Page 21 of Burn Me Down

She opened the door and leaned against the frame as she stared at me. I hated her scrutinizing me so closely and looked away. What would she see? To care about what someone thought about me was new and terrifying. It had been so long since I gave a shit that I forgot what the anxiety felt like as it sat in the middle of my chest.

“So you don’t want to hurt me?”

“No. I didn’t take you with the best intentions, but I don’t want to hurt you.” She nibbled her bottom lip.

“Could you?”

“You mean could I physically or could I lose control and hurt you?”

She shrugged. “Both, I guess.”

“I could hurt you if I wanted to, but I won’t lose control like that.” It was hard to tell what she was thinking, but she stepped out, sat down, and ate like nothing happened.

“You going to join me or leave?”

I didn’t know what to do or think. Beck was way too trusting and a fuck load nicer than I would be in her position. I loved it but was terrified for her. What if she trusted the wrong person? Beck looked over her shoulder at me and popped a fry into her mouth. I watched the deep-fried, golden potato disappear as she chewed and sat the mop and bucket down.

Rebecca

Part of me was screaming to let him leave. The less time we spent together until I found a way to escape, the better, but the other part of me wanted to know what was happening to him.

I glanced out of the corner of my eye as he sat down and picked up his half-eaten burger. My chicken sandwich was just how I liked it. Was it crazy that, in so many ways, he was the most considerate guy I’d ever dated? If you could call this a weird date.

“Before I freaked you out, I wanted to give you this,” he leaned over and picked something up off the floor. “I know you wanted it.” He held out a book and smiled as I took it from his hands.

“You got me my favorite author’s latest release?” I held the book to my chest and smiled at him. “This is incredible, thank you.”

I ran my hand over the shiny cover and fanned the pages, loving the smell of the brand-new book.

“You’re welcome.” Sitting the book down, I kept eating, but I had a million questions I wanted to ask and didn’t know how to start.

“You know my work and friends will wonder what happened to me?” He looked at me and then polished off the rest of his burger. I probably shouldn’t have reminded him that by keeping me alive, I was a liability, but maybe I could talk him into letting me leave. I was really starting to believe he didn’t want to do this.

“Friend. Well, friend and her other half,” he said, rolling his eyes.

That action alone told me this had to be Asher’s brother, but I needed to be sure. It also explained the same unusual colored eyes. Eyes that made me fucking melt. I took another bite of the chicken, as I thought. There was a comfortable silence between us. How was it possible that right now, with this man who was clearly suffering, I found the calm in my life I’d been searching for?

“Can I ask you another question about the voice you hear?” He stilled but didn’t say no, so I continued before he told me to piss off. “Does the voice scare you?”

“Scare me? No.”

“Does it ask you questions?”

“Sometimes, I guess. Usually, they are rhetorical to drive me nuts.”

“Does it order you to do things you don’t want to do?”

He looked at me, his eyes narrowing into a glare. “Are you trying to shrink me?”

“I’m trying to understand what just happened. I may not be a doctor, but…I’ve seen a lot of mental disorders,” I said.

“So you think I’m mental?” He leaned back and crossed his arms.

“I think you’re suffering. I don’t mean suffering from something. I mean suffering from a deeply rooted pain clinging to you.” He looked away. “Can I see your face?”

He stood in a rush, the chair scraping with the sudden outburst of its occupant. “Are you trying to trick me so that you can turn me in? It’s not going to work.”

“No, that’s not why.” That wasn’t my motive, but if I knew who he was for sure and I escaped, I could get him locked up. The thought of him in a cell didn’t sit well with me. He didn’t belong in a cage. “I’m just genuinely curious.”