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“She what?“
“She kept saying that he was evil and that she needed to get him, and the rest of the staff came in and I guess they thought I incited it, so I don’t think I was especially safe in there. But it’s so weird that he was there…“
“So you think he was following you?“
“No, I have no idea if he was following me or not,“ she says. “And if he was following me, how could he have gotten on staff? It almost feels like it’s entirely by design and that scares me. Like he has more control over my own destiny than I do. But that’s like, a crazy thing to think, right?“
I glance at her, unsure of what I’m supposed to answer. I know she probably wants me to comfort her and tell her that she’s overreacting, but there’s no way for me to, mostly because I think she might be right.
“What’s his name?“
“Don’t,“ she says, sounding annoyed. “Don’t just brush past this. I need to know if I’m overreacting or…“
“No. I don’t think you are,” I say. “That’s why I asked you for his name, so I can look him up. Not so I can brush past this.”
“So you think he’s…“
“I don’t know what he is,“ I say. “I think you might want to speak to Luke about this instead of me.“
“You can’t think this is in my head, can you?“ she says. She sounds like she’s on the verge of tears, which I didn’t expect.
“I definitely don’t think that, no,“ I say. “Whatever is happening to you is not just in your head. I don’t want to speak to the spiritual side of it. I don’t know anything about it. I do know that you haven’t been well. I want to help you. If there are people out there…or, I don’t know, entities who want to use you for their own means, that wouldn’t surprise me. But I’m not an expert and you definitely need to talk to Luke about this. To be honest, as much as I hate to say this, I think we really want to get a move on with your exorcism.“
She turns to look at me, not saying anything. “So you think it’ll work.“
“I think it’s our best shot of keeping you safe,“ I reply. That, at least, feels like the truth. “And whoever this man is? I think we need to find him.“
“Okay. And what are you going to do when you find him?“
I shrug my shoulders, anger coursing through my veins as I think of anyone making Trine feel threatened. The very idea of it makes me feel uncomfortably close to losing control. “We’ll talk,“ I say, which doesn’t feel entirely like a lie.
“And if that doesn’t work?“
“I don’t know,“ I reply as we turn into the street leading to the hotel. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens.“
From the corner of my eye, I can see her expression, and she looks scared.
I just really hope it’s of him and not of us.
TRINE
My legs still feel like they’re about to buckle when I walk into Rei’s hotel room.
There’s no indication that this is Rei’s room except for his phone with the bespoke case, which is open on his nightstand.
“You can go ahead and have a shower,“ he says from behind me, his hand on my shoulder. I can feel the heat of his fingertips on my skin, but he drops his hand almost immediately.
I tilt my head up to look at him. “Then what?“
“You can wear some of my clothes,“ he says. “While you’re here, I’ll go buy you some things you might like. And, well, you didn’t bring many clothes up here, did you?“
I shake my head. “No. What about my phone?“
“I don’t know,“ he says. “Let’s get you in the shower first.“
I should walk to the bathroom; I tell myself that I should, the words echoing meaninglessly in my head. Rei’s hand is on the small of my back and he’s pushing me forward slightly, but I can’t bring myself to move. I can’t bring myself to do anything but stand there as my legs shake. His touch practically burns me and I immediately feel like I need to fall to my knees.
It’s weird, being so exhausted, suddenly feeling like I’m unable to move. But Rei doesn’t let me fall, wrapping his arm around my waist instead and ushering me to sit on the bed instead.
