Page 102 of Tangled Hearts

He hums and pulls away before linking his fingers with mine and leading me through the crowd.

We step into a quiet hallway, and he wraps me up in his arms again. “Your speech was so good, Eli. I loved it.”

I laugh. “I was fucking terrified.”

He pulls back, then tilts my chin up to force me to look at him. “I know. But you did it anyway. You’re so fucking brave, doll. And I’m so fucking proud of you.”

He lets his hand stray to my throat, and I shiver when he brushes his thumb along my pulse. His fingers tighten on my throat the smallest bit, and I just… unwind.

My body goes lax, my heart rate slowing. This is so fucking everything. “Good boy,” he whispers, brushing his lips over mine.

I nod, a small whimper rising in my throat. He seals his mouth over mine, his fingers still squeezing the sides of my throat. I kiss him back, my head going a little fuzzy. When he breaks the kiss, he keeps his hold on me, then rubs his nose against mine. “I love you, Eli. I’m so fucking in love with you.”

My heart nearly explodes from my chest, my entire stomach erupting in butterflies. I blink up at him, my body relaxed and my mind quiet.

The sound of approaching footsteps catches my attention, and I look to the side just in time to see Holden coming to a dead stop. He takes in our position, his eyes scanning Nic’s arm, up, up, up to where his hand is still wrapped around my throat. Nic drops his hand, taking a step back from me.

I’m not sure it matters, though. We’ve already been caught, and that’s alright. It’s not like we planned on hiding forever. “Hey, Uncle Hold,” I say, swallowing hard against my nerves. Hey, I said it would be okay, not that I wasn’t gonna stress about it.

He doesn’t respond, and something about the way his chest is rising and falling feels… off. “Hold?” I take a step toward him.

Holden’s eyes find mine, and there’s recognition there. I know he sees me, but then something switches off. “Holden?”

He licks his lips, swallowing so hard I can see the bobbing of his throat. He opens his mouth, and I brace myself for him to tell us he doesn’t approve. But nothing comes out except for a weak, gasping sort of sound. Panic flares in his eyes, then fear—naked fear.

“Holden,” I repeat, my stomach churning. “Nic, what’s going on?”

Nic doesn’t answer, but he steps up beside me.

Holden’s fingers twitch at his sides, then his hands come up. Slowly. He wraps them around his throat, his eyes going hazy and unfocused. “No.” The word is whispered so quietly I can barely even hear it.

“Holden?” I step closer to him, reaching out, and the second my fingers connect with his arm, his body convulses.

“No. No. It’s not real. It can’t be real,” he whimpers, then he crumples. I try to catch him, but I don’t react in time, and he hits the ground.

I reach out to touch him, and a rough, half-choked scream leaves his throat. Something’s wrong. Something’s so fucking wrong. “Holden. Look at me,” I snap, my stomach souring.

Nic kneels beside me and tries to pull Holden into a sitting position. Holden lashes out, his fist glancing off Nic’s jaw as he fights to get away from us.

His hands go back to his throat, and he gasps. Wide, panicked eyes latch onto mine, but I’m not sure he sees me. Holden makes an pained sound in the back of his throat, and then he’s clawing at it. So hard that he breaks the skin, and blood beads up and smears across his throat.

Nic grabs Holden again, forcing his hands away from his throat. Forcing him to stop. “Holden. You’re okay. It’s us. Nic and Eli. You’re okay.”

Holden starts crying, awful, gut-wrenching sobs. Sounds I’ve never heard him make before as he repeatsnoover and over again. My panic rises, my throat closing up in fear as I glance around. We’re alone. Andno one seems to be able to hear us. I don’t know what to do. “Nic. Go get Julian.”

He hesitates, ignoring me for a second. “Holden. Hey, can you hear me?”

He’s not going to get an answer. Holden doesn’t seem to have any. His eyes are glassy and unfocused. He’s not here. But I don’t know where he is.

“Please,” I say, my voice cracking. “Please go get Julian.”

Nic looks at me, then releases Holden. “Don’t let him hurt himself, Eli.” He’s gone a second later.

I don’t know what to do. But I literally just gave a fucking speech about this, so I listen to my own words. I sit close to Holden, not touching him. “Nic’s on his way with Julian, Uncle Hold.”

He makes a desperate, gasping sound. Okay, so maybe it’s not time to sit with him. “Holden, look at me.”

Terrified green eyes latch onto mine. I think he’s finally seeing me, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing. “I’m here,” I whisper, reaching out to touch him.