Page 104 of Terms of Exposure
I'd tried to calm him down. Tried to explain.
But he'd kept going. Tone rising. Eyes blackening. Until finally—finally—he'd pressed two fingers to his temple like a gun.
Maybe I should just do it, he'd said.End it. Would that make you happy? Would you even care?
I still remembered the way he'd mimed pulling the trigger. The sound he'd made—bang—while staring straight into my eyes.
I'd stayed up all night after that. Terrified to sleep. Terrified toleave. Terrified that if I did anything wrong, I'd wake up to find him dead and know it was my fault.
That was the night I'd learned to make myself smaller. Quieter. To shrink into whatever shape kept him calm.
Now I stood in the hospital hallway, the memories circling like vultures, each pass taking a piece of me with it.
I stared at the phone in my hand.
Forty-three texts.
Twelve missed calls.
I closed my eyes. Counted to three.
It's over. You left. You're safe. He can't hurt you anymore.
The words rang hollow. Rehearsed. A mantra I'd been repeating for weeks without ever quite believing it.
You're in a hospital. There are people everywhere. He doesn't know where you are. He can't—
My phone buzzed.
Garrett: I know you're reading these. I can see the little checkmarks. Stop ignoring me or I swear to god Candace I will find you and we will have this conversation in person.
The air left my lungs.
The door behind me swung open.
"Candace?" Damien's concern carried toward me. "Everything okay?"
I spun around quickly, shoving the phone into my pocket before the smile hit my face.
"All good!" I chirped. "Just my mom. You know how she is. Wanted to make sure I was eating enough vegetables. I told her hospital Jell-O counts as a fruit, but she wasn't convinced."
Damien studied me.
I held the smile. Didn't let it waver.
Nothing to see here. Just bubbly, carefree Candace. Life of the party. Never a problem in the world.
"You sure?" he asked.
"Positive." I patted his arm and slipped past him toward the door. "Now come on. Your brother's probably fucking up the puzzle as we speak."
My phone sat in my pocket, heavy as a grenade with the pin half-pulled.
Waiting.
Chapter twenty-eight
Emma
