I’ve been tired for nearly seven years, and I’m starting to wonder how much more I can take before I fall into the abyss. Maybe that’s my fate. I’ve tried to avoid losing myself all this time to the point I nearly didn’t see another day, only to find a glimmer of hope in an unlikely place, but it seems now even that has run its course.
No.
No.
I shake my head, crushing the thoughts, telling myself everything’s going to work out. I have to believe that. There’s no other option, and I haven’t made it this far to give up now. Sebastian will come through, and in a few days, I’ll leave all of this behind—start fresh.
The car turns, and the warm haze of the setting sun is replaced with harsh fluorescent lights as we descend into an underground parking garage. Easton parks in what looks like a designated space, shutting off the engine, but unlike before, nobody makes a move to get out of the car.
The silence is starting to make me wary, so I fidget with the hem of my shirt in an attempt to distract myself. A couple of minutes pass before Easton looks over his shoulder at Sebastian, a question I can’t decipher in his gaze. Sebastian sighs heavily and finally makes a move to get out of the car without sparing me a glance, and Easton follows his lead.Am I supposed to follow them? Clearly, we’re not at my apartment building, but nobody told me to stay put. There’s no back door, but as I lean forward, trying to figure out how to move the seat, the driver’s door is pulled open, and I rear back. Easton holds the door open, his glare answering my question of whether I was meant to follow them as he flicks something for the seat and waits for me to get out.
We enter the lift at the end of the parking garage, and Sebastian presses the button for the top floor, flashing something over the security reader.
The doors slide shut and despite the lift being decent in size, standing between the two men makes it feel infinitely smaller than what it had appeared. Sebastian’s arms remain rigid by his sides whilst Easton’s are crossed over his chest, and the difference between them is evident. Both men have steel façades, though where Sebastian’s is ice cold, Easton’s is red hot. What’s going to happen once I tell Sebastian what I know?
The air is rife with tension, the knowledge of what’s to come like a dark cloud hanging over our heads. I almost feel claustrophobic in the now too-small space.
So lost in my head on the drive, I hadn’t even realised where we were going. But just before the doors slide open, the pieces click together, and I understand where we are.
Sebastian’s penthouse.