Page 27

Barking out a laugh, I brush my mouth against hers gently. She shivers, eyes wide as she touches her lips in wonder.

“Was that okay?” I ask her honestly. I need to hear her words, because I don’t want to take what isn’t freely given. Silla has very little control over everything else, so I want to give her something to hold onto.

“I always wondered what the hype behind a kiss was,” she whispers.

Shuddering at that confession, my forehead drops to hers. “More little truth bombs, I see, Little Hacker. You know I’m going to need more, right? Does this mean this was a first kiss?”

Her green eyes glitter with emotion as she says, “It’s my only kiss. How else am I going to keep you on your toes without my truth bombs?”

Growling, I brush my lips against hers again. “I want to explore your mouth, find out what makes your little noises, and never hold any of that against you,” I murmur softly.

“Did he tell you everything?” she asks drolly, pushing up onto her toes to kiss me back sweetly. I swear it’s the best one I’ve ever had. Her lips are soft, and even though Silla is slightly unsure of what she’s doing, I love how she trusted herself to just go for it.

“Yeah, he did,” I breathe, not wanting to wait for her to freak out. “Let’s get you to the infirmary to get your bandages changed.”

Grabbing her hand, I pull her after me. I drop it once we move into the hallway, immediately missing her touch. I let my fingertips brush hers to stay connected, glancing at her occasionally to see that she’s thinking hard.

“Are you upset that I know?” I ask carefully, biting my lip. I want to be up front with her, but I also know I’m asking for an awful lot of trust too.

“I don’t know yet. Are you going to use it against me?” Silla asks me in a small voice.

“Never. It’s also not a shortcoming, or failure,” I remind her. “I told the Warden that it’s probably even expected since you’re running in the circles you are in.”

She nods, rolling her lips inwards. I wonder what she’s holding back, and I force myself to stay quiet. Silla will either tell me or not, but I’m not pushing right now.

Soon, I’m knocking on the infirmary door, waiting to see if Patricia decided to call it a night early. She appears frazzled, and frowns, until she sees us.

“Silla, did you need more bandages? It’s about time you came to see me, young lady,” Patricia says, waving us in. My eyebrows raise, because I thought she’d stay grouchy. “Don’t look at me like that, Isaac, and close the door behind you.”

Silla sits on a chair, her eyes bouncing around the room. It’s a long rectangular space, without a window in sight.

“Do you want me to open the door?” I ask her, watching her closely. Startling, she shakes her head, even though her eyes look a little wild. “No, I’m fine,” Silla insists, and somehow her voice manages to stay even.

“How long have you disliked closed spaces?” I ask her, and she scowls at me.

“I could tell,” Patricia says before Silla opens her mouth to hiss at me. “I noticed your eyes went a little wild when I closed the curtain, like an enclosed animal. Your secrets are safe with me, you know that, Silla,”

Silla nods, relaxing slightly as the nurse uncovers her wrist to look at them. “Is that why her medical chart is a mess?” I ask Patricia. “I noticed there’s a ton of things missing.”

“I didn’t lie on anything, and we were interrupted by Larrissa in the middle of my intake interview,” she complains.

Silla frowns at her name, and I hum. “Why the face, Little Hacker?” I ask, uncaring that Patricia looks up at me in slight amusement from where she sits.

“I really hate that woman,” Silla huffs. “We didn’t have the best introduction. It was nothing crazy, but I’m pretty sure she’s responsible for why my clothes are all too tight.”

“I can change this in your file,” I offer. She shakes her head, looking down to watch what Patricia is doing.

“The Warden already fixed it,” Silla whispers, and I nod. Of course he did. To her credit, Patricia doesn’t say anything, continuing to clean Silla’s cuts. The skin looks like it’s closing well already.

“Good, I’ve never understood why shorts are part of your wardrobe. It’s usually so cold in these halls,” I complain.

Patricia glances up through her eyelashes for a moment, and I can feel the reprisal in her eyes.

“Alright, alright. So tell me about what’s missing from your medical assessment, Patricia?” I ask her.

“I didn’t have time to give her a birth control implant. Larrissa yanked her out of the room before I could do that. I also kept some information out of the file that could make her life difficult here. While the medical files are behind an extra firewall, that means very little when hackers reside within FRC,” she says. Her tone is colored in annoyance, but I’m unsure who it’s towards.

“Patricia didn’t include my virginity in my chart,” Silla says so softly I almost can’t hear her. Patrica gasps, and the little hacker just shakes her head. “Isaac knows and so does the Warden, but no one else.”