Page 9 of Where We Ended

I faced him, silently pleading with him to agree.

Alec’s ashen eyes avoided me as he moved around the room. His leather cut came off, leaving him in just a t-shirt, and then his boots, revealing a pair of white socks.

“Alec.” I tried to get his attention again as he moved to his dresser and clicked on the lamp. The window in his room was only letting in muted colors from the strange opaque glass blocking out my surroundings.

He moved again, this time slipping into the small, attached bathroom. Water flowed from the faucet as Alec brushed his teeth and my eyes roamed to the bedroom door. It was unguarded. I waited for when I heard the faucet turn off and then the toilet seat lift. He began relieving himself, and I hesitated.

Run.

Run, Natty. Just get to the door.

My eyes burned as I stared, my left foot shifted the smallest bit and then as I blinked, I ran for it, pushing myself forward as quick as I could. My fingers came around the brass handle as a shaky breath left my lungs.

The knob turned the smallest bit right as an arm came around my middle, lifting me off the ground.

Alec shut the door with his foot and began pulling me toward the middle of the room.

“If you step outside of this room, Fable will find you and trust me, Artie, you don’t want him to find you.”

I pushed against his arm, digging my nails in as hard as I could.

“Ouch. Fuck.” He dropped me, inspecting his torn skin.

I spun on him, seething. “Stop calling me Artemis. Stop flirting with me. Just fucking stop. We’re not friends, Alec. We are enemies.”

He smirked. “I’m not your enemy, and what…only Silas gets to give you nicknames?”

“Yes.”

His gaze searched mine before letting out a huff of air and spinning away from me. “You chose the mean one, Natty. Darkness, anger and bullshit. I’ve known you for just as long, and you’re acting like we don’t have just as many memories.”

We had nothing compared to what I’d built with Silas. He wanted to bait me into conversation, but I wouldn’t give him that. Instead, I walked over, grabbed a pillow, pulled the top layer of his blankets off and made myself a bed on the floor.

Alec watched me, then let out a heavy sigh as he slid into his bed, muttering, “Not like we haven’t shared a bed before.”

I screwed my eyes shut, facing away from him as the hard floor bit into my hips. A very low time in my life had provided me with little options and a gaping hole I needed filled. I had never had sex with Alec, but he did hold me for one very lonely night.

He promised he’d never speak of it, and that was fine because in the end, I had.

“You don’t need to remind me. That was the worst night of my life.”

The silence in the room was a comfort. Tears burned the backs of my eyes as hope seemed to flatline in my chest. I was supposed to be home by now…if there even was a home left to return to. I wondered how Pen was doing, how baby Connor was…if he got hurt during the blasts. If Silas…

A hot tear leaked through my lashes as I inhaled a shuddery breath.

“Did you tell him…” Alec asked, breaking into the silence, “about that night…does he know that it was me?”

A smirk curled my lips as I turned over on my side and looked up at him in the bed. His arms were tucked behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

“Yes, I did.”

Alec’s face quickly turned toward me. “Yet I’m still alive…explain that.”

“It was the only concession he’s ever made. He was the reason my heart broke…it was complicated, but he understood the reason I had done it. Besides, he knew I’d never let another man fuck me. If you had, you wouldn’t be alive.”

He laughed while letting his arm fall to the floor, dangerously close to my blanket.

“You assume he could kill me. You doubt my skills, Artie. I spent more time with my father than Silas did.”

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