I feel like someone is standing over me, and I’m afraid to open my eyes. After taking a deep breath and preparing for the worst, I open them. Plath is standing over me with a gun to my head. My pulse quickens, and I try to wrap my mind around what is happening.

I notice he has the IV machine pulled behind him, and he is still in his hospital gown. I speak slowly, trying to remain calm and say, “Plath… What are you doing?”

I gently put my hand on the gun and push it away from my head. I look at the gun, and it still has the safety on. I let out a sigh of relief and look back up at Plath who has his eyes locked on me.

“Plath?” He doesn’t answer me.

I slowly wave my hand in front of his face, and his eyes don’t follow. He’s sleepwalking. I gently take the gun from his hand and place it in my messenger bag. I put my arm around his waist and direct him back to the bed. He sits down but doesn’t take his eyes off mine.

I try to keep calm and begin to walk away, but he quickly places both of his hands around my throat. I start to scream but can’t. My lungs ache from the lack of air, and as badly as I want to try to stop him, it’s too difficult. I weakly start slapping at his hands. His face becomes distorted and exhaustion takes over, making it difficult to keep my eyes open. Dammit, Plath! Suddenly, I feel his hands free my neck, and I collapse to the ground, gasping greedily for air. Plath curses above me.

He helps me up the best he can and says, “Shit! Are you okay?”

I rub my neck and cut my eyes at him. “I’m okay now. You were sleepwalking.” My voice comes out raspy and strained. I find a chair to sit on instead of standing on my shaky legs.

He sits down and lays his head back on his pillow. “I’m so sorry, Orion. Dammit, I could have killed you!”

“But you didn’t.” I continue to rub my neck, and I’m sure it will be bruised tomorrow.

“What did I do exactly?” His eyes are fearful, and he looks upset with himself.

“When you tried to shoot me or when you tried to strangle me?”

“I tried to shoot you?” he yells.

I place my finger to my lips and say, “Shhh, we don’t need attention from the nurses. It’s no big deal. You were sleepwalking.”

“No big deal? Have you lost your mind? I could have killed you!”

“Plath, you need to calm down!” I say sternly. My lungs are still on fire from lack of air and talking hurt, but I would spare him the details. I’m alive, and he’s in the process of healing. The last thing he needs to worry about is me.

His breathing is heavy, and anger fills his eyes. “You are making an impossible request! How am I supposed to calm down when I almost killed you without even realizing it! What would I do if I lost you?”

His words startle me. I look away from him and stare at the wall. I shake my head because I’m not ready to admit my feelings for him. I keep my left hand to my neck to hide the damage he caused.

“Orion, look at me,” he begs.

I continue to stare at the wall, pretending to ignore him.

“I’m not good with sentimental shit, but I’m going to try to explain my feelings to the best of my ability. You should know that I like where this is going between you and I.”

I cut my eyes at him and say, “Where what is going? We are only helping each other survive. It’s nothing more than that.” My voice remains cold and emotionless.

He raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that? I see the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice.”

I run my hands over my face in frustration. “Plath, don’t do this. Please, don’t do this!”

“Don’t do what, Orion? Be honest with you? I can’t fake this shit anymore!”

A tear runs down my cheek. I look away from him and say, “You need to lie down and rest!” I quickly leave the room and find the first exit that leads outside.

I reach down in my messenger bag, searching for a cigarette and don’t find one. Damn. I start pacing up and down the sidewalk, trying to forget the words that just left Plath’s mouth. I do have feelings for him, but I can’t allow myself to be happy when Sage is dead and while I’m fighting for my life every day. He has to understand that this is not the right time for this.

I notice the sun is coming up, and he will be released from the hospital soon. I hurry back inside, but instead of going to his room, I sit in the waiting room. A few hours pass, and I’m about to get up to find out when he will be released when I see him walking down the hall. He walks into the waiting room, his face emotionless.

“Are you ready to leave?” He asks, and I nod my head.

As we walk to the car, I ask, “How are you feeling?” He doesn’t answer, so I ask, “Are you hungry?” But he still doesn’t answer.

I get in on the driver’s side, and he gets in on the passenger’s. His arm is still tightly wrapped, and he is barely moving it. He leans back in the seat and stares out the window as he rubs his bottom lip with his thumb. I’ve noticed he does that when he is in deep thought.

I pull into a Denny’s for breakfast. I get out before Plath does, and when he does get out, he slams his door shut. I continue to ignore him, though.

We sit down in a booth, and he continues to remain silent. The waitress comes over, and I place my order. She looks at him to order, but he never does. She looks away from him and back at me. “Alrighty then. I will be back with your drink in a moment, ma’am.” I smile and nod.

His intense eyes look away from the window and lock in on mine. He runs his hand through his hair and sighs. “Why do you think I haven’t killed you yet?”

“Because you have been having a lot of your nice moments?” I reply.

He laughs. “That is a logical answer… But that’s not the reason.”

I roll my eyes. “What is your reason then?”

“I don’t know,” he says with a confused look on his face.

I scrunch my eyebrows. “You don’t know?”

He shakes his head and laughs. “Nope, not a clue. I have never been afraid to kill someone. Ever. Until I had the chance to kill you. Everything changed for me.”

I look around at the people staring in our direction. “We shouldn’t have this conversation here. People are staring.”

“Let them stare. You changed something inside of me. It doesn’t make sense. I was designed to kill. I’m not supposed to feel emotions like this. Nikolai made sure of it.” He shakes his head in disbelief and looks completely baffled.

“What did he do to you?” The waitress places my drink down in front of me, and Plath waits to speak until she is gone.

“He programmed me to function a certain way.” His expression is full of pain and regret.

“So you are like a robot?” I snicker.

“No. I’m not sure how they do it. I was asleep when they altered my thinking. I tried to feel something other than the urge to kill but never could. And then I met you.”

I take a drink and set it back down. I swallow hard before I answer him. “Tell me, Plath… What is going on between us?”

His face becomes serious. “I don’t know. But there is one thing I know for sure.”

“What?”

His lips curve into a smile. “I can’t wait to find out.”

My entire body feels tingly, and I close my eyes as I try to work up the courage to be honest with myself and him. I look at him, his eyes begging for the truth. I begin to say more, but I stop when I see him standing up. He grabs my hand and pulls me from my side of the booth. He pulls me close to him and brushes hair out of my face, letting his hand fall slowly down my cheek. He brushes my lips with his thumb.

As his lips gently brush against mine, I quietly say, “People are staring.”

He smiles against my lips and whispers, “I don’t give a damn. Let them.”

He kisses me softly at first and then traces my jaw line with his lips, breathing slowly. He finds my lips again and kisses me more eagerly than before, as if he is pouring every emotion he thought he never had into this single kiss. I forget that we are in Denny’s, packed full of people, and return the kiss with equal amount of emotion.

He stops kissing me and puts his forehead against mine. He starts laughing and quietly says, “I think your food is here.”

I look to the side and notice the waitress waiting patiently with my food in her hand. I laugh and quickly sit down. She sets my food down, and I thank her. I look up at Plath who is smiling softly, and I smile back.

“Are you still not going to eat?” I ask.

“I ate at the hospital while I was waiting to get released.”

“Oh… Okay.” I start eating and notice Plath is still staring at me, smiling. “What are you thinking right now?” I ask him.

“I’m just trying to process it all. I have never felt like this before.”

“It isn’t going to be weird between us now, is it?” I ask.

He laughs. “Maybe a little. But not enough to scare me away.”

I look up from my food at him. “We could pretend the kiss never happened and go back to hating each other.”

He shakes his head and scrunches his eyebrows together. “That is a really, really bad idea.”