Had she really been out to get me? Was it possible that she wanted Thorn for herself? I wasn’t sure whether I should believe what he’d told me, but I really had no choice. And if Thorn’s words hadn’t been enough, there was always the memory of her eyes, dark and angry with the world as she stared at me. Such a sharp contrast to the way she looked at Thorn – adoring like she would do anything for him.
Thorn stirred awake next to me, and when he did, he pulled me flush against him.
“Don’t go anywhere,” he muttered against my forehead, and a smile passed my lips briefly. “Want to feel you against me. Don’t fucking move.”
I didn’t. I lay in his arms, feeling as confused as I was suddenly content. It was an odd feeling, but one that filled me with the hope that maybe, things would work out between us in the future.
He held onto me for a while, his eyes still closed as his lips moved to kiss me, leaving a searing trace down every bit of me that they licked, bit, and sucked at.
I giggled and moaned in his arms and he smiled as he opened his eyes for the first time that morning.
I was mesmerized by the sight. Thorn didn’t smile. Smirk, or chuckle – sure, but not smile. Not like this.
Something moved within me as I stared into the eyes of the man I had become so very attached to. A man that I…
“I love you,” I whispered, and he touched his lips to mine, kissing me like I was a missing piece of his soul.
“You’re mine,” he grunted in response and roughly pulled me closer. “Only fucking mine.”
I could almost believe it was going to work out. A foolish thought that was shattered only a few hours later as Carina smashed a plate an inch away from my cheek.
“You fucking bitch!” she snarled at me, and I stared at her in shock as the plate shattered against the wall.
“Are you fucking crazy?” I cried out while the other girls gathered in a corner, their eyes frightened. “What the fuck are you doing? Calm down, Carina!”
“Never,” she screamed back, and I took a cautious step away from her, astonished by the change in her since I’d last seen her just a couple of days ago. “I’ll never fucking forgive you for taking him away from me!”
I felt strong arms around mine and someone pulled me back. A guard. Another one grabbed Carina’s angry body, her mouth still spewing obscenities at me. They told us to stay apart and the other guard dragged Carina away while Pia entered the room, looking every bit as evil as always. My memory of her in the playroom was quickly forgotten as she strode up to me, smiling wickedly in my face.
“Not so in control now, are you?” she asked in a falsely sweet voice. “You don’t handle yourself quite so well outside of the playroom, Rose. Maybe Thorn was wrong about you after all. What do you think, hmm?”
She took my face in her fingers as the guard held my arms behind my back. I resisted wildly, but it didn’t help matters much. I knew Thorn was in the city, wherever the hell that was, doing some business – what kind, I preferred not to know. I was all alone with her, at Pia’s mercy, and with nobody to help me until my man returned. And I wasn’t too sure whether she respected the boundaries where I was concerned, especially after the previous night.
“Why did you start a fight with Carina?” she asked me sweetly, and I rolled my eyes at her.
“I didn’t do anything,” I told her plainly. “I just came in here to get a book. She went fucking crazy while she was eating lunch and tossed her plate at me.”
I motioned towards the mess on the floor, and then to the girls cowering in the corner. Pia turned to face them, seemingly surprised they were still there.
“What are you all still doing here?” she snarled. “Get the fuck lost!”
The girls ran off and I exhaled loudly, wishing my former friend was still there. The girl I’d never spoken to, but who had tried to help me escape all that time ago. But she was gone without a trace, and Thorn refused to tell me where she disappeared to after she tried to help me. Afraid of his answer, I’d never dared to ask him directly. But I was convinced she wouldn’t have been afraid of Pia like the rest of them.
“You don’t understand why she’s mad at you?” Pia turned her attention back to me. “Do you even have to ask?”
“What?” I managed to get out, staring at her with contempt. “As if I did something wrong?”