Page 14 of Kept

I swear the temperature lowers, and I shrink into myself. My arms wrap around my waist, my shoulders tensing. But I can’t bring myself to take it back. “Please.”

It’s a whisper, and I’m not sure he even hears me. But he pulls the brush free from my hair with a sigh. “We’ve talked about this.”

“But I was younger then,” I mumble. “I’m twenty-three now, Ethan. Surely… surely I have to leave at some point?”

The silence is somehow loud, loud enough to pound in my eardrums like a drum.

Ethan resumes his brushing, not responding. I wait silently, a small curl of hope wrapping itself around my heart.

“I have given you everything,” he whispers finally. “And it’s not enough for you.”

I freeze. “No, Ethan. That’s not… I know that.”

“Then why?”

I turn around on my stool, and my cheek brushes against his fingers. My eyes widen as he flinches back, curling them into a fist. His face darkens.

“The world isn’t safe.” His words are dark, angry even, as I stare at him. “Do you want to end up like your parents, Zella? Your throat cut in an alleyway, your blood soaking into the stones, another victim of the city’s darkness?”

I shake my head numbly. “Of course not. But other peoplelive, Ethan. And I… I don’t feel like I’m living, anymore. I’m just existing. I feel like a statue myself, some days. And every morning, I watch the sunrise and I just want to see it without the glass in my way. Just once, even. Please.”

He’s not listening. I can tell, the anger turning his pale eyes dark as he rips the brush out of my hair and tosses it aside. “I think it’s time for me to leave.”

I gather up my hair in a panic, jumping up and following him as he stands abruptly, heading towards the door. “Ethan, wait. Please!”

It’s all gone so wrong. My breath seesaws out of me as I reach out desperately, my hand wrapping around his arm.

His whirls, his face a mask of anger and hand raised. “Do not touch me!”

Flinching back, I yank my hand away. “God – I – Ethan—,”

He stalks towards me, and I wonder for a moment if he might hit me. But something inside of me is pushing, pushing to make the most of this discussion before he shuts it down completely.

“You don’t like to be touched,” I force out, my voice trembling. “But that’s all I want, Ethan!”

My voice raises, high and shaking. “You cannot keep me here!”

He stops, something flashing in his eyes. “I can, and I will. Someone has to protect you, Zella, and you’re clearly not capable of making rational decisions.”

I shake my head frantically. “I want to leave.”

He crosses his arms. “Hate me if you have to, but I will keep you safe. You have no idea what it’s like out there. People are evil, Zella. And they will look at you, and they will see how perfect you are, and they will want to destroy you for it.”

My mouth feels dry as I stare at him. Ethan is the closest thing to family I have. Family, friends, all wrapped into one.

But at this moment, he feels like a stranger.

No, not a stranger. A keeper.

“That’s my decision to make,” I whisper. “Not yours.”

His eyes tighten as he turns to press the button, the elevator zinging as it slides open. “I’ll think about it. I want you to go to bed now, Zella.”

His abrupt change takes me by surprise as I stare at him. “You… you’ll think about it?”

He nods jerkily. “Clearly, you’ve been thinking about it a great deal.”

The barb barely hits as euphoria fills me. “Thank you. I don’t mean forever, Ethan. Just for a little while. An hour, even.”

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