Gemma
I blinked slowly,like my eyes were made of lead. The room was so bright that it gave me an instant headache, so I shut my eyes again.
I’ll burn the world down for you, Gemma.
I hummed, smiling gently at the thought of Isaiah. It felt weird to smile. My lips cracked with the movement, and I tasted blood on my tongue. I tried to swallow, but my throat felt too dry. Like there was cotton shoved down it. I wanted to go back to sleep.
Just survive, Gemma. I’ll come back for you.
“Tobias?” I whispered. My words sounded strange against my ears. Slow and mumbled. I ran my tongue over the roof of my mouth and teeth, searching for rocks. It sounded like rocks were inside my mouth, making my words grumbly.
“No. Not Tobias. I’m just here to give you some more meds. Richard said he wants to keep you sedated until he gets back so you’ll stop screaming.”
A girly voice hit my ears next. “Whatcha doing?”
My eyes stayed shut as I tried to figure out if I was sleeping or awake. I was too afraid to peek, but I took comfort in knowing that neither of the voices I heard were Richard’s.
“What are you doing out of your room?”
The light, feminine voice floated in my ears as she answered whoever was hovering over me. I could feel the person’s body heat, and part of me wanted to pull them in close. I was cold. So cold. My blood felt cold. My veins were like icicles. I was pretty sure I was shivering.
“Someone left my door open again, so I wandered.”
Warm air wafted over my face as the person above me moved farther away. I slowly pulled one eye open, trying to adjust to the bright lights in the stark-white room. My head rested against the floor, and I remembered sliding off the mattress I was on last time I was awake because of what was done on it. How long have I been like this? I was in and out of consciousness and confused. It was like being back at Richard’s all over again.
The floor felt so comfy against my skin, but with that comfort came a sickening, nauseated feeling, and I was afraid to dig further into my head to find out what had happened.
“Who’d you spread your legs for this time?”
The girly laugh snagged my attention, and when my eyes finally adjusted to the light, I zeroed in on her. She was pretty, even with the drab clothing she was wearing, and she was definitely my age. She had an innocence to her that felt too familiar to me.
Her blondish-brown hair was parted down the middle and split into easy waves over her shoulders. The slate-colored robe was tied tightly around her tiny middle, and she was barefoot, padding around the white cloud-like floor like she weighed no more than an ounce. The freckles on the bridge of her nose were faded, and her skin was pale, as if she hadn’t seen sunlight in a really long time, but the thing that really caught my eye were the long, pink scars running up her forearms. I felt envy for a second because I’d always been so protective of the scars along my wrists, so much so that I wore long sleeves even when the temperature was warm. But this girl? Her cuffed robe sleeves were pushed all the way up to her elbows, and she wore her scars like trophies. The long, skinny, pink, raised marks were shining like diamonds in a desert against her pretty skin.
I wanted to be her.
Not just because she seemed proud of who she was and held an air of confidence to her, but because she was standing in the doorway and could walk the halls without anyone even stopping her.
The man wearing black scrubs crossed his arms over his chest as he gave her a look, waiting for her to answer his question. She shrugged. “Jealous I didn’t spread my legs for you, big man?”
I squinted my eyes so it looked as if they were closed as I saw him standing over her. She didn’t look fazed in the slightest. Who was she?
He tilted his head, still holding the syringe destined for my neck in his hand. “Maybe. Maybe I’ll stick you with this and fuck you while you’re unconscious, little one.”
I bit my tongue. Had he done that to me? No. Richard wouldn’t have allowed that. Would he? My heart started to skip in my chest, and I wished I had enough energy to spring to my feet and dart out of the open door, but it felt like my feet were numb. My whole body felt numb and tingly.
“You would never.” The girl stood tall and wore an impenetrable expression. “You guys like my banter too much to do such a thing.” I caught the flirty tip of her lip, and the man seemed to fall for it.
He rolled his eyes. “Go back to your room so I don’t get my ass chewed for letting you roam.”
“Who’s that?” My eyes quickly shut, and I tried to appear like I was sleeping again, but I was pretty certain the girl had seen me. My movements were too slow. It felt like actual minutes before my eyelashes collided again.
“Newbie. None of your concern. Actually, this bottom floor is none of your concern. How many times have you been caught down here? For fuck’s sake, the psych employees are so blinded by your charm.”
“And you’re not?” I peeled my eyes open once more when I heard the shuffling of fabric. I almost choked when I watched the girl take a step closer, running her hand down the side of his face. The sound of his beard against her skin made a scratchy sound, and her lips were a millisecond from touching his. “Remember the last time we got too close?”
The man’s eyes darted down to her mouth, but I quickly moved my gaze to her hand that was moving in between them.
Was she...?
“Mmm, I remember,” she whispered. “I wonder what would have happened if we hadn’t gotten interrupted?”
I pulled back slowly, wincing at the fogginess in my brain as I watched his hands shoot down to her slender hips. He threw his head back, the veins along his neck prominent as her hand dove down into his pants. “Goddamnit. Stop. You shouldn’t be acting like this.”
“Maybe you should stop me.” Her hand moved inside his pants faster. What was going on? I was confused but too stunned to look away or close my eyes. This girl was…different. Bold. Determined. She looked sweet at first. Her calm voice sounded like a child’s, with an innocence that I’d held once upon a time. But now she appeared tough and seasoned.
My mouth gaped as the man’s hips started thrusting, and the girl’s eyes darted away, looking more disturbed than aroused like she’d seemed a few seconds ago. But that was when she caught my eye. She blinked once and froze for a moment before shaking her head, silently shushing me.
Her other hand pulled back slowly, and my eyes widened as I saw her slip something from the man’s pocket into her own. He was too blinded by her hand in his pants to realize. His eyes were shut tightly, and his hips were rocking. Loud breaths were coming out of his mouth, and I shut my eyes quickly when his sultry voice rang out.
“You’re a little minx.”