Page 3 of The Unravelings

I rear back, feeling like I’ve been slapped by his damn words. Faking it? What the absolute fuck? I didn’t fake anything. My scars prove it. My trauma proves it. If only he could glimpse into my mind and relive that night repeatedly as I do. Then, he’d see who was faking it.

He’s the reason I’m invisible. Hux. Mack. They all worked together to help Franco bring me to my knees and beg for my life.

“How convenient you forgot!” I grit out between clenched teeth, trying hard not to shout. If I shout, then it’ll only draw attention to this conversation. That’s the last thing I want to do. The fewer people who know who I really am under the mask I’ve been wearing, the better.

I suck in several breaths, attempting to control my emotions. Emotions get you killed. Emotions make you reckless and stupid.

“F-forgot?” he whispers and signs at the same time with a distressed tone. “Forgot what?” Confusion darkens his eyes and twists his expression. I almost fall for it. The big puppy-dog eyes, begging me to hear him out. But I won’t make that mistake ever again.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? You’ll get stabbed.

I take a step forward, menace dripping off me in waves. “You forgot what happened to me. What you did. What they did.” The edge of my knife rests in the middle of his chest. I could slice through him like butter.

Do it. Do it, Liv! Make him pay for betraying your trust and taking your family’s lives. Your life!

My fingers tremble. The hate, rage, and pain bear down on me like a heavy weight on my shoulders, urging me forward. I’ve waited years to do this. To enact my revenge and vengeance against these assholes.

I take several deep breaths, regaining myself. Reeling myself back in from the brink of destruction. Of me. Him. Everything.

“What are you talking about? Please. Just tell me. Just…” His whispers penetrate through the fog clouding my brain and bring me back. Realization hits me over the damn head.

I can’t.

I can’t stab him or tell him what he wants to hear. He’s putting on an act. Like he doesn’t have a clue what I’m talking about. He’s good, I’ll give him that. In another life, he should have been an actor.

But I won’t stand here and listen to the lies he has to tell.

“No, I…” I shake my head as the knife slips from my grip and drops to the carpeted floor with a soft thud. But I don’t have time to pick it up now. Or think about it as desperation fills my mind. I need to leave this room before the walls crash in on me and take me hostage with JJ. I need to get out of his sight and catch my breath. “I have to go. No! I mean, you have to go.” My words tremble off my heavy tongue in a rush, mashing together before I can stop them.

Leaving this room is my only option now. If he tries to stop me, then I’ll throw myself out the window and run. No. What I need to do is regroup and calm all the volatile emotions taking over. I need to meet with Jonathan. I can’t stand here doing nothing.

Taking a step back, I find my phone on my desk and send Jonathan a quick message. JJ watches me, enamored by my existence. Almost frozen from the confrontation, or lack thereof.

The only sounds echoing through the room are his heavy breaths as my fingers shake, typing out a short and sweet message to Jonathan.

Agent 7: I’ve been compromised. I need to meet you now.

Agent 0: 20 minutes. 3585 E. Mound Rd.

Twenty minutes. Perfect. The best excuse to get the fuck out of here for good before I do something stupid.

I swallow hard, shoving my phone into my sweatpants pocket. Thank God I wore baggy lounge clothes to binge-watch TV with Simon. T-shirt. Sweatpants. Thick fuzzy socks. At least I’m dressed in something presentable and don’t have to change into jeans in front of JJ. The only downfall is that my binder is missing, my contacts aren’t hiding the brown of my eyes, and my glasses are on the charger.

Rookie fucking mistake. I never should have gotten so comfortable with Simon. Yes, he knew I was a girl beneath my mask, but I should have hidden myself better. Been a better fucking agent. If I had been in disguise, then I could have told JJ he was crazy. That I’m not this Olivia person. Just a lookalike.

But JJ caught me red-handed.

I ignore the way JJ watches me scuttle around the room, collecting my things and trying to alleviate the pressure building in my chest. It builds and builds, crushing every organ inside me. Especially my heart. My poor, broken, and betrayed heart.

My skin crawls when I turn, staring straight into his familiar eyes. So fucking familiar that my heart nearly skips a beat at the way he looks at me with a dazed expression. The reality of me standing in front of him must be sinking into his skin and burrowing into his brain.

I’m alive.

“This stays between us.” I leave no room for argument. Sure, he could tell the others with a simple text. In fact, I bet he will. He’ll run to them and tell them everything that’s transpired here.

And then, I’ll be fucked.

But after this? I’ll be out of here; I have no doubt about that. There’s no way Jonathan will keep me in the field after JJ recognized me. He’ll send someone new in. Someone fresh. Someone else to finish the job I couldn’t complete.