Page 34 of Echoes

"You should eat," he grumbles. "I can hear your stomach growling."

My restraint snaps and I extend my hand through the shadows, finding his torso. He tenses up underneath me, his own hand grabbing my wrist gently.

"Don't, Avery."

It's not aggressive or angry—just a pained plea.

Slowly, I move my hand back, wanting to respect his wishes despite every single nerve in my body screaming for him. Grey keeps hold of my wrist for a second, before finally letting me go.

"You brought me food?" I ask gently.

"Yes," he answers. "Your absence was noticed today. I assume you were kept busy by the old cunt."

I nod, even though he can't see it. "Yeah."

I'm terrified of saying or doing the wrong thing, wanting him to stay for as long as possible. But as I fall into silence, it causes me to panic more. What ifthatdrives him away? Should I say something else? Will he leave if I start eating?

Will he leave if I don't?

"Just eat, little killer," he sighs, exasperated.

"Will you stay for a few minutes?" I ask.

I hate how desperate I sound, but there's hope fluttering in my stomach at the mention of my old nickname. Maybe my words had more of an impact than I thought.

"I shouldn't."

"I know," I murmur. "I just really want you to."

Desperation turns to pity. But somehow…it works.

Grey sits down next to me on the bed, pushing the plate toward me. "It's the beef brisket," he says casually in a quiet voice. "It's not much, but it's something at least."

I reach down, plucking a piece in my fingers. It tastes just as good as yesterday, even if it's not fresh and hot.

He doesn't make an effort to leave so I take it as a good sign, eating happily. My body no longer feels like molten lava is flowing through it, and slowly, the stomach growls fade away.

Deciding to take a leap of faith, I choose my side officially. "Mr. Whittingham was asking a bunch of questions today. I think he knew that the society held a meeting last night."

"Hm. I'm not surprised. He generally likes to keep tabs. What did he ask?"

"Just if I had anything to report to him. He didn't mention you guys specifically, but I think he was trying to use chores and food as leverage."

"Cunt," Grey snaps under his breath. "He's a miserable power-tripping bastard."

I plop more meat into my mouth, nodding as I chew. "I didn't tell him anything," I admit. "I wouldn't ever. I just want you to know that."

The tension between us relaxes slightly. "I know," he responds. "Otherwise you would have been with the gen pop."

"You noticed I was missing?" I ask wearily.

He's already confirmed as much, but there's a part of me that needs to hear it directly. I know it would have been obvious from my absence in Charmaine's class, but I need this. I need something to hold on to.

"We all did."

I can't help but wonder who everyone is. Does he mean Damon too? I know he tracks everyone and everything, but my presence is the last thing thatdemonwould give a shit about.

"Especially Ashwood."

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