Page 32 of Atone

“That’s awful.”

Marco huffs. “Surprised it scares you, Mila. You’re spending so much time with a psychopath, I figured you’d be numb to this kind of shit.”

“What does Alex have to do with this?” I narrow my eyes. “And what do you have against him?”

“The better question is, what does Alex have against me?”

“What does he have against you?”

Marco clicks his tongue. But he doesn’t answer my question. “You might hate me, and you might not trust me, but be careful, Mila. Not everyone is who you think they are.”

“Like you?” I shoot back.

His jaw clenches as he shakes his head. “Among others.”

At that, he turns on his heel and walks away, leaving a weight sitting in my gut. Along with a thousand questions begging to be answered.

Who hurt Oxy?

Why is Marco warning me not to trust anyone?

And why did he insinuate Alex’s involvement in any of this?

After all, Alex has been locked in Montgomery for the last three years.

A shiver shimmies down my spine.

Or has he?

10

A WARNING WITHOUT WORDS

MILA

I shouldn’t be here.Not after tonight. Not when I’m still humming with what Marco said.

A thick tang of chemicals hangs in the air. It coats my tongue as I try to talk myself from this ledge. If I were rational, I would have gone back to the dorm and crawled into bed. But like every other day this week, I find myself drawn to Montgomery Psychiatric Ward.

To Alex.

Why do I keep doing this?

Marco is trying to get in my head. Thinking if he plants doubt, it will be easier to manipulate me into taking him back. And here I am, feeding into it.

Alex has been locked inside Montgomery for years. He hasn’t spoken a word since his trial. There’s no way he was involved in Oxy’s attack. It’s not possible.

Except…

What do I really know about Alex Lancaster?

That he was a star basketball player in high school?That he’s always been gorgeous and adored by the female population in Bristal?

Teal always said he was nicer than most of the guys born and raised Sigma Sin, but that was before his trial scarred him.

Who is he now?

The pieces he’s shown me are fragments of a shattered mind. Darkness that blanches out all light. And yet, I see those pieces, and I understand Alex on a level I don’t think most people can swallow.