Page 51 of Creatures Like Us
Frozen in place, I take in the sight of him, and the weight of what I must do cements in my chest.
Our days were always numbered, as were mine, and our time is running out.
I’ve done what I can for him, and he did what he could for me, unwilling. His body is purged of the drugs, even if he mightnever truly be free of his addiction, and these weeks in my custody would never be enough.
It was futile from the start. A desperate attempt from my troubled mind. A final push to a twisted salvation I had no right to even hope for. I had no right in doing what I did, and now I’m done. I’m exhausted. I can’t do this anymore, and I need to set him free. When I’m gone, he can take refuge in the thought that at least he extended my time on this earth. At least he made these last few weeks bearable.
More than bearable—he gave me more than I deserved, more than I could have asked for.
I close my eyes and imagine the darkness enveloping my vision, laying me to rest. I’ve been through it before; I’ve been close to death, and I do not fear it. What I fear is being left alone, with no one to care for, and it’s best to save myself from that possibility before it happens again. I should have done it when Auntie died, but she was so adamant that I go on without her.
You’re going to live a long life, Noah. You’ll get married and have children. There is so much to live for. Promise me you’ll go on without me.
Even though she was the only one I’ve ever loved, she never understood me fully. I will never get married and never have children. I’ll die alone, the way I was born, to parents who didn’t want me.
Asher will get over it. He’ll go back to his old life with the drugs, the parties, and his cheating girlfriend. He’ll embrace his friends and laugh and tell them about the weirdo who kept him locked up in a basement. He’ll go back to his college classes, and his life will continue as normal. Soon enough, he’ll forget all about me. I’ll fade out of the world’s consciousness, and no one will remember I was even there to begin with.
I inhale a deep breath, and a wave of relief floods my body, just like it did on New Year’s Eve when I made my decision. Now I’ve made it once more. The right one.
Asher wanted to barter his body in exchange for his freedom, but now he won’t have to make that sacrifice.
He’ll be free, and soon I will be too.
Chapter 15
Asher
Iwakeupwitha start and the distinct feeling that something is wrong.
Noah isn’t here.
Hewashere; I had my arms around him, my hand resting under his chin, but now he’s not anymore, and the basement is cold and damp without him, making a shiver lash through me.
Something else is wrong too.
My hand is free. The weight of the chain is gone, and where my makeshift handcuff used to be, there’s a red indent on my wrist.
Did he forget? Did he not chain me up when we returned from the bath? No, he did?…?I remember?…?Don’t I? Yeah—yesterday, I was dancing, and I fucked up. I stumbled. It should be there.
Why would he unchain me? Why would he leave me alone?
The stairs loom in front of me, and my feet take me there on their own. I just have to see where he went?…?Maybe he’s upstairs, making me breakfast. Yeah, that has to be it.
The tap of my foot against the first step feels wrong. As does the next. And the next. The sense of dread increases the further I go. When I reach the unlocked door, it creaks ominously when I open it.
“Noah?”
The house echoes his name back to me, confirming I’m alone.
There’s a kitchen to my left, an entryway with a closet to my right, and a corridor leading into two bedrooms. I check them, but they’re all empty. The interior is about what I expected: outdated furniture, patterned wallpaper. Looks like no work has been done here for at least two decades.
I settle on a barstool by the kitchen island, trying to calm myself down, to think rationally. Noah always lets me know when he goes hunting. He would have waited for me to wake up or shaken me awake himself. He wouldn’t just leave me uncuffed like that, right? He wouldn’t.
After a look around, I find my phone on the kitchen counter. It unlocks as soon as I swipe the screen.
There are a few emails from school and a notification about my parents topping my account up, but that’s it. I check the messaging history with Lilith just to see if Noah was telling the truth back then, and he was; Lilith asked me where I’d run off to, and Noah replied, asking her not to contact me again. And she hasn’t.
It’s January 21. Three weeks of radio silence. None of my so-called friends have tried to contact me either.
