Page 46 of Severance

“I think I need to pee. Do you know where the bathroom is?”

“Are you going to behave?”

“Yes. Scout’s honor.” I attempt a pitiful imitation of a salute, and I think I hear Mikah chuckle.

He removes his hand from me and takes a step back. “Can you walk?”

“I think so.” I move away from the wall and sway from side to side like a willow tree.

“Don’t ever take any shit from people you don’t know. You understand?”

I nod, tossing my arm in the air. “Lead the way, captain.”

* * *

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, so my soul must be some hazy, drunk and high bitch because that’s exactly what I see when I look in the bathroom mirror.

My breaths are fast and shallow and my heartbeat is all over the place, and no matter how hard I try to convince myself that everything Snow White said about Dakota was just a product of her imagination, the doubt still eats at me like acid.

I question his every word, his every text, his every touch. I question all the times we were together and it’s the worst feeling ever. Werewejust a lie?

A light tap on the door jars me back to reality.

“Alana?” Mikah calls. It’s the third time in the past ten minutes, and I’m wondering if he’s been waiting outside all along. “Are you okay?”

I’ve taken off the hoodie, and my white tee has a huge red stain on the front that sticks to my skin uncomfortably. I’m not sure what kind of drink it was, but it smells like her—like cheap floozy.

More knocking. “If you’re sick, you need to tell me.”

Sick is probably not the right word. More like shocked and disappointed. Terrified too. Drawing a deep, shaky breath, I go to the door and unlock it. The fast beat of the music crawls into the bathroom along with the stench of body odor and weed, causing my stomach to churn.

“Can I come in?” Mikah asks from behind the door. I never pegged him for a guy who’d ask permission, but I suppose both Bennett brothers are not what they seem.

The problem is, as much as I want to be left alone right now, I still like him around because he’s my only connection to Dakota and I’m too scared to lose this bond—no matter how weak it is. “Yes. It’s fine,” I say.

Mikah squeezes himself into the bathroom and shuts the door, his eyes inspecting me as if I’m under a microscope.

There are too many things on my mind, and I don’t know what to ask him first. “Whose idea was Cupcake Queen?”

Ignoring my question, he walks over to one of the high cabinets in the corner and examines its shelves.

“Whose idea was it? Yours or his?”

“Does it matter?” Mikah growls, digging through the stack of towels.

“Yes, it does. Because, apparently, I’m the Cupcake Queen Virgin Mary. No one even fucking knows my name!” I throw both hands in the air, wrath burning my cheeks and my chest. “It’s like I was some conquest for him!”

Mikah turns to me, and his face is beginning to blur and spin. “Do you have to be so dramatic?”

“I’m not being dramatic.” My voice is like a psychopath on a ledge, ready to jump off and start screaming. “How would you feel if someone told you that your relationship with the person who you thought was your everything was a lie?”

“You know what?” Mikah moves closer, his index finger pointing at my nose. “You’re a fucking spoiled brat who’s used to people catering to her every need.” His eyes shoot right through my heart. “Life’s a piece of shit, Alana. An ugly, unfair piece of shit. Get used to it.”

The intensity of his gaze heats every part of me, but I choke down the stupid tears because I need to prove him wrong. “I don’t want to get used to it.”

Tossing his head back, he covers his eyes with the heels of his palms and takes a deep breath.

We stand still, facing each other, the air around us is thick with tranquil rage.

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