He got to a minute and a half and wasn’t sure if that was how long it had been. Time meant nothing to them in this world. Days and weeks could have already passed and they didn’t know it.
Finally, the door opened, and Skye was thrown inside. Her back was covered in a fresh layer of welts. Some of the old scars hadn’t been given the time to heal and were open.
He went to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Enjoy her while you can,” Mitch said.
The door slammed closed, causing her to flinch. Skye turned her face toward him, and he winced. There was already a bruise along one side of her face.
She looked past him, and he followed her gaze to his food.
“They brought food some time ago,” he said. “I wanted to wait for you to eat it.”
She stared at the food.
“What is it?” he asked.
She took his hand and rested her head against his shoulder. “Did they hand you a tray of food?”
“Like they always do. They bring it in. Yours is here,” he said, pointing at the floor.
“Noah, you’ve not been yourself for some time, have you?”
They were both whispering.
“Skye, what’s going on?”
“Please, just answer my questions. You’re one of the strongest guys I know.”
“I’m still only eighteen. I’m sure it’s just everything that is going on around me.”
“Cut the crap, Noah. I don’t care that you can’t lift shit right now. This is important because I think I know exactly what the problem is.”
This made him frown at her. “You do?”
“They are drugging your food.”
“What?”
“They were putting something out of a syringe into your food, and I have this feeling they’ve been doing it to the men.”
“Why?” Noah asked.
“Because, you guys are strong. What better way to break you than to show how weak you are? Today, you couldn’t even stop Mitch from taking me. I saw the pain in your eyes, the conflict. You hate that. You hate that you can’t protect me, and you and I both know you’re a lot stronger than that.”
“Skye, I don’t—”
“We need to swap our meals without them finding out.”
“What?”
She grabbed her food and moved toward the bed, staring down at the trays.
“Noah, come and pray with me.”
It was an odd request. Neither of them had prayed during their time here.
“I don’t know how long this is going to take.” She sniffled. “Please, come and pray.”