"Ow," I mumbled.
"Geez, sorry. What the hell happened to you?"
I stole a glance at Miles. He shook his head, as if he could hear my silent question. I was glad that Kins didn't know. Her finding out would ruin everything. It would be the tipping point. And I wasn't ready to leave. I tried to keep my face blank. God, what the hell was I thinking? I needed to leave. No matter how much I cared about them, I didn't belong here. I was putting them both in danger by staying. But I still didn't want to scare them. "Some guy tried to mug me."
"Welcome to, New York, I guess." She gave me a small smile.
"I'm fine though, really." Hopefully Miles would accept my excuse too, but I had a feeling he wouldn't.
"Good. You scared me half to death." She gave me a much more gentle hug. "I know there were a few cops that wanted to talk to you about it." She turned to Miles. "We should probably get going. She needs her rest."
"I think I'll stay," Miles said.
"Don't be ridiculous. You haven't slept since I woke you up in the middle of the night. You need some rest before classes tomorrow. Right, Sadie?" She gave me a crazy looking smile and nodded not at all subtly toward Miles.
Was she seriously using this moment to take advantage of them being alone? I didn't want them to be together. But I also needed Miles to leave before I confessed all my worries and fears. I felt too comfortable around him. I didn't want to do something that I'd regret.
"Kins is right," I said. "You should get going. Thanks for coming though."
Kins walked around the bed and grabbed his arm.
He lowered his eyebrows slightly and just stared at me.
I dropped his gaze. He wasn't mine. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him stand up. Kins' hand was still wrapped around his arm as they walked toward the door.
They weren't together already, were they? I held my breath. For one second. No. For two seconds. They couldn't be together. For three seconds. Of course I wanted them both to be happy. For four seconds. But not together. It hurt even more than I expected it to. For five seconds.
Miles lowered his shoulder slightly and stepped away from her to open the door.
I exhaled slowly. He didn't like her.
"Feel better, Sadie." His gaze seemed to bore into mine. "I'll be back after class tomorrow, okay?"
I didn't say a word, mostly because I knew I wouldn't still be here after class. I needed to get the hell out of this city. I watched them disappear and it felt like my heart crushed into a million pieces. Would that be the last time I ever saw him? There was no reason to assume the worst. The police were going to help. I pushed myself into a sitting position as I waited for the cops. But could they really help me? Would they think I was crazy like Kins had when I mentioned the box?
I scratched my arm nervously and completely froze. It was wet and sticky. The smell of blood seemed to completely fill my nose. I looked down at the inside of my forearm and almost vomited.
There were red words smeared across my skin. "Your move."
Blood. What the fuck? I clasped my hand over my arm. Who's blood was that? Who had been in my room? The doctor, Miles, Kins, the cops...God. Had I really expected them to help me? They'd think I was insane. They'd think I did this to myself. They'd think I made up the box. I needed to help myself for once in my life. I pulled the IV out of my hand. Fuck that hurts. I winced as I climbed out of the bed. My clothes were folded on a chair. I quickly pulled on my shorts and tattered t-shirt and laced my shoes. There was a dark blue hoodie draped across the back of the chair. It wasn't mine, but I definitely recognized it. I lifted it up and held it against my chest. The vigilante's cologne seemed to waft around me. He left me his hoodie? A noise outside my door interrupted my thoughts.
There was no way I could talk to the police. I needed to disappear. I ripped my sling off, ignoring the searing pain in my arm, and zipped on the hoodie. It was huge on me, but I didn't even care. It made me feel safe, despite the fact that I was in terrible danger. I lifted the hood over my head and slipped out the door. As far as I could tell, no one followed me.
There wasn't a doubt in my mind that if I stayed here any longer, one of Don's hit men would kill me or worse. The more time I spent with anyone, the more I was putting them in danger as well. I had to go. I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I pressed on Mr. Crawford's name and held the phone to my ear. Please answer this time.
There was a terrible screeching noise. "This number is no longer in service," said a computerized female voice. "This number is no longer in service," it repeated. The screeching noise resumed.
I pulled my phone away from my ear. How could his number no longer be in service? He was my only way out of this mess. He told me he'd always answer my calls. He was supposed to be there, waiting for me when I needed him. And I fucking needed him right now. My heart started racing even faster as I crossed the street. Had something really happened to him? Was it because of me? What the hell was I supposed to do now? Why hadn't I called Mr. Crawford right after I recognized Miles? I waited until it was too late. The city felt claustrophobic. It felt like the buildings were crashing down on me.
Your move. The bloody message on my skin made me shiver. Don was turning my life into some kind of sick game. I stopped on the sidewalk and ignored the people rudely telling me I was in the way. Stupid New York. I scrolled through my missed messages until I found a response from Liza. She hadn't really answered any of my texts, all the response had in it was an address. But that would do.
"I'm on my way," I typed and pressed send. She'd help me. Out of everyone I had met here, I probably knew her the least. For some reason, though, I just knew she'd help me figure this mess out. She had to.
I followed the directions on my GPS until I came to an apartment building in a much nicer part of town than the last one. It even had a buzzer system outside. I pressed on the number for her apartment.
"You woke me up," Liza said groggily through the call box.