Page 381 of Rage

I shoot up in bed, heart leaping straight into my throat, and I look frantically across the room. Elaine—my youngest roommate—is sitting up too, staring at me nervously.

What is happening?

Another frantic knock at the door has fear shooting through me.

“Torri,”a voice calls through the door. My muscles tense at the sound of my name.

I scramble off the top bunk, tripping across the room to the door despite the protests from the girls behind me. I pop the door open a couple of inches, my eyes falling to the girl standing in the hall, and my insides freeze when our eyes meet.

It’s Sara.

“What is it?” The words fly out of my mouth before I can stop them. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Lita,” she whispers, her bottom lip wobbling. “She’s back but…”

I don’t hear the rest of her words as my muscles move automatically, stepping into the hall and following her toward their room. A few doors are cracked open as we pass, curious eyes watching as we hurry by, but I’m not paying them any attention. My entire focus is on seeing Lita, my fingers tingling with anticipation.

“Is she okay?” I ask, my gaze sliding over to Sara. For a moment, she says nothing, and my steps slow. “Sara?”

She stops abruptly, and I follow suit, standing in the middle of the hall. Worry contorts her features, her brows furrowed and lips pressed firmly together.

“I-I didn’t ask questions,” she starts, sounding uncertain. “She just asked me to come get you, but Torri… She’s not well.”

Nausea turns my stomach, and I swallow down the bile burning the back of my throat. “What do you mean? Is she hurt?”

The way Sara’s features contort even more gives me my answer, and I’m sprinting before I can stop myself, my eyes set directly on Lita’s room. My legs won’t move fast enough, but I still beat Sara by several seconds. I grab the handle and shove open the door.

My eyes immediately go to Lita’s bottom bunk, and my knees almost give out when I see her sitting there. Only, she doesn’t look like she did the last way I saw her.

Her normally perfect hair is a tangled mess, and dirt smears cover her skin. There are dark bags under her eyes, making her look exhausted and much older than her nineteen years. She’s wearing a thin, lacy gown much different from the clothes the harvesters wear.

“What happened?” I mutter, stepping closer to her. She flinches at the movement, but her expression immediately softens as I kneel before her, carefully inspecting every inch of her exposed skin.

A sickening realization nearly makes my dinner reappear, and I fight back the urge to vomit all over myself. They aren’t dirt streaks on her skin.

They’re bruises.

Chapter Five

Cold numbness sweeps through me as I drag my eyes up to meet Lita’s gaze. There are tears in her eyes, and it’s all I can do to keep from crying myself.

“What happened to you?” I ask, my voice barely audible over the blood pounding in my ears.

Disbelief swirls with relief to create a vicious tangle of emotions. I want to throw my arms around her and hold her close, to never let her go. But at the same time, I don’t want to touch her. I don’t want to hurt her. The way she flinched when I got close was like a sucker punch to the gut, and the last thing I want is to make her feel unsafe.

Lita opens her mouth to respond, but a sob racks her chest. She claps a hand over her lips to cut off the sound, and I shoot a daring look over my shoulder. It’s past curfew. We should all be in bed by now, but I want a few moments alone with her. If only for answers; I need everyone to leave.

Maybe then she’ll be able to tell me what happened.

Maybe…

“Sara,” I say, and my voice cracks. I can’t even get the words out.

The silent plea in my eyes must be enough though because Sara motions for the other girls to follow her, and they file out into the hall. The door closes behind them with a soft click, and a flutter of whispers erupts in the hall.

I don’t know if we have a few seconds or a few minutes alone, but I plan to make them count.

Looking back at Lita, I dare to cup her chin in my hand, the touch of her skin against mine setting my flesh on fire. It feels so fucking good to be near her again, but I never imagined it like this.

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