Page 17 of Lost Petal

Chapter 10

J

TALK.

She moved the bench aside and spelled the word out on the floor, using the food I had sent to her. Right beneath the light bulb, just big enough for the camera to depict every single letter.

The word is laid out before her feet, a bit tilted but perfectly readable. She’s standing tall, her slim arms resting at the side of her body—and her eyes raised up to the light bulb. She’s squinting, because the light blinds her, and her focus isn’t directly on the camera but slightly to the side, so that she’s not looking at me directly.

But she might as well.

Cold tension causes me to freeze, my eyes locked on the screen, on her.

What the fuck is this? Has she lost her mind? Did I go too far? Have I lost her before we even started?

No. The way she’s standing there, the way she looks up at me, determination lacing her beautiful features while her small hands are curled up in fists—that’s not the look of a crazy person. If anything, her stance is oddly intimidating.

TALK.

What is this? Is she trying to order me around? Or is she simply stating what she wants to do?

I furrow my eyebrows, unable to suppress a frustrated growl as I contemplate what to do. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She hasn’t eaten in a day. She must be starving. I have no intention of watching her starve to death; that’s not part of the deal. She’s supposed to eat when she needs to, and not use the much-needed nutrition to fuck with me.

The plan was to leave her alone for a while, to let her eat and drink and process our first encounter. She needs to regain her physical strength before we can go any further.

I can’t go back inside. Because if I do, that means she won. She’s obviously trying to lure me.

But I also can’t let her act up like this.

She needs to be punished. And the harder the punishment, the faster she’ll learn.

An angry sigh escapes me and I hesitate a moment before placing my finger on the scanner to open the door.

I can see her flinch when the door first opens, but she doesn’t move away from me, despite my resolute entrance.

“What the fuck is this?” I point at the sprawled-out food on the floor as I come to a halt right in front of it. “Is that how you thank me for giving you something to eat?”

“Talk to me!” she barks back at me, now crossing her arms in front of her chest. “I won’t eat before you tell me what this is all about.”

“Oh, no, no,” I retort, shaking my head as I lift my finger in front of her face. “You’re not in the position to make any deals with me, Petal. You listen, you obey. And if you don’t—”

“I get punished,” she finishes my sentence. She glares at me, her anger hiding the fear that must still possess her. “Fine. Punish me. Punish me all you want. I won’t give you what you want unless you give me what I want.”

Where the fuck is that sass coming from? It’s hard to imagine she’s ever spoken like this to anyone, ever. Who knew what a blank slate and fear for her life could do to a girl like Petal.

It’s a surprise, to say the least. But I think I might like it.

I step closer, reciprocating her intense stare without saying a word. Her little artwork gets ruined by my feet as I approach, coming so close that our bodies are almost touching by the time I come to a halt. She’s not swaying away this time, but every part of her is trembling as she tries to keep it together. Her eyelashes flutter in frightened haste, her arms twitch, and her breathing turns into swift heaves.

Yet she manages to stay, standing tall while still maintaining eye contact.

Good for her. But I know it won’t last.

“I will warn you one last time, Petal—”

“Stop calling me that!”

She winces when I lift my hand, placing a finger on her trembling lips. It silences her, but it doesn’t make her jump away as I thought it would.

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