“Dammit, fucking cough,” Langston says, pushing harder on his chest.
Enzo finally coughs up the water, and I see his lungs rise and fall.
Langston sits back on his ankles. “Thank fuck.”
I let the tear I’ve been holding in loose. And Enzo’s eyes go straight to the tear. I don’t know who got hurt worse with him almost drowning—him or me.
But this stupid round got to us in a way the previous rounds didn’t. And I don’t think my heart can last too many more.
14
Enzo
I don’t know what happened. I must have blacked out. And I woke up with Langston pressing hard on my chest and Kai’s voice screaming with tears in her eyes.
Fuck, I have to get my shit together if I’m going to survive this game.
Langston puts his hand out, and I take it slowly, getting up.
Liesel tosses me a towel with a scowl, obviously thinking my almost death moment was an act like the previous round. It wasn’t. I just lost focus and passed out. But as much as I want to win, I won’t lose control like that again.
I dry my hair and face off, trying to recompose myself before looking at Kai again. She looks like she can’t decide between killing and fucking me.
Fuck my life. Why can’t I just have a normal life where when a woman wants to fuck me, I get to fuck her?
Archard clears his throat and then hands the knife to Langston to start the next round. Fuck that stupid knife. The first few times were painless, but the longer this goes, the more the drugs are going to wear out of my system.
Langston goes easy on me this time though, barely slicing my bicep, and I don’t feel a thing. My eyes are still focused on Kai and her worried face.
End this. Please, I can’t watch you suffer.
Langston tosses the knife hard to Milo, who barely avoids it crashing into his body. Instead, it bounces on the floor before he picks it up.
Go easy on her, I plead. Her shield is down from watching me almost drown.
But of course, he doesn’t. He stabs her in the chest right over her heart. Thank God the blade is too short to reach her heart and do any real damage.
But she gasps, and her face twists—the stabbing amplifies the pain she’s already feeling in her heart. She sucks in air, trying to breathe through the pain, but a low moan escapes her throat.
Fuck me.
I can’t watch this.
Milo finally pulls the knife out, and I have to look away to keep from throwing her over my shoulder and getting her the hell out of here.
“This round is simple,” Archard starts.
Shit, nothing about this is simple.
“Your shoulder is to be dislocated.”
I sigh—easy my ass.
I’ve had my shoulder dislocated before. Not when I was expecting it, but in the heat of a fight. The pain will rip through you, but it’s the pain of putting it back that hurts worse.
Worst of all, it’s a physical act. Milo is going to have to touch Kai to dislocate her shoulder. I’m going to have to watch him break her. And I don’t know if I can.
Kai notices my hesitation and raises an eyebrow as if to say if you’re going to bow out, do it before you have your shoulder dislocated you idiot. But then, I’ve never been very smart.