Page 39 of Fighting Gravity
With another defiant groan, Veron headed for the door. “She will need to be hydrated and fed when she wakes. And bathed, obviously. The toxins have been purged and I placed mending accelerant patches over the wounds, but I have no idea how long humans take to heal naturally. It could still take time. As for you, you know how to mend your own wounds. They don’t even look that bad.”
I nodded, pushing a bit of crusty hair behind Quinn’s ear. Veron paused at the door and I could feel her staring at the back of my head in judgment. I didn’t care. I knew what she wanted to ask so I answered before she could.
“She broke off her slave collar to get into the arena and jumped on it,” I said.
“Hmf. No wonder she got barbed,” Veron snorted.
“She did it because it was after me,” I added tensely.
She silenced herself quickly and took a few breaths. “Did she know you didn’t need the help?”
“That’s not the point.”
“So, she is not smart.”
I stood, my Thel descending into the hollow of my chest as I slowly turned to face Veron. She shrunk back on herself a bit before raising her chin.
“If her intention was to help you then…” She paused. “I suppose I understand why you wanted me to save her life.” Her words sounded strained like she was forcing them through tiny cracks in a wall. “Is the debt repaid then?”
I shook my head and pulled up a stool, narrowing my eyes at Veron until she eventually exited the room and left me there with Quinn.
18: Quinn
Age 25
I walked out of the doctor’s office to find Switch on the curb outside flirting with a young girl barely out of her teens. I pulled a cigarette from my jacket pocket and glared at the girl, taking in her tight jeans and expensive shoes. When she caught me looking, the flirty smile melted off her face.
I slid my cigarette between my lips and pulled a lighter from my other pocket. “Mommy and daddy are missing you,” I said to the girl.
“Moved out last week,” the girl said. “I’m eighteen.”
Flicking my lighter, I lit the end of my cigarette with the tiny flame. “Then I hope you have a job.”
Switch was puffing on his own cigarette, blowing smoke between the girl and me. He was wearing one of his snazzy suits that day, the collar of his overcoat popped. He was handsome. A real Patrick Bateman…
The girl had no clue what she was getting into just by talking to him.
“I’m in a shit mood, so you have twenty seconds to fuck off before I stick the end of my cigarette on your pretty face,” I said to her, blowing a lungful of smoke in her cute little face.
She waved her hand, face twisting up like I was the most disgusting thing in the world. Good. I was and she had a chance not to be like me.
One step forward and the girl sunk away from me and then spun on the heels of her glossy, red boots, heading away from the clinic. Switch chuckled and dropped the butt of his cigarette on the ground, not bothering to stamp it out. After a few seconds, I took another drag of mine and dropped it on the ground as well, jamming my toe into it before repeating the motion on Switch’s.
“Her name’s Nat Feris,” he said. “Already got her number, sweetheart.” The smug grin on his face turned my gut a little because something in me already knew he’d gotten what he needed before he said it. “So? Everything done?”
I could still feel the cramping in my stomach like I was having a bad period and nodded, hiding the fact.
“All done.” I hesitated a moment and slid my foot back, putting a little distance between us. “I’m done, too.”
He scoffed, wiping a hand back through his thick hair. “That’s funny. Because I remember you owing me a lot more than what you’ve worked off. And how you owe me for this little doctor’s visit.”
“No, I’ve given enough. I’ve got a scholarship now and I don’t need your money.”
It was true. I just got my acceptance letter that morning.
I ran my fingers through my long, black hair, swearing I was going to cut it off as soon as I was free of Switch and his standards. He liked it long and thick. Frankly, I was sick and tired of it being in my goddamn face.
“You don’t need it?” Switch said, inching into my space again. “Well, that’s funny. Cuz you already got it.”
