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“I…” His mouth opened, shut, and then opened again. He appeared to be at a loss for words, his eyes bright. “I honestly don’t know.”
“Do you think we know each other? I mean,kneweach other? In the real world?”
He stared at me with an inscrutable expression, but instead of answering me, he asked, “Do you want to hurt me?”
“What?” I gasped. His words took me off guard, and for a moment, all I could do was blink at him repeatedly, all coherent thoughts fleeing from my mind.
“For lying to you. For putting you guys in danger.” His eyes were shadowed as he stared up at me from his perch on my sofa. “Do you want to hurt me?
I didn’t answer him right away, mainly because I wanted to be truthful.
My heart was racing a mile a minute, and my blood was spiked with fear. But I honestly didn’t know if that fear was directed at him and his confession or a byproduct of everything that’d just occurred with Dylan. A part of me knew my anger was rising to the surface like bubbles in boiling water. Betrayal and pain mixed together as well, a dangerous mixture liable to burn.
His words were like a garrote, digging into my neck so deep, blood welled.
But…
But he’d saved me. Saved us.
He’d led us out of Limbo and helped us conquer the next three circles of Purgatory. We’d lost Maria, but was that Heath’s fault? I remembered the way he’d lunged for her, the way his face had twisted with pain and horror.
And he’d saved me from Dylan. He claimed to have saved Tanner.
Was Heath the bad guy in this story? Or was he just a misunderstood hero?
“I…” I bit down on my lower lip. “I don’t know what to think anymore, Heath. This is all…this is all a lot to process.”
He nodded as if he’d expected that answer, his entire body bracing as if waiting for a blow I knew I wouldn’t—couldn’t—deliver.
“If you want me to go—”
“I don’t want you to go,” I interrupted. “We need you if we’re going to make it out of here alive.” Hope momentarily flashed in his gaze, but it dimmed with my next words. “It doesn’t change the fact that you lied to me, to all of us, and I can’t trust you. But if you’re willing to help us escape here—”
“I am.” He leaned forward to beseech me with his gaze.
“Then I want you to stay with us. And…and I won’t tell the others about what you told me.” Something tightened in my stomach. I knew the guys would be pissed that I kept this from them, but I also knew they would never allow Heath to remain with us if they knew the truth.
I didn’t trust him, but I needed him.Weneeded him. He was the only one who knew about this horrific wasteland we’d found ourselves in. We had five more circles we needed to conquer in order to return home, five more nightmares we had to survive.
“I promise you, I’ll do everything in my power to free you guys from this place,” Heath vowed solemnly. He paused, his gaze going distant, before adding, “No matter the cost.” His ominous words sent a prickle of unease skating down my spine. Why did they feel like a premonition? “Come. The others are waiting.” With that, he raised his hand into the air and flicked his fingers.
