Page 7 of Seduce

I thought no one would miss me. No one would notice. I was selfish.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, hating myself as I bury my face in his throat.

“We all break, Sweetness. Please talk to us. We can hurt together, talk about her, whatever you need. I realized it’s as if Silla never was. She became this ghost, when she was everything to us,” Sidney says. “We’ll all do better, Andrya. I promise.”

“Her birthday is next month,” I tell him, feeling him stiffen. “She spent her last one in the dungeons. What a way to celebrate becoming an adult.”

“We’ll make a cake. She’s not here, but we’ll honor her. Silla was here, we all loved her, and it hurts,” he whispers, tears streaming unabashedly down his cheeks. They mingle with the water streaming from the shower, but I know they’re there.

Brushing my lips against his jaw, I lay my head on his shoulder. “Thank you,” I murmur as he turns off the water.

“Anything for you.” Sidney sighs, water squelching from his very wet shoes as he steps out of the stall.

We’re not okay. And now I know that it’s okay to struggle. It’s not acceptable to give up.

ISAAC

I’m sitting in my office, staring at Sidney in surprise.

“‘Drya did what?” I ask, eyes narrowing.

“She’s spiraling, man.” He sighs, dropping onto a chair in front of my desk. “I found her on the floor of the shower with blue lips, staring at a razor blade against her wrist as if it was her best friend.”

“Fuck,” I whisper, shaking my head. None of us had an easy time in the dungeons, but only Andrya was violated by the guards. Sidney told me that he’s been sleeping in the twins' room to help her with the nightmares. “What can we do? Why is this happening now? We’ve been back for three months.”

“Silla’s birthday is next month,” Sidney grunts, rubbing his face. “We all miss her, and while a lot of things point to her being dead—”

“We don’t know that,” I deny. I want to say that I would feel if she was gone. It may sound corny, but Gods, that incredible woman can’t have departed from this world. It would be too cruel.

“We don’t,” he agrees. “The truth is we need to help Andrya. Every one of us is trying to stay afloat, but she’s floundering, man.”

“When is the tattoo artist coming?” I ask. “We should all get something done together, cover this godsdamned brand. The Queen never said we couldn’t...”

“That’s true. Usually a burn brand like that has to be well healed. If everyone agrees to drink one of my teas, I’ll make it for us to have before bed. It’ll help promote healing so it’ll appear much older than it is,” Sidney muses. “The tattoo artist is scheduled to come next month. We can design something special. I can speak with Ayden?”

Ayden has been throwing himself into work, but oddly enough is an incredible artist. If anyone can make us something, it would be him.

“Our brands are all in different spots I think, aren’t they?” I ask, my hand touching my back.

“Similar places,” Sidney disagrees. “Andrya’s is on her hip, mine is on my back.”

“My brand is also on my back, and Grayson’s is on the back of his thigh. He tried to bull kick the guard attempting to brand him,” I tell him.

Smirking, he shrugs. “The Warden is a big man. I hope his kick connected in some way. I think hanging out after work more often may help Andrya. What do you think?”

“I think it may help all of us.” I sigh. “It’s clear that if Andrya is affected, we may all be in various ways. Grayson's or my room is the largest. We could just watch a movie or talk. Whatever works.”

Blowing out a breath, Sidney nods as he stands. “Thanks for hearing me out. We can’t lose Andrya. I know she probably doesn’t want to talk about what happened, fuck I don’t completely know outside of the nightmares. They’re better, but she still wakes up screaming occasionally. Andrya just doesn’t remember them when she wakes up,” he says.

“Fuck. It’s not like there’s anyone else to talk to about this either,” I mutter. “Let’s see if she’ll speak to us. We all aren’t sleeping great, at least I’m still having issues. I’ll work until late at night, and then fall asleep at my desk in my bedroom.”

“We could always try a big puppy pile,” he suggests as he walks out.

Who knows, maybe it’ll mean I wake up without pains in my neck and back. Pushing back my chair, I decide to find the Warden. It’s time we chatted.

The hallways are fairly empty, the assets are in classes or in their bedrooms. Dinner has come and gone, and I know that the twins and Sidney ended class about an hour ago. It’s why he swung by to speak to me. If Grayson isn’t in his office, I’ll go for a run on the treadmill. I have some nervous energy to work off.

Knocking on his office door, I wait for him to yell admittance. Grayson’s door is rarely open the way it used to be. I think he’s been seeking peace from masses that need his time and energy as well.

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