“You know, I thought we’d be there a few hours, a day tops, when they took these off you.” She lifted up one of the metal cuffs. “We should have known sooner they were drugging you.”
“We were kids.”
“With some form of intelligence. We should have known something was wrong.”
“I did know,” he said. “I just … I didn’t know if it was me, or if I was ill or something.”
She dropped the cuff, and he watched her slowly circle the room. “Does the toilet work?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
“Tell me what you’re thinking right now,” he said. “I need you to talk to me.”
“It’s a lot to process right now. I mean, look at this place.” She sniffled. “I think about it so much.”
He watched her in some amazement as she began to strip out of her clothes. Her hands shook a little, but she didn’t for a second waver.
They spent so much time together, those few weeks they were taken, naked. Seeing her without her clothes was second nature to him. Even as she’d aged, her body, to him, had only grown more beautiful.
He craved her in ways he’d never wanted another woman. Even his wife didn’t hold any desire him. The only person he wanted was Skye.
Was that why he’d recreated this room?
Even in adulthood, he wanted to be close to the one girl he let get away?
Nothing had ever been the same for him after their time together in that fucking place. The pain, the fear, the loss, it had all melded together, but alone in their small cell, they had each other.
Skye sat down on the bed, her hands clenched by her sides, and he saw her take several shaky breaths.
He stripped down his own clothes, showing the scars he still held. Skye’s body possessed similar scars from the beatings she took. They had both nearly broken.
Once he was naked, he stepped up to the bed, staring down at her. He climbed across her body slowly, taking his time to settle down near the wall.
Putting a hand on her hip, she turned slightly, staring at him. Stroking the tips of his fingers up her body, he wiped the tears away from her eyes.
“They’re still winning?”
“No, they’re not.”
“Noah, you can’t say they’re not winning with this room you’ve created. It’s like a shrine to them.”
“It means nothing.”
She sniffled. “How can this not mean anything?”
“I don’t even know why I had it made for myself.” He stroked a finger down her arm, going to her hip. “I needed it.”
“Do you need it now?”
He held her tightly, pulling her close.
“I’ve not stepped foot inside her since I met you again. Do you hate me?”
“I don’t hate you. I could never hate you.” She placed her hand over his. “I’ve thought about this place so much, and it’s hard to think right now.”
“Do you want to leave?”