Unhinge - Calia Read Page 0,3
can. Evelyn and I don’t belong here anymore.”
Wes doesn’t spare Evelyn a glance. His mouth tightens as he rubs the back of his neck. “Do you really believe that if the doctors see me they’ll let you go?”
“It’ll show I’m not lying.”
“Victoria, you put yourself here.”
“No—” I stop abruptly. I want to deny his words, but when I rifle through my memories I can’t find the days leading up to Fairfax. There’s nothing but darkness. As always.
“Have you told anyone else this?” Wes asks sharply.
I stare at him thoughtfully. “No.”
“Good. They can’t help you.” His voice is firm, leaving no room for argument.
“Then who can?” I whisper.
He gives me a sad smile. “No one.”
Wes holds the answers to why I’m here. I can see them dancing in his eyes. If I can get him to open up, just a little, I know I’ll capture a small piece of my truth.
His arms wrap around my waist. “Just stay here,” he whispers into my hair.
He’s going to touch you and you’ll forget it all, my mind whispers. Keep strong.
At first I am strong. But one kiss turns into two. Then three. And by the fourth I’m a goner. Any and all questions I wanted to ask him drift further and further away until I barely see them.
“You’re going to get me out of here,” I say with my lips.
He holds me so close I can barely breathe. I fall back on the bed and he quickly follows. His weight presses me farther into the mattress as he kisses me with purpose. I try to slow everything down, but it’s useless. He bites down on my bottom lip hard enough that it starts to bleed. I feel the sting for a second. He pulls back an inch, his thumb gently rubbing the blood away.
My throat dries up when the face above me begins to change.
It’s a slow metamorphosis.
Starting at the roots, his short golden hair turns black. The strands grow longer until they curl around my fingers.
Smooth skin is replaced with black stubble that rubs against my palms. Very slowly Wes lifts his head. Hazel eyes fade away like the sun and turn amber.
Shoulders expand.
His grip loosens and his hands trace the curves of my body, stopping at my waist. His touch for some reason feels reassuring, almost protective. He smiles, looking like he’d give me the world if I asked. I feel myself relax.
No, no, no. This is all wrong. I blink rapidly, hoping that Wes will come back into focus. But the face doesn’t change. The man holding me looks dark and dangerous, like a fallen angel.
“What’s wrong?” he asks. The voice is deep. It makes goosebumps break across my skin. I stare at the stranger’s face in a complete daze.
I squeeze my eyes shut, telling myself it was just a hallucination. When I open my eyes, it’s Wes’s face I’m staring at again.
My relief lasts only for an instant, though. I have no idea what just happened.
He frowns. “You’re shaking. What’s wrong?”
I take a deep breath. “Nothing.”
Wes rolls off me. But our bodies are only apart for a few seconds before he wraps an arm around me. “You need to sleep.”
Amber eyes are all I can see.
“No, I don’t.”
“Just try.”
He laces his fingers through mine. Silence settles in my room yet I can’t calm down. Despair settles in my gut. Tomorrow I’ll wake up and still be here. And the day after that. Until I do something about it, this process will continue.
But I’m on borrowed time. In the distance I can hear the faint echoes of a clock ticking the time away. And yet I have no idea how to break this pattern.
“Help me get out of here.” I swallow loudly. “Please.”
He pushes my hair back and says softly, “I love you. You know that. But I can’t help you.”
“But I can’t help you….” It feels like my heart has been cut in half. If you love someone shouldn’t their pain be yours and vice versa? Shouldn’t you do everything in your power to help them?
His arm drops away from my waist and I take a deep breath. The voices start out as faint whispers—I brace myself for what’s about to come. They morph into screams so loud I can barely understand what they’re saying.
All I can hear is, “I can’t help you.”
My ears start to ring.
I cover my ears and close my eyes.
The mattress dips slightly as he sits up. Cold air touches my back.
“Stay,” I whisper against