I wake early as usual. Evan’s hand is still beside my head, but sometime in the night, I let go.
Sitting up, I rub my eyes. The ache in my head has subsided, but it’s still very much there. I kick off my covers and sneak a look at Evan as I turn around to go down the ladder.
He’s still asleep, and I’m sure as hell not waking him up.
I go in search of aspirin and water. To my surprise, Theo is sitting on the sofa, drinking from a mug. The smell of coffee hits me like a truck. I love it, but I can’t drink it with a headache.
“Morning,” I say.
“How are you doing?”
I grab some aspirin, fill a glass with water, and down them. “I’m okay; head is still hurting.”
“Take it easy today…you and Evan.”
I sit and tuck my feet under my butt. “Are you okay with Evan now? It was a little scary knowing he’s been here longer than us, but we didn’t know he was there. Think about it, Kevin could be in that situation months down the line, and we would want people to accept him.”
If we’re all dead, that could happen.
Let’s not think too much about that one.
“I get it,” he replies with a nod. “And clearly you really like him, so he can’t be that bad.”
“I like everyone in here.”
Maybe Evan in a slightly different way.
Theo smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Right.”
“Are we cool? Except for Hazel, you are the first friend I made in here. And I know you wanted us to run when we were let outside, but I’d hate it if we can’t go back to how things were.”
“Do you honestly think it can go back to how it was now?”
I press my lips together, unsure if he means because of what’s happened or because of Evan. I’d ask, but I don’t want to go there with him. Awkward in here would take on a whole new level considering we can’t get away from each other.
“I hope we can. You’ve helped me a lot.”
“You have Evan for that now. He seems to help more. I saw you playing cards.”
“Theo, you could have joined in.”
“I’m not really talking about the card game, Piper.”
Can we move on?
“Hey.” Evan’s smooth voice makes me smile.
Theo lifts his chin in greeting. I look over my shoulder. “Hey. How’s your head?” I ask.
“Not too bad. Yours?”
“Hurts.”
He gives me a small smile. “You’re not used to it.”
But he is, because they’ve sent him from room to room for months. It takes a really strong person to get through that.
Evan sits next to me, his arm pressing against mine. I don’t know if it’s because we got through room three together, but his touch doesn’t make me cringe.
He is comfort. I feel safe.
You’re ridiculous.
“Are we still on for the plan?” Theo asks, his eyes only on me since Evan wasn’t here for the planning.
“Are you sure you want to do it? It’s risky. Like, insanely risky.”
“What plan is this?” Evan interjects.
Theo’s eyes tighten. “I’m going to play dead the next time I’ve been in a room. Maybe I’ll be able to get away and find help.”
“No offense to either of you, but that sounds like a terrible plan.”
Theo and I laugh. Shaking my head, I agree, “Yeah, it is.”
With a frown, Evan looks between us, a little lost, like he’s not sure if he’s missed a joke or not.
“This is all we have now,” Theo tells him.
“But you’ll die.”
“Theo, he has a valid point.”
“I’m not disagreeing, but I can’t keep doing this. Like Lucie said, I would rather die trying to escape than at the hand of one of my friends. I don’t know what they think this is, but the era of gladiators ended for a reason.”
“So, you just need to get in one of those rooms?” Evan asks.
Theo nods. “Lucie was called when she tried to attack Piper, so I figured I’ll do the same.”
I can feel Evan’s eyes on me. “She attacked you?”
“Not really. She only tried. She was upset.”
“And you’re going to pretend to attack Piper?” Evan asks Theo. His voice is hard, like he’s challenging him to try.
Can’t say I hate the protective side of Evan. In fact, I damn well love having someone take care of me.
Theo laughs. “No, I think she’s had enough. But now that you’re here…”
Evan rolls his eyes. “Sure, attack me.”
“Pretend,” Theo stresses. “I’m not going to attack you. I just need to do something that will get me in a room, something that’s not going to make me feel like crap.”
Apparently even pretending to attack me would make him feel awful.
Evan lifts his hands. “Go ahead.”
The speaker crackles, sending a bolt of fear down my spine. “Evan to the waiting room,” Owens voice sings.
“What? No way, it’s too soon!”
Evan shakes his head. “Don’t. Calm down. It’s fine. I’ll be back soon.”
“But it’s—”
“No,” he cuts me off. “Don’t do anything that could get you in there again.”
Evan gets up. I want to follow him to the door, but my legs feel like jelly. This isn’t fair.
I watch with my heart in my stomach as he grabs a quick swig of water from the tap before disappearing though the door.
Theo moves from his seat and wraps his arm around my shoulder. I tense for a second before relaxing.
“He’ll be okay, Piper. If anyone can handle going in there again, it’s him.”
“I like him, Theo.”
He chuckles. “Duh.”