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He leaned in, testing me, fingers drifting upwards to my mouth. “All you’d have to do is say…ahhh.”

I clenched the pill into my hand, shakily bringing it up to my mouth. I was tempted to take it just to get us the hell out of here. Silas was practically in my lap at this point.

My plan was to spit the pill back into my drink and leave it there. Silas watched with pleasure as I placed the pill in my mouth.

“Mmm…that’s it,” he coaxed, his smile predatory, his eyes shining.

Instantly, I needed my shot because whatever he gave me started to dissolve on my tongue before I could even process my next move. The flavor was awful and my plan to spit it out instantly backfired as the pill exploded in my mouth. I washed it down quickly, coughing.

Fast acting. Great.

“What the fuck was that?” I yelped, snatching a bottle of water from the other side of the counter, without asking. I had it about halfway drunk before Silas could speak through his laughter.

He was buckled over, clenching his sides. “Ahhh, shit. Noah. You’re hilarious. I love it. It’s a placebo, there’s nothing in it.”

I drug my hand over my mouth, wiping the water away from the corners.

“You—” I stopped mid sentence, dumbstruck. My brain had stopped functioning and coherent sentences were not possible at the moment. Did he just say that he gave me a fake pill?

This motherfucker was all jokes today. Well, haha, very fucking funny.

I rose to my feet. “You know what—I am so done with you. I’m out.”

“Don’t go!” he cackled, still leaning against the counter for support.

I pressed my fingers to my temple. “The problem with you Silas is that you don’t know when to fucking quit. You play with people’s emotions and you don’t lose sleep over it. You’re insane!”

Silas did a little gasp, and his hand shot up to cover his mouth. “Oh no,” he mocked, “Is this our first fight?” A few heads turned in our direction, not quite staring, but not ignoring either.

Silas took notice of them, but he didn’t care. He extended his arms out, aiming to take hold of my hips. “Let me make it up to you, Raven.”

His pet name for me caused a lump to form in my throat. I couldn’t help the reactions my body had when he did that. But nothing could overpower my current anxiety. Silas was deadly close to me now—his face mere inches from my lower half. He gave zero fucks that we had an audience.

I grit my teeth together. “You are embarrassing. Stop acting like a feral dog in heat.”

“Feral?” he said loudly, and with a sly smile. “I can show you feral. Got any more handcuffs?”

“Christ!” I nearly punched him into silence. It took everything in my power to wrestle out of his hold and walk past him without another word that would end up in someone’s stupid Instagram story or blog the next day.

Silas, still laughing, reached for my arm as I stomped out the backdoor of the bar. I swung my wrist away from him. It didn’t matter. I knew he’d follow no matter what.

All the shots on top of whatever fake white shit that Silas brought for kicks was making my stomach hurt.

I hardly felt any better once I was in the evening air. The clouds hung low in the sky, creating an almost foggy appearance on the ground beneath my feet. The air that draped over me was sticky and unpleasant—smothering. I considered whether I would call my driver or just walk home. This alley brought back far too many memories for me. I decided that I’d just call, since that would get me away from Silas faster.

Abruptly, my knees stiffened, and I plunged to the ground. I threw my hands out in front of me to break the fall, but still felt the hard gravel dig into my flesh upon contact.

My lips twitched upwards in pain. “What the hell?” I winced, trying desperately to figure out what had gone wrong. It was as if the signal to move hadn’t completely reached my brain.

Obviously, I had drank too much, but I was sure that I didn’t consume enough to affect my ability to walk. I brought myself to my feet with a wobble, struggling against the wall of the bar for support. My body felt like it was made of jello.

I staggered forward, pressing myself fully against the sturdy brick. The rise and fall of my chest was eccentric. Sweat pooled on the back of my neck, and an overpowering heat consumed me.

What is wrong with me?

“Are you okay?”

I turned, barely making out Silas’s blurry figure exiting the bar.