AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We don't have to be in the same bed. Fuck, we don't have to be in the same room. But sleeping in a hotel room far away from her when things are getting worse is incredibly difficult. I already have a very hard time sleeping, but when Trine isn't here, things are considerably harder.
Luke has his own room across from mine, but I don't want to spend time by myself. I know he's probably asleep, but I'm pacing around and want company. I text him, but he doesn't see the message and he definitely doesn't answer.
It's around midnight when I run a bath. Maybe the hot water will be enough to trigger my nervous system into going to sleep, even though I'm wide awake and tossing and turning in bed.
I sit down on the tub, scrolling through my newsfeed on my phone when a knock on the door of my room startles me.
Frowning, I walk toward it. I open the door to see Salinas standing there, looking just as shitty as I feel. "Hi," I say. "It's late."
"Were you sleeping?"
I shake my head. "No," I said. "What's that? Religious intention?"
"Yes. Also, I could hear your footsteps from across the hallway. These walls aren't well insulated."
"I wasn't trying to keep you awake."
"You weren't keeping me awake," he replies, shrugging his shoulders. "I already couldn't sleep. I wanted company. I hope you don't mind."
I sigh. Maybe it was intuition. I open the door for him. "I don't mind. Come on in," I reply. "Nightmares?"
He shakes his head, making his way to my bed. "No. No nightmares. Mostly because I can't sleep. If I could sleep, I'd probably be too tired to dream."
"Unless it's already spread and you're possessed now too."
He rolls his eyes, a smile on his face. "I know you're joking, but don't. I don't really want your bad energy right now."
I laugh, rolling my eyes too. I stop the tap for the tub and walk over to him. I grab my phone and look at my empty notification bar. "Nothing from Rei yet.”
“You know what they say. No news is good news."
"I guess I just don't get it," I say. "Like...I understand that things are hard for Trine right now. But I barely remember what my own apartment looks like. Feels like we've been out here forever."
“I know what you mean,” he replies. “I hope my plants are still alive.”
I laugh. I can tell he means it.
“It’s not selfish to worry about yourself even when you’re concerned about someone else. You’re allowed to have enough bandwidth in your brain for yourself, too,” he says.
“Thanks, Father,” I reply. “I appreciate your advice.”
He rolls his eyes. “That was more for me than for you.”
“Well, I hope it helped you more than it helped me.”
He shakes his head, a smile on his face. “How are you okay with this?” he asks. “Aren’t you worried about Malon?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m concerned that he’s lying to Trine,” he says. “That he’s going to hurt her.”
“I don’t really know how I feel about it,” I reply. “I don’t want to hurt her with another exorcism, obviously, and she has the final say on what happens to her own body.”
“Right,” he says. “I’m worried, though. If she waits for too long, then there might be no way back.”
“You don’t have autonomy over her.”
“I’m aware,” he replies. “It’s just infuriating.”
