Page 607 of End Game

“I know.”

“Do you?”

Silence.

There is the Micah I expected.

“I want you to stop deciding whether you can handle another one.”

His breath catches.

“You asked me to hold that tonight.”

I step closer, close enough that my voice does not need volume.

“So let me.”

For several seconds, he says nothing.

Then his head lowers. “Okay.”

“Who decides when you've had enough?”

His fingers tighten.

No answer.

I wait.

When he does not answer, I step back.

The strap lands.

His whole body jerks.

A sharp inhale tears through him.

I wait until his breathing settles.

“Color?”

“Green.”

Again.

Hard enough now to leave broad red across his skin.

His legs tremble.

“Who decides?”

Silence.

Another strike.

Micah exhales hard through his teeth.

I can see the fight happening in him, and none of it is against me.