Page 35 of The Darkest Half

“What diagnosis?”

“About you not really being in love with me.”

One of his eyebrows hitches up. “Oh, please do explain,” he says, his eyes rolling in his voice.

“You said that if you were in love with one woman, really in love, that you couldn’t even imagine looking at another woman. When was the last time you had sex?”

He shakes his head, and a soft, sarcastic smile appears.

“But you and me,” he explains, “we’re not together. In love with you or not, I’m free to fuck whomever I want. Because a woman doesn’t love me back doesn’t mean I have to become a monk.”

I chuckle, and even that is uncomfortable in my weakening state.

“But you were right,” Niklas says. “I was only ever in love with the thought of you.”

He says nothing more aloud, but I get the feeling his thoughts are screaming at him.

There is a sound in the hallway—a sound!—though I’m not sure what it is at first; I’m so shocked to hear anything at all that it takes a moment for the stun to wear off.

Neither of us says a word, but we share the same thoughts and waste no time. Despite our weakened state, we get to our feet and rush over to the door, my head spinning and pounding; black and yellow spots appear in my vision. Niklas seems no better off; as he moves across the room to stand next to me at the door, he reaches for the wall to keep himself from falling.

The sound of boots tapping down the hallway draws nearer. Niklas and I glance at one another as if to ask if we’re ready for this, but we remain quiet. They’re going to open the door! For the first time in days—honestly, I don’t know how many—we’re going to see something other than these four walls and that ceiling. They’ll bring us water, and maybe even something to eat!

Wait, what am I even thinking? I’m contemplating food and water instead of escape? What the hell is wrong with me?!

I need to focus.

I swallow, and it hurts because my mouth and throat are so damn dry. I lick my lips, which hurts too, stings like hell, so they’re cracked worse than I thought.

The boots get closer, louder, and Niklas and I ready ourselves. No matter who comes through that door or how many people there are in the hallway with guns—wait!

“There’s only one person,” I whisper harshly. “Only one set of boots.”

Niklas nods but remains silent; he licks his lips and swallows, too, I notice, with the same level of discomfort I had felt. His body also wavers, and I can tell he’s fighting hard with a migraine that must be killing him.

Focus, dammit! I blink away the distractions and take a deep breath.

A shadow moves through the slim crack underneath the door, an individual passing beneath the bright light in the hallway. There is movement on the other side of the door—someone preparing to unlock it, perhaps—and suddenly, I can feel my heartbeat in my throat and my damn head; I fight to keep the pain at bay and the spots from my eyes that are blurring my vision.

Niklas is pressed so close to me now that I can feel his body heat, almost feverish; he touches my shoulder to get my attention. I look over, and he points to the spot in front of the door about two feet back, signaling that he wants me to position myself there.

I do as he suggests, leaving him beside the door. Neither of us could ever come up with any grand plans for this moment. It’s just the two of us, no weapons of any kind; they even took his belt and my earrings before throwing us in here, so we have absolutely nothing to improvise with other than clothing.

Now we wait.

A few more seconds.

There’s more movement on the other side; I lean forward, bracing my hands atop my thighs both for an attack position and to help hold myself up. Niklas does the same but stands taller, pressing his back and legs against the wall next to the door so as not to be seen when it opens.

Splash!

Stunned, it takes us both a moment to realize the sound and from where it came.

We look down at the floor to see water spreading outward across the tile.

No fucking way!

Realization dawns quickly, and without wasting another second or any of the precious water, Niklas and I abandon our attack-ready positions and drop to our knees against the floor.

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