She knelt beside the bed, and then he saw it. She shuffled over, and he sat down beside her.
“What if you’re wrong?” he asked.
“I’m not wrong.”
“I think I would know if I was being drugged.”
She looked at him. “How?”
“Because, I know myself.”
“You think a girl doesn’t know she’s been drugged until it’s too late. Noah, you can’t even handle standing up for a period of time. You lay down with me often, and even using the bathroom is a struggle. They have been watching us from the start. There are cameras everywhere. They can see everything, so we’re going to have to be careful.”
“What’s your plan then?” he asked. He picked up his fork and started to eat. It all tasted the same to him, and it made his nose wrinkle.
“To find out if you’re being drugged, this should affect me within a few hours. I’m not going to eat a lot, but you’re going to eat all of mine, completely finish it off. They may give doses to each food, depending on the body weight and size. If I eat too much, I could give the game away and pass out.” She took a small bite.
“This is going to render you weak if you’re right,” he said.
“I know, but it means you’ll be strong, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll both find a way to escape this.”
He finished off his meal at her insistence. For Skye, she only took a few bites and crawled into bed. Putting their trays near the door, he went to her. She was crying.
“It was bad today, wasn’t it?” he asked.
“Yes. I really don’t know how much more of this I can take, Noah. I feel like I’m dying inside, and there is only one escape.”
“What?”
“You’re going to have to kill me. If I’m wrong, please, end my life. I can’t handle … anymore.”
She curled up into a ball, and he climbed over her, wrapping his arms around her.
“You’re not going to die, Skye. Remember, we’re going to go trick-or-treating, and you’re going to wear an awesome costume.”
“Will you dress up?” she asked.
“You can count on it. There’s no way this guy leaves the house without some costume or another.”
She let out a giggle.
“What do you do for Thanksgiving?” she asked.
“It’s always a big family event. You know, the turkey, the dressing, the whole thing.”
“My family is like that. We get a small turkey because they’re always so busy and on call. Anything can happen over the holidays. They like being prepared,” she said. “I miss them.”
“I miss my family too. My kid brother and sister with their pain in the ass nagging.”
“I just miss my parents and my mom’s apple pie. I wonder if she’s made one and thought of me.”
“Why apple pie?”
“We go picking apples together. We’ve always done it since I was a kid. Even when she’s really busy with work, she would always take me out apple picking. We’d come home, and I’d wash and peel the apples while she got on with the dough. She’s not the best cook, but right now I’d give anything just to eat her food.”
“She sounds like it.”
Silence fell around them.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“So tired.”
He held her a little tighter.
“My body doesn’t want to move.” She rolled over, looking at him. “You know what this means, don’t you?” she asked.
“Yes. It means you were right.”
“And we’ve got to do a lot more praying.”