Page 3 of A Taste Of Truth

His lips twitch. It’s so slight I doubt anyone else would even notice it, but I do somehow. I don’t know how I know, but I know. The sensation of togetherness is inside me, as if that bit Gray wanted to remove from me is firing signals to my brain. And what I also know is that this is not a game I’m either willing or interested in playing anymore. It’s time for me to leave. Maybe these two can deal with him and find out why he did what he did. Again. But not me. This isn’t a break I’m happy to stay in. God knows, I have enough shit and memories of my own to deal with. Add whatever his problems are into the mix, and I’m doubting I’ve got any hope of finding my way out of a quagmire that is already deep enough.

Turning, I walk from the room and head through tunnels in the general direction of the way we came in. I waited, made sure he was alright, and now it’s time for me to think about me again. With any luck, I’ll find a maid somewhere, and then a real phone. People must have them here.

I’m going home one way or another.

Chapter 2

Malachi

Ican’t hear my Alice anymore. If I didn’t feel so fucking weak, I might open my eyes and look around for her, but I do. Not only am I weak, I’m also hardly able to move a limb on my body. It’s like lead around me. Even my fingers feel like they’re stuck to the surface I’m on, no matter how much I try to move them.

“If you are awake, you better have a damn good explanation for this,” Gray says near me. Something stabs into my thigh, making me grunt at the pain it causes. “Good. At least I haven’t killed off motor function. Probably should have done.”

“I’ll go and get you another coffee,” Hannah says.

Something wraps around my hand, and it isn’t until I feel each one of my fingers throbbing in pain that I realise it’s Gray again doing more tests. “Can you feel that?”

The pain continues, this time crawling down every part of my body until I’m damn close to knocking his head off his shoulders. Or would be if I could fucking move.

“You’re a pain in my ass, Malachi.”

I cough, trying to ease the dryness in my throat, but even that doesn’t seem to work properly. “Move,” slurs out.

“You’re not going anywhere until I say you can. Twice in twenty four hours? Fuck you.”

Everything in my frame baulks at that, muscles vibrating in the hope that I can transfer something into them. I can’t. Nothing works. It’s all stuck to the surface as if someone’s glued me to it, but at least my eyes are starting to peel open.

Dull light floods through them, distorted images flashing quickly enough that I close them and try reopening again. Whatever it is that suddenly scratches my foot makes me kick out, or at least feel like I am doing.

“How do you feel?”

Pissed off. That’s how I feel. Not only am I still fucking here, I’m here with no ability to punch him for bringing me back like he did the last time. My eyes fully open, raw flesh seeming angry under the course scrape of my lids, and I look up at the ceiling. Here again.

A wave of hatred runs through me, and the only thing countering it is the thought of my little Alice’s eyes. Where is she?

“Alice,” mumbles out of me.

“What?”

“Alice.” I choke on the word, half my body trying to pull upright. “Where?”

A glass touches my lips, a hand around my neck and head, and cool water starts dripping over them. “Drink, Malachi. Let’s just concentrate on you for a while.”

Concentrate on me. What a fucking statement.

I drink until he pulls it away from me and then keep staring at the ceiling.

Can’t remember the last time someone concentrated on me.

“Why, Malachi?” The sound of a chair scrapes the floor, the shadow of him making me turn my gaze to look him over. He’s never asked that before. Not once. I watch as he turns the chair and sits astride it, then watch as he rolls down his sleeves and drops a clipboard on the bed next to him. “Talk to me.”

No.

I thought about talking to Alice, though. She seemed like she might understand for some reason. Gray won’t. And even if he did what could he do? He can’t be there all the time, can’t give me something that I need even if I don’t know what that is yet.

“At least tell me why you’ve been damn near living on my pills.”

“Haven’t.”