Page 37 of Repossess My Heart

Reverie

Something happened in that bloody… horrific room. A shift in me that I hadn’t felt in Above knows how long… a visceral rebirth forced upon me by a demon. A beautiful bloody demon. My eyes slip to his face again, hating how good he looks like this. How much I’m drawn to this unhinged, disheveled side of him. How badly I want to stay, despite the tension in my chest egging me to leave. That edge he’s gifted me has grown uncomfortable… smothering. Like being trapped in that pod all over again, robotic hugs and tearless nights. I feel…

Bound.

Not to my self-serving desire for death, but tohim. To whatever he wants. Whatever goals he won’t share with me. My arm tightens where it’s hooked around his as we clear the long hall, my eyes scanning the room as horrified… and appreciative gasps fill the now smoke-filled lounge. The sickly-sweet smell of Arizide Mist assaults my nose, making my head go lighter. I hear a dancer gasp as Nine jerks her breather mask off, handing it to me silently. I don’t hesitate to hold it up to my face. Masks are always available to those unwilling to participate in misting hours. Even in the worst of clubs. My steps stagger and I know I didn’t work the mask onto my mouth fast enough, my head is already swimming as the colors turn impossibly vibrant.

Lightweight.

That’s the thing about mist… It works strong and fast but thankfully it’s a short high, hence why dealers make so much. The bouncer from the door appears as the crowd becomes unsettled, more and more patrons glimpsing the tattoo on his forehead, one barely covered by his blood matted hair. Nine’s mechanical arm unhooks from mine, leaving me feeling unsteady before it grips my waist instead. A touch that’s far more fitting than the gentle one before. My eyelids flutter as heat swells in my body, prickling and expanding everywhere. That’s what I get, I suppose for never building up a resistance to the drug like most citizens. Even babies are dosed regularly in health pods to prevent situations like this. My legs are jelly as my hand holding the mask slips, giving me another sickly-sweet lungful.

“Mask on sweetling. Keep those peepers open for me, okay?”

I giggle, the sound jarring and muffled, “Why? You don’t like them, anyway. Perhaps I’ll never open them again.” I wrench my eyes closed for good measure feeling… silly.

Playful.

Carefree.

Entirely unlike Reverie.

Nine makes an indignant sound in his throat as his hand leaves me again coming up to wrap around my shoulders, keeping the mask in place just as my hands give up on the feat. I like not feeling like Reverie. Makes me wonder why I always took such extreme caution avoiding the drug before. Not that this isn’t my first accidental exposure.

My eyes flutter open, not wanting to miss anything, and I find the most shiny and wonderful blue pair staring down at me. My gasp sounds loud from inside the mask as I stare at Nine. We’ve stopped, I don’t really care why. The streaks of rich red swirl and mottle with hues of glacier blue and pale white. Just as my hands lift to touch him his eyes switch, the wonder and appreciation there change to confusion and frustration. Just like that, he takes the pretty colors from me, just as that bouncer from earlier stalks towards us. He doesn’t get far.

Nine jerks me into him, snatching up a card from some players at a gambling table, entirely unbothered by their threats and curses. The sickening smile he adopts makes a moan slip from my throat as I press harder into him. It’s not fair for something as ugly as him to be so beautiful. My core rubs against him, needing… anything he can offer as my skin slicks with sweat and everywhere flushes, “Nine… I need…”

“Moan like that again and everyone here dies.”

I consider it before digging my teeth so hard into my bottom lip the taste of copper leaks into my mouth; I savor it. I’m jelly slipping through the cracks of his hold as he outstretches his arm, pointing at the bouncer, that sharp… disturbing smile still proudly in place along with the card… up until it’s not. It flicks from his hand so quickly I would’ve missed it without the drugs. I struggle to stand up straight trying to follow where it went when the bouncer’s hulking frame staggers, knocking into a table as blood spurts, dislodging the card from his neck. Nine doesn’t speak as he heaves me into his arms, shielding me from the cool air as we head outside. My heels scrape on the porous concrete of the alleyway as I struggle to climb out of Nine’s arms, determined to scale the building myself. Never attempted it in ankle breaking heels, but I’ve never struggled before.

After several valiant attempts, I frown. Jumping even higher this time, I stumble again and Nine makes a show of huffing loudly, his drone already zipping almost frantically around me. The way some bot pets do when their owners are home after a long separation. I swat it away, missing by way too much as it starts to scan me.

“Are we done now?”

“No, I can get it. Just give me a second.” I curse under my breath, kicking off the heels I had admittedly planned on keeping before finally heaving myself up the side pipes. A yelp leaves my throat as Nine scales over me like some dumbass spider, making it to the top before I even get my footing back.

“Hey uh, will you get my shoes please?” I ask the drone, slowly crawling my way up. My core clenching the entire way despite this situation being far from sexy. The tie in my robe loosens, exposing half my belly, the scarred valley of my breasts seems even more pronounced than normal. My head cants up, glaring at the smug face on Nine. Then at the drone that zips by him with my shoes soon returning to hover by me. The world tilts as vertigo overtakes me, my weak grip doesn’t stand a chance as my hands pop free from the pipe.

All the air leaves my lungs as the fall takes me in slow motion, my drug addled brain paying weirdly close attention to the way Nine’s arms tighten where they are crossed over his chest. Almost like he’s holding himself in place. The bite of metal grabbers prod painfully into my skin as the drone catches me, tugging me up to the roof, despite my slurred persistence I can do it. A tinge of relief fills me that the thing has a lot of power behind it despite not being anywhere close to human sized. When my feet hit the rooftop, my legs give out, letting me plop roughly to the ground. Displaying none of the grace instilled in me after years of dancing.

I blame the drugs.

My world continues to pivot wildly, the sounds of the bustling street below are a little too loud and coming in waves so I watch him instead. The drone hovers by his side as he redresses, equipping his gear quickly, all the while receiving various scans and injections that take a matter of seconds. My skin crawls as it zips towards me, my heart going from a languid beat to a sprint in my chest.

“No injections.” I order, knowing it won’t listen to me alone. Nine is full Repo Man again as he stalks towards me, looming overhead like a beacon.

Beacon of what… I don’t know.

Everything perhaps.

“The cut on your leg is in the early stages of infection. You need antibiotics.”

Panic cuts through the lusty heat, the drugged waves of want like a blade as I scramble back to the ledge of the roof, “Nine no injections.”

“Scared sweetling? After all I’ve done, you’re scared I’ll fix your booboo?”

“Her heart rate is climbing, perhaps-“ the monotone drone speaks before it’s cut off with an inaudible command from Nine.

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