Page 34 of Straightjacket

Releasing my hands from the bars, I wrap my arms tightly around his shoulders and cry into his mouth, my raining tears soaking into his face, and I feel him pull me closer.

“Let go for me, little demon.” He moans out as he slows down the thrusts of his hips. “Let go, I promise I’ll catch you.”

So, I do. I cry and moan, the overwhelming feeling of sadness and euphoria taking over my body as I crash into him, the broken pieces of us shatter into a million shards as he pulls me over the edge with him. We freefall together, the two of us falling faster than the speed of light until we smash into the abyss.

Into a place where nothing can hurt us anymore.

“Silas!” I cry out and he pulls my face into the safety of his neck.

“I know, I know... I know. I’m right here.” He chants softly, then pulls me away from the bars and sits us down, my legs straddling his hips, the feel of him tucked deeply inside of me. Both of us refusing to move.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur into his skin. “I don’t know why I cried, I just... I’m just–”

He cuts me off as he lifts my head to meet his eyes. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” he says, using his thumb to wipe away my tears. “This place is killing us, and I’m done with it. I can’t go another day knowing what this hellhole is doing to you, so I’m done. I’m getting us out of here.”

“How? Like you said, this place is locked up tight. Every guard has a keycard, but there’s more of them than us.” I say, worry wobbling my voice.

“I’ve done it once and I’ll do it again; do you trust me?”

I nod my head and lace my fingers into his hair. “I trust you, you know I do.”

“I just like making sure,” he says with a smile, then it drops. “The guards will come back, probably for me and you’re gonna have to let them take me, alright? Whatever happens you let them.” His hands cup my face, forcing me to look right into his eyes and behind those dark orbs, but I don’t like what I see there.

“But–”

“Promise me, Iris.” The demand hits me hard, causing my bottom lip to tremble as I fight off the tears. “Promise me that you’ll let them take me. I need to hear you say it.”

“I promise.” But the words don’t feel sacred, instead they feel like a death sentence, the final nail in our coffin. He nods, a small smile pulling at his lips, but I can see straight through it, the worry settling heavy on his shoulders.

“C’mon, let's get you dressed before you freeze to death.” He says, carefully lifting me off his lap, then he quickly tucks himself away into his jumpsuit before grabbing mine off the floor, making quick work of getting me dressed again. Once I’m all zipped up, he tucks me into his chest and we stand there, the both of us scared to death of what’s waiting on the other side of all of this.

“I love you, I hope you know that. I hope you know that everything I said the other night in here was all a lie, because I am capable of such a feeling. You proved that to me, right from the very beginning you continued to prove to me that I am capable, worthy even, of loving you.”

I step back slightly to look up at him.

“I know, but... why are you saying all this, why now?” I say, a heavy dread pressing down on my chest. Silas cups my face then presses a kiss to my forehead.

“I needed you to know because whatever happens, I love you and I’ll never stop loving you.” He says with so much truth and takes my hands in his, then drops down onto his knee. I stumble backwards slightly, my eyes widening in shock.

“Silas, what are–”

“I don’t have a ring. I don’t have the big fancy house or the nine to five job, but what I do have is my entire world to give to you and I know it might not be much, but I’d hand over everything I have, for you. You hold my heart and soul in the palm of your hands, and there’s no other place I’d rather it be. And I’ll spend the rest of my days loving you, even in the days where it gets hard, I’ll be here, right by your side.” He squeezes my hands as the tears pour down my face.

“There is no me without you. So please, make me yours forever and marry me?” An overflow of love pools in his eyes and I can feel my heart ready to explode as I ram myself into his arms to say the one word that I’m more than willing to hand over.

One simple word that’s always belonged to him.

“Yes!”

From that moment on we silently promise that we’ll make it out of here and even though my heart is bursting from Silas's proposal, I can’t seem to shun away the lingering feeling that something worse is yet to come.

Placing the sandwiches onto the plate, I trod over to the sink and rinse the knife under the cold-water tap, then wipe it on my skirt before putting it back in the cutlery drawer. The shiny metal clangs next to the spoons and I push it closed, using my hip.

“Where is that boy?” I mutter to myself, picking up the plate and placing it onto the kitchen island. Usually, I leave his meals for him and head upstairs, but there’s something I need to tell him before I go.

I received my cancer diagnosis around two months ago, and its terminal but I’m not worried, I’ve lived my life to the fullest. The only regret that I have is missing out on my granddaughter's life, my daughter made sure of that from the moment little Iris was born.

Even now I have no idea where she is or what she’s doing, and that pains me more than finding out that I’m dying. And the last thing that I can do for her whilst I’m still breathing is to make sure she has a home, if she ever needs it.