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“What did everyone do after?”
“We ate dinner in silence while my nose bled. It’s kinda how my family does shit. Ignore, suppress, always be a good little soldier for the boss. I wanted to get out of there. See the world, become an archeologist. Anything to get away from…” he swallows, eyes a little glassy, and my heart feels like it’s being ripped out of my chest. How could I care for someone like him? I don’t understand how it happened, but I do… I’m not sure what it means or where this care runs, but it’s flowing for him and my heart is aching and all I do is brush a knuckle down his jaw.
“That’s awful, Adrik.”
He shrugs, grabbing my hand as I'm about to pull it away and kissing my fingers nonchalantly. This action makes that pain in my chest turn to a flutter, and I’m captivated by him in the most dangerous sense. Nothing about this is safe. He’s not safe, I’m not, and none of us will be if I don’t turn back now. I’ve taken this too far, allowed myself to get tangled up in him when I know, ultimately, this is all a game.
At least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself. Now I’m not as confident.
I should be able to think this without feeling more confused than ever, but it’s too difficult to reason. How could someone ever care for a beast like Adrik?
A sinking feeling, in the pit of my stomach, tells me I might not be too far off from answering that question.
“We should get back.” He whispers and I nod, rolling off him as he quickly stands, grabbing me a tissue to wipe off whatever remnants of him remain on me. I take it with a thankful, lip-pressed smile and wipe off my legs before changing back into my clothes. Though it’s warm inside the office, I know it will be cold out in the hallway, so I put my sweater on, and we make our way back to the Theater. Just as I walk through the door– Adrik close behind me– Olive pokes her head around the corner, eyes flicking between us both in a way that scares me.
Fear shakes her whisper as she asks unsteadily. “Where have you two been?”
Chapter Twenty One:Adrik
“We—“Espie’s eyes go wide as she glances back at me for help, but I don’t know how to answer Olive. If I answer her too quickly, she could figure out what we did and then my plan will go out the window because we won’t be allowed any more alone time together. But If I don’t answer her soon enough, the outcome could be the same.
This is honestly too much thinking for one person to do, all just to have sex. Either I’m desperate or just stupid at this point. Espie nudges me with her elbow in the dark and I shrug towards Olive, crossing her arms over her chest like a mini Espie, waiting for me to respond with something good.
“Well, uh…” I shake my hand through my hair, becoming more aware of how we both look a bit disheveled. “Espie had to go to the bathroom.”
“Why didn’t you wake Barth?”
“Because Barth needs his rest so he can protect us best.” Espie responds for me, and Olive narrows her eyes, clearly not satisfied with our answer.
“Espie got really hungry for something other than popcorn and candy. She woke me up with her whining about it, so to shut her up I took her to the kitchen. You’re welcome for not waking everyone else up. Look, I wanted to sleep, but I couldn’t because Esperanza kept complaining to me about how she needed to go to the bathroom, or she was gonna shit herself.” Espie clears her throat, clearly annoyed with me, and I hold back a grin because she has that look in her eyes she gets when she’s pissed.
Olive arches a brow. “Espie was asleep when I went to bed.”
“I woke up.” Espie shrugs coolly. “Olive, is there a problem?”
“No. I was concerned about you, that’s all. But if you say you were fine—“
“I was. Just had to go to the bathroom and thought it best not to go alone.” She pauses another moment longer, looking between us before walking the rest of the way to us and grabbing Espie’s arm.
“Lock that door.” She points to me and I salute her, earning an eye roll from them both as I turn to lock us in again. The rest of the night is smooth sailing. Everyone falls asleep, and eventually so do I, drifting off without even realizing it. My sleep is more peaceful than it’s ever been, which is an odd thing to notice because I don’t really ever pay attention to how poorly I sleep most days.
In the morning I wake up to Tom and Jerry on the screen and Barth, Olive and Espie under their covers, laughing like it’s comedy gold. I yawn and stretch loudly, earning me the attention of everyone, when really I only wanted to see Espie. Is that weird? I should figure that strange desire out.
“Good morning.” Barth raises his brows like I’ve interrupted them.
“Morning.” My voice is scratchy and eyes still heavy as I sit up. The smell of breakfast reaches my nostrils before I can ask what the plan is for today, and it seems like we’re still locked in here when another silver cart rolls in for us. The chef leaves without so much as a word, and the door locks once more after they’ve exited.
“We’re never getting out of here, are we?” Espie asks me and I shrug.
“How should I know?”
“You’re kind of in charge, aren’t you?”
“Less than you’d think.” I mumble more to myself than anyone else as I stand to grab breakfast.
“Actually, I’m waiting to get a call from the boss.” Barth pipes up, right on my heels, to get food as well. I cock my head back to him.
“Oh?”
