Page 20 of He's The Reason Why

He jabbed the water bottle at his hostage again and snarled. “There’s blood dripping down her neck. Can you see that?”

“This is ridiculous.” Piper looked around as if to see if anyone was watching.

He sneered at her like the kidnapper he was pretending to be. “Welcome to acting. Now work with me. Reallyseeher.”

“Okay.” She drew out the word and then she shrugged and squinted at her invisible sister. “Okay, you have Mattie.”

He jabbed the bottle at her invisible throat again, then hissed in a breath as if he’d just really stabbed someone. “I will end her life. I will cut her and make her bleed. I will make sure she doesn’t live to see the sun rise.”

He waited until the unsure look in Piper’s eyes shifted into something more like concentration.

He kept his voice soft, so he wouldn’t interrupt her focus. “Why do I have a knife to her throat? What am I trying to do?”

“You want to scare her.” She swallowed. “You want to scare me too. Make us both do what you want.”

She was starting to get it. “Nowwhat do you feel?”

“Terrified,” she said so softly he almost couldn’t hear it. “I’m afraid she’s going to die and I won’t be able to stop it.”

He smiled his approval. “Thatis what you should be thinking when you say those lines.”

He let go of his pretend hostage and opened the bottle for a quick drink.

“So you’re saying I should be more tentative or quiet?” She put a cartoonish quiver in her voice. “Like a horror movie?”

He almost spat the water out but managed to swallow it down before he answered, “Uh, no. Hell no. Not like that. At all. Never do that unless you’re in the nextScreammovie.”

Amusement flashed through her eyes. “No quiver? Darn. Just when I thought I was getting it.”

He gave her a patient look.

“What? As if any of this is serious. You were just holding a water bottle to the throat of an invisible girl.”

“You’ll never get better if you don’t try.”

She shot him a dirty look but relented. “You’re right. Okay, how about this.” She cleared her throat. “Let my sister go.”

It wasn’t overly dramatic or stiff, which was an improvement, but it wasn’t right either.

“Now you sound like you’re at a contract negotiation.”

She crossed her arms. “You do it, then. Show me.”

“You’re missing the point. I can’t show you. You have to feel it.” He gestured with the bottle. “What else is going through your head in that moment?”

“I don’t know. I still say I’d be pissed off.” She rubbed her face, clearly frustrated by this impromptu acting class.

“And…,” he prompted.

“I don’t know.” She glared at him.

He whipped his arm around and once again became the bad man trying to kill her sister. The bottle became his knife, and he stabbed at the imaginary throat of his victim.

“See that blood running down her neck? I did that.” He waited a beat. “She’s trying not to move or even breathe in case I slip. Her eyespleadwith you for help. Can you see her?”

“Yes.” Piper started to reach out, then dropped her hand.

“How do you feel?” he whispered.

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