“He isn’t here,” Ares says.
“I’m going to get food,” I say, sliding off the platform. I’m officially bored. “If I listen to another five minutes of all of you arguing, I may lose my mind.”
“Get me something with sugar,” Vero blurts.
“Get him something without sugar,” Brawley adds, and I laugh.
“You will all get what you get.”
I walk over to the gate, grab my jacket and water bottle from the ground beside it, then take a long drink before screwing the lid back on. I leave them to it and cut through the grounds to the housing part of the island. It’s quieter than normal today, with most of the staff in town for their monthly shopping trip. It seems weird to me, but most don’t like to leave the island often, and Ares told methey all go in together—safety in numbers and all that. Not that I think they need to worry, as I’m sure people will give them a wide berth.
I make it to the house and dig through the kitchen, pulling together some snacks for everyone. I load it all into a bag and grab my water bottle from the counter, drinking the rest of it before picking up the bag and heading back outside.
Realization hits me; this is very domestic. When did this become something I wanted? I’m here not because it’s convenient, but because I want this.
The walk back feels longer, and by the time I reach the cornfield, my feet feel heavy and my legs are getting tired. I stop and take a few breaths.I just need to eat something, I tell myself as I start walking again.
I don’t make it more than a few steps when my hands begin feeling weird, and when I look down at them, they blur. I try to tighten my grip on the bag, but my hands and brain don’t co-operate.
Something is wrong.
I stand still and try to think clearly. What the fuck is going on with me? My head feels fine, but my body feels weighted. The guys are too far away to call out, and as I turn around, I can’t see anyone—not even Cave.
“Hello, care bear.”
I freeze as the voice comes from behind me, from between the cornstalks. It’s one I know all too well, and my stomach drops. But I can’t run; I can barely move.Though I manage to turn around slowly, ready to face my worst nightmare.
He appears with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. If you didn’t know him, that face could fool you into thinking he is safe. He looks older than when I last saw him.
“You look good,” he says. “This place suits you.” Looking around, he smiles again. “Interesting choice, but very on-brand for someone who liked to play the victim.”
Run.
I tell my legs to move, but nothing happens. My hand drops the bag, no longer able to grasp it. The bag opens, and the food spills out on the ground, but he simply laughs.
“It’s okay,” he says, walking toward me. “I know you want to run. You always liked making things harder than they had to be.” He tilts his head and smirks. “But the drug speeds up the inevitable. You were never getting away from me, care bear. You know that.”
I open my mouth to scream, but no sound comes out. There are four men who would kill for me, but I can’t get their attention. The drug has rendered me useless.
When Aaron reaches out and takes my arm, I want to be sick, to fight back, but my body isn’t capable of doing anything right now.
“I wasn’t going to rush this,” he says as he pulls me along, each step like lead. “I have been patient and waited years to come back to you. Everything was planned out. But these men you have attached yourself toare smart, and the PI was a nice inclusion. I was running out of time,” he says and laughs. “You didn’t know about the PI, did you? They are already keeping things from you. That’s not love. I loved you. Me.”
My heart swells in my chest. Clay trusted my feeling that something wasn’t right, and I hold on to that thought. Surely they will soon realize I haven’t come back and come looking for me.
Aaron walks us behind the cornfield and toward the cemetery, and I curse because I saw Noa walking out with Vesper earlier. Dread moves through me; I know whatever he has planned isn’t good. I really hope they come for me soon.
As I’m dragged through the cemetery, memories play through my mind. Of being handcuffed to Vero and how Clay had me face-first in the dirt in a grave. I wish I could go back to that time.
“I thought about you every day, hoping you would come and visit. I figured you would be there when I got out, but you ran away from me.”
I ran because I finally figured out what you were.
“So I found you, but I needed to watch you first and make sure you were okay. Then I saw you with them,” he says, still dragging me through the cemetery. “I told myself it wasn’t what it looked like. That you wouldn’t do that to me.”
The headstones pass us in a blur, and I focus on them and not on him. “But itwaswhat it looked like—you replaced me. Do you know what that does to a man? Tolove someone that much and have them erase you?” Then he changes tack. “I’m not angry,” he says, which I can tell is a lie. It’s how things always started. “You need to know this isn’t what I wanted. You made this happen. If you’d waited, we could have started over.”
That was never going to happen.