one or two. It was like a fucking river ran down my cheeks, and I couldn’t keep it in anymore. “Nothing is going to be okay.”

“It will be.”

“Then help me. Help me understand him. Help me get inside his head so I can figure out what the hell it is he wants from me.”

Onyx grabbed my shoulders. “Then what, huh? If you have the answer to that, then what?” He gripped tight, fingers digging into my flesh as he shook me. “You’d still be here against your will. You’d still be in the middle of this. Answers won’t mean shit to you right now.”

“I want to go home. I just want to go home.” Sobs wracked through my body, desperation weeping out of me. “I’m so scared, and I just want to go home. Please!”

“Well, you can’t!” His voice erupted from his throat like thunder, silencing me instantly. With teary eyes, I stared up at him, his hands still tight on my shoulders. “You can’t go home. Not yet.”

With a hard tug, I jerked free from his hold, taking a step back. I shook my head while glaring at him. “He won’t let me go.”

Onyx pulled his lips in a straight line, not saying a word. At that moment, he couldn’t even look at me.

“Your brother won’t let me go.”

“Listen, Alyx—” He moved forward, but I stepped back.

“Granite wants me here, whether I want to be here or not. I’m not stupid. I know it’s not simple, and there’s something else going on. But whatever it is, your brother won’t let me go. Of that much, I’m sure.”

Onyx shook his head, hands resting at his sides. “Let’s see how this all plays out.”