Page 55 of Sinful

But why? I didn’t sleep naked.Ever.Every single thing about this situation was inexplicably bizarre.

I slowly swung my legs over the edge of the bed and planted my bare feet on the cold gray floor. Pushing past the heaviness in my limbs, I forced myself up and over to the glass wall. Now that I was looking closer, I could see there was a part where it split, and there was a hinge at the top and two handles—one on my side, and one on the other side. A door.

I tried the handle and grimaced. It was locked.

There was also a rectangular opening next to it, positioned at waist weight. It led to a glass box with another smaller door on the outside. The only use it seemed to have was for someone on the outside to pass things into the room without allowing any chance of escape for the person inside it. But that person was me, and that meant I was a prisoner. Andthatdidn’t make any sense at all. I hadn’t done anything wrong. No one had any reason to imprison me. Not unless I’d done something truly terrible during all the blank spots in my recent memories.

“Hello?” I called out, banging on the glass. “Is anyone here?”

A light went on in the space beyond the glass. It was small, with a desk littered with papers. More papers were stuck to a board on the wall above the desk, in shades of black and white with the occasional photo. They were too far away for me to read any of the words or make out any of the images properly.

Sebastian stepped into the space and strode up to the glass.Praise the Entity.I was saved.

“Sebastian!” I said, body flooding with relief. “You have to help me!”

He cocked his head, expression oddly blank as he regarded me. “Help you with what?”

I pointed to the door handle. “I’m locked in here. Can you get me out?”

“How did you end up in there, Rose?” he asked. His voice was strangely flat, and he didn’t seem particularly concerned.

“I don’t know. I woke up feeling terrible,” I said, rubbing my forehead with the heel of my hand. “So many of my memories are gone, and I feel sick and confused and…well, just plain awful. Where are we, by the way?”

“I’m sorry you feel so bad, baby girl. But don’t worry. It’ll pass, and your memories will return,” he said. He still hadn’t made a single move toward the locked door, and he’d pointedly ignored my question about our location.

“Why are you acting like this?” I rattled the handle, annoyance flaring in my chest. “Can you just open the door for me? Please?”

“No.”

I stared at him. “No? What… w-why?” I said, tripping over my tongue as another wave of confusion flooded me.

“You belong to me now, Rose.” His lips curved into a mirthless smile. “This is where I’m keeping you.”

“I…belongto you?”

“Yes.”

Amongst all the confusion flooding my system, a terrifying thought suddenly struck me. “Oh, no,” I whispered, knees weakening. “I forgot it all, didn’t I?”

“Forgot what?”

I looked back up at Sebastian. “The Tetrad. It already happened, didn’t it? I… I submitted. That’s why I feel so tired and strange. Why my memories have faded. I’m dead, and now the Entity has given me to you. That’s what you mean, isn’t it?”

Even as the words spilled out, I knew it couldn’t possibly be true. Spending an eternity with Sebastian might seem like heaven, but this place definitely wasn’t heaven. It looked like the place where people were kept after facing accusations of crimes back in Alderwood.

Sebastian chuckled. “It never fails to amuse me how you extremist freaks can twist things in your mind,” he said, eyes glimmering with malicious mirth. “You can’t even see the truth right in front of your fucking nose.”

Tears sprang to my eyes. “Please just tell me what’s happening, Sebastian. I thought we were friends. I really don’t understand why you’re behaving like this.”

He sneered, one hand raking through his thick hair. “You didn’t miss your ritual,” he said. “It’s only been twelve hours since you went to sleep.”

I blinked. “So this isn’t the afterlife. I’m still alive.”

“Yes. Very much so.”

“Then why can’t I remember anything?” I banged on the glass again. “And how did I end up in… whateverthisis?”

“I drugged you, Rose. You’re still coming off it. That’s why you feel so shitty and confused.”

---