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Hugo walks closer, and I shiver as he uses a pocketknife to slice off the rope. But only on one of my wrists.
“Dig in, please,” he beams.
Even after five days of nothing but water, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a couple bananas here and there, I have zero appetite. But again, this man is insane. As would I be not to do what he says.
So I smile as I start in on the bland poached egg, making a big show of nodding and chewing eagerly.
“Good?”
“Sogood,” I gush.
Hugo grins, turning and lowering his face to the lines of cocaine on the mirror.
“Hugo?” I venture.
He turns, renewed mania in his eyes as he sniffs loudly and wipes his nose.
“Yes, my love?”
I shudder again at the term of endearment.
“What is this? I mean…all of this? Us being here?”
His eyes lock with mine.
“Can’t you guess? This is our fresh start, my love.”
“Don’t.”
It tumbles out of me, and I can’t stop it. Every time he calls me “love” I want to throw up.
Because I don’t know if the man Idolove is alive or dead. I don’t know if his family is, either. And I’ve spent five days in a black hole doing everything I can not to think about that, but every time Hugo says that word, I get closer to exploding.
“Don’t what—”
“Don’t call me that,” I choke, cringing in my chair.
Hugo frowns. Fear stabs through me. Then he nods slowly.
“Yes, I know, Elsa,” he sighs. “I know. I wastooin love with you, and it frightened you away. And I’m still in love with you to this day, which is why it hurts so much that you cheated on me.”
I go still, my face paling as my eyes snap to his.
“What?”
“You wereweak, my love.”
“Hugo, I don’t know what you’re—”
Nora and I both scream as he whirls violently and punches the flimsy wall next to the stove, sending his fist through it in a cloud of plaster dust.
“You were weak!” he snarls, turning back on me. “And you took another man.”
I shake my head. “No, Hugo—”
“I found hiscumon your panties when I broke into your apartment,my love.”
I almost choke, my eyes flaring as the words hit me like a slap in the face.
