Page 72 of Monster's Obsession

"Okay," I said hoarsely, a bit disappointed but understanding what he was saying as well. I saw him then, saw how Ash sacrificed for his twin. Maybe he was the happy-go-lucky one, because he had to be. Because Seven had always been the sad twin. I wondered about all the sacrifices that Ash had made in his life for his brother, and if his brother ever thought about those things.

"I see you, Ash," I murmured. And he was still for a long moment.

"You may be the only person that does."

Ash took my hand and led me down the hall again until Seven’s bedroom was right ahead. I realized again how exhausted I was. Between my three-day rendezvous with Steele, and everything that had happened since that time, my body hadn't had a chance to recover.

We stopped outside the doorway and I squeezed his hand. "He's in there," he announced, and I once again marveled at how fine-tuned his other senses were. "I'll be right out here.”

I nodded and took a deep breath before opening the door. I was surprised when it flew right open. I'd expected he'd have it locked, but that was probably a good sign. Seven was sitting in a chair by the window, staring out at the moons that were beginning to rise in the sky.

Ash gave me an encouraging nod and then closed the door behind me once I was in.

There was silence. And it seemed to stretch on forever. It was the heavy kind of silence, the one that was actually loud, because it was filled with so many unspoken things.

Finally…Seven spoke.

"You know everything now," he stated in a hollow, destroyed voice that made me wince.

"I do. Your other self…he showed me…a lot." Tremors rocked through Seven’s body and I took a step forward, desperate to soothe the agony he was obviously facing.

"How can you stand there, knowing what they did to me? What I let them do to me."

Shock ripped through me. That was how he felt?

"Seven, you were just a child. There wasn't anything you could have done. It's a miracle you survived."

He trembled again.

"Seven. Nothing that happened to you was your fault." I took a step towards him, and then another. He still wasn't looking at me, all of his attention directed to the outside like it held the secrets of the universe. I kept walking until I was standing next to him. His body leaned towards me like he was desperate for the comfort but unwilling to let himself go.

"Seven," I murmured.

"You shouldn't be around me, Blake. I’m broken. I can’t even controlhim. He could do anything to you, and I wouldn’t be able to stop it. I'm weak." His voice was filled with so much self-loathing that I couldn't help but start to cry for him. I'd seen inside of him. I knew he was the strongest being that I’d ever met. The fact that he could survive what had happened to him and still make it through every day…it was a miracle.

"I think…you don't have to worry about George," I murmured, deciding to address that first.

…

Seven

I glanced up at her, a little taken aback that she was referring to him as “George” as well.

"What do you mean by that?"

She bit her lip in that cute way she always did when she was nervous.

"Well, I think he might be into me," she said after a long pause.

Obsessed. Obsessed is the word that she's looking for,hewhispered inside my head.

I can't believe you would show her those memories. They weren't yours to give away, I spit back at him.

There was silence, and Blake was staring at me, probably wondering if I'd lost my mind even more.

I knew you would never do what it takes to keep her. She knows everything, and yet she still loves us.

This was probably the most civil conversation I’d ever had with him, even knowing if he was standing in front of me right then, I'd be wringing his neck.

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