Page 41 of Wicked Dove (Institute Thirteen #1)

THIRTY-ONE

ELODIE

Unwanted tears prick the back of my eyelids as I launch myself into my bedroom, forcefully slamming the door shut behind me as I collapse against it. Through my blurred vision, I find Ocean staring at me from her bed, eyes wide as she puts her cell phone down and glances at me with caution.

“What’s going on?” she asks, and my nostrils flare as I fight back the emotions that I feel like I’ve been holding in for an eternity. I take a deep breath, but it does nothing to calm the pain consuming me.

“Tell me you can’t get approval to leave,” I rasp, watching the telltale signs of guilt wash over her features.

She rushes to her feet but stays planted at the side of her bed as she nervously twists her hands together. “I was going to tell you at the end of the week,” she whispers, and I shake my head, a pained cackle parting my lips as I look up at the ceiling.

“I can’t stand another minute here, never mind another week,” I bite. My ears are throbbing with the racing beat of my pulse. “I made that deal before I knew you were omitting things from me,” I add, forcing myself to look at her, and she grimaces.

“That’s fair.”

“I want you to know how fucking shitty it is to realize you’ve known there are ways to get out of here and you haven’t told me. Especially when you’ve watched me try to make a run for it,” I grind out through clenched teeth.

It’s not her fault, not really, but I’m spiraling and there’s nothing I can do about it.

“It’s not as simple as just leaving, there’s a lot more to it, but you’re right. I was a shitty, selfish friend.”

My breath lodges in my throat. I hate how she owns it immediately. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed someone take accountability like that. Not even Walker.

Walker.

Damn.

“You have to help me get out of here.”

She shakes her head, lifting her hands slightly in surrender. “It’s not as easy as—”

Banging echoes around the room from the door behind me, making my eyes widen as panic floods my veins.

“Ocean.”

It’s a plea. For what, I don’t know, but she understands it. She nods as she lifts her hand toward me and whispers under her breath, just as the door handle jiggles, but it doesn’t open.

“Elodie, open the door,” Rion hollers, and Ocean nods again.

“That should hold him off for a minute or two,” she breathes, and I take her word for it, stepping away from the door so I can think.

“I mean it, Ocean. You need to help me out of here. Not just to sneak into The Vale. I mean for real out of here,” I mutter, brushing my hair back off my face as my chest aches so much it feels like it’s going to explode.

“Now?” she clarifies, and I blink at her.

“Yes, now,” I say with a sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose.

Ocean starts to pace back and forth along the length of her bed, nibbling at her bottom lip as she goes. “Even if you got approval, it would take time. I—”

“No, now, Ocean,” I interject in frustration, and she wipes a hand down her face.

“There is one way, but it’s the psychotic way,” she admits as we both continue to ignore Rion pounding his fists against our bedroom door.

“Tell me,” I insist. I’m already free-falling; it doesn’t matter if something else goes wrong. The more psychotic the better.

She eyes me wearily, but hurries to her nightstand, digging through the bottom drawer until she pulls a small vial out. She doesn’t waste a single moment as she cuts the distance between us, slamming the glass vial into my hand as she leans in to whisper in my ear.

Every word that parts her lips sends a shiver down my spine, but I absorb them; there’s no alternative.

The door handle rattles and she leaps back, nodding at the vial.

“Do it now. I can’t hold him back any longer,” she insists, and before I can think better of it, I unscrew the top and press it against my lips.

“Get on your bed so you don’t hurt yourself,” she adds, and I stumble back a step as the liquid burns down my throat.

It washes over me like a late spring shower, unexpected and devastating.

I lose the feeling in my toes first, but it doesn’t waste any time shooting through the rest of my body, claiming me as it goes. I feel numb everywhere as my head hits my pillow, my hair fanning around my face as my fingers twitch at my sides.

Ocean is above me a moment later. “I hope you get everything you want, Elodie. But if you somehow find your way back here, I’ll be here for you. Thank you for not being a bitch,” she whispers, a watery smile curling her lips as the door bursts open behind her.

“Rion, you have to help. You have to help her!” Ocean screams, her demeanor completely changing as she waves her hands at me desperately.

I want to tell her that her dramatics are on point, and she could have been an actress in another life, but I can’t. It’s like I’m not even here. They’re yelling at each other as Rion hovers above me, wild eyes darting over me, but I can’t even blink.

“What did you do to her?” Rion snaps, and Ocean shoves at him, but he doesn’t move a single inch.

“Me? She was on a rampage, and she swallowed this,” she bites back, taking the empty vial from my open palm, but my vision blurs so I can’t be sure.

Finally, the fear creeps in. The realization of how dangerous this is sets in, and the anxiety claws at me.

I should have taken a moment to think. I should have let him explain. I should have kept my cool. Instead, I chose to act without caution. I chose to run from him. I chose to give in to my rising emotions and lose my shit.

“Fuck!” Rion grunts, and I try to open my eyes at him, but all I can make out is his frame. “We need to get her some help. Thorne isn’t here, so we need to get her to the medical center now!”

“I’m having nothing to do with this,” Ocean snaps as I feel the thumping of my heart slow.

“It’s your poison, Ocean,” Rion roars, and it almost sounds like he cares. But that can’t be true. Not when he’s worked so hard to keep me here for the sake of his friend.

“And it’s your fault she took it,” Ocean bites back as my mind turns to jelly, just like my limbs, leaving one last lingering thought in my mind.

It’s not an act; Ocean really is psychotic as fuck.

But even worse…

So am I.