Page 85 of Ethereally Tainted

“Grey, Naya!” they exclaim with far too much enthusiasm and a broad smile on their lips. “Come in.”

Grey continues pulling me after him, ensuring not to hurt my hand in the process. Calvin, cigarette in his mouth, is perched on the edge of the bed, which has been pulled away from the wall and is now situated directly next to the window. He raises his head in a polite gesture of greeting before continuing to smoke his cigarette while gazing out at the windowpanes.

“What are you doing here?” Aubrey asks, and Grey releases my hand as he looks nervously at Aubrey.

Then he shows them my wrist, and I look away in embarrassment. I don’t need more people poking around in my business, even if said person is kind.

“Oh shit,” they exclaim, which causes Calvin to react as he throws out his cigarette through the window before walking over to us where we stand, still by the door now closed behind us.

He wraps his arms around Aubrey’s shoulder before staring at my hand, a smug smirk gracing his lips. “Damn, who did you fight?”

“The mirror,” I reply nonchalantly, making him laugh. I can’t help the tiny smile that threatens to split my lips.

“Come in.”

Aubrey leads me to the bed and retrieves a first aid kit beneath it. Grey tenderly pulls me to him, where he sits me down between his legs and then wraps his arms around me protectively. Being held close is usually not something I’m a fan of, yet there’s something so special about how he holds me that I can’t help but love it.

Aubrey works diligently to clear the glass out of my hand in order to wrap it in a bandage while Grey offers me reassuring rubs on my back. The pain is unrelenting, but I can still see through it all while clenching my teeth. As soon as Aubrey is finished, they quickly clean up their materials and equipment, but then Grey speaks up, and the entire room falls silent.

“We need to get out of here.”

His words create a quietness in the room, a silence so intense that you could hear a pin drop. Calvin and Aubrey stop abruptly, both astonished before their eyes widen in disbelief.

“What are you saying?”

“I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there is something wrong with this place. We have to try to get out one way or another.”

Appreciation fills my body at the realization that he understood what I previously meant by getting out of here. I shift my body closer to his, wrapping my arms around his neck and cuddling myself deeper into his embrace. Aubrey, however, has none of it.

“You know we can’t,” and Calvin nods in agreement.

“You don’t understand. We have to leave. They will kill us otherwise.”

Witnessing Grey’s complete and utter devastation when he realizes his friends don’t believe him tears my heart apart. Not many people would believe such a thing, but surely they must have noticed the horrors of this place. Surely they cannot think this place will save them?

“Dude, come on, that sounds insane,” Calvin replies, and Grey visibly winces at his words.

I carefully rise to my feet, my fingers intertwining with Grey’s, ready to go whenever he is. This is a conversation between him and his friends, and I will let him take it at his own pace. It feels weird, however. Just a week ago, I had plans to escape by myself, and here I am with Grey, ready to escape together.

For the first time in years, I’m not alone.

“You have to believe me. This place is unsafe.”

Aubrey scoffs in disbelief, turning away from us as they drag their hands through their faces in frustration. “Grey, this place is here to make us feel better. To give us a chance to get better and live a normal life after this.”

“You must have hit your head or had a psychosis or something after yesterday’s incident. After that girl killed herself.”

This time, I am the one flinching at Calvin’s callous words, and the way he speaks them is as if he has no concern whatsoever for what transpired, that someone passed away. I have to resist the urge to fly at him and beat him to death until his skin breaks, just like my skin broke on my knuckles earlier.

“She didn’t kill herself,” I mumble quietly.

“She did, you saw it yourself. Maybe you’re as crazy as Grey is. I’m sorry, mate, but you’ll have to come back when you’ve gotten some sleep. The lack of sleep might be a reason for your words that don’t make sense.” Calvin directs his last words to Grey, staring at him as if he is a lunatic needing a sedative to calm down.

I tug at the hem of Grey’s shirt, standing on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. “Let’s go. It’s best that way.”

The pained expression on his face makes me want to kiss him, to erase all the pain he’s experiencing. His pain and mine combined inside my heart are enough to make it explode into a thousand tiny pieces that will be impossible to stitch together again.

Grey reluctantly nods his head, following my lead out of Aubrey’s room.

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