Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
EVERLY
“ P lease, please, don’t do this!” I plead with Jonathan and Sheldon.
Both guys are wearing polos, khakis, and boat shoes to complete the look.
They’re so painfully similar to the guys at college that I had to really search their faces to make sure I didn’t know them.
I don’t, but still… If you know one, I guess you know them all.
Just like back in college, Jonathan and Sheldon ignore me.
They talk and laugh among themselves, acting as if I’m not even here.
This I’m used to. I’ve always been a ghost, a fleeting shadow in someone’s life.
I’ve never hated that more than I do right now.
Tears blur my vision as I choke down a sob. My heart is racing so fast I feel lightheaded and nauseous. How could this all have gone so poorly? Never, in all the worst-case scenarios I’d come up with, did I see myself being strapped to a hospital bed.
Suddenly, feedback over a speaker system causes the three of us to flinch.
“Hello, Everly!” Rowan’s voice comes over the intercom, distorted with the crackle of more feedback.
My stomach clenches tight. Rowan Underhill, a model who burned down his townhome because everything was off a few degrees, is now in charge of my fate. If he’s capable of something like that, what’s in store for me now? I can’t help but whimper as fear causes my chest to tighten.
“As you can see, you’re in a bit of a predicament,” Rowan continues. “Your loyalty to Maverick is in question, so we’re giving you the opportunity to come clean.”
“W-what?” I ask, not expecting him to hear me. To my surprise, Rowan does.
“Yup, we’re here as his friends to drag the truth out of you.
Admit you’re here for nefarious reasons and you’ll be set free.
Don’t want to tell the truth? Well, if you turn your head to the left, you’ll see my good friend Sheldon turning on the ECT machine.
Oh, sorry, that stands for electroconvulsive therapy. It’ll give you just a bit of a shock?—”
Horror turns my blood cold.
“ Wait! ” I cry out, struggling fruitlessly against the straps. “I’m not lying!”
“I don’t believe you.”
I flinch at the sound of Maverick’s voice suddenly coming from the surrounding speakers.
My eyes bounce around the room in search of him and Rowan.
It takes a second to find the glass wall above the three rows of seating.
There, I can see the silhouettes of three guys.
If Rowan and Maverick are up there, the third must be Braum.
“M-Maverick,” I call out, my bottom lip trembling as I fight back the urge to burst into tears. “I would never in a million years hurt you. This isn’t a trick or a lie. Father didn’t set this up and neither did Peter!”
There’s a hum of derision before Maverick speaks again.
“You’re good, Everly. I’ll give you that. Who’d you learn that from? Peter or your dad?”
Before I can reply, Rowan’s voice comes over the speaker again. “Sheldon, please turn the machine on to let it warm up and add the conductive gel to our guest’s temple.”
Beside me, Sheldon flips a switch on the old machine sitting on top of a small rolling table.
Nothing happens. No light turns on and there’s no hum as it charges, but maybe it doesn’t do that when it’s on?
I turn and watch as he picks up what looks like a large wooden popsicle stick and opens a tube of strange goo.
I let out a frustrated shriek before struggling harder against the straps holding me down.
“Maverick!” I cry out. “Please, please, don’t do this to me!”
Sheldon lumbers over, but I don’t take my eyes off Maverick’s figure in the window. As the stick is coated with clear goo, I struggle harder against my restraints.
“Maverick, I would never, ever do something that would hurt you!” I scream between sobs. “Please, you have to believe me. When have I ever— get away from me! ”
My voice pitches higher as Sheldon attempts to dab something on my temples. I thrash my head around wildly, making it impossible for him.
“Grab her face,” Sheldon tells Jonathan.
“Hold still,” Jonathan grumbles as his hands fly out.
Instead of doing as I’m told, I fight even harder. It takes a minute, but finally Jonathan manages to grab hold of me tight enough that fighting is useless. As he holds my face, Sheldon applies a generous glob of cold gel to my temples.
As he finishes, Maverick’s voice drifts overhead again.
“Now’s your chance, Little Evie,” he sneers, using his old nickname for me.
“If you don’t want hundreds of volts of electricity to run through you, you need to tell the truth.
Come clean and they’ll let you go. I’ll even walk you over to the administrative building myself, just to say hi to your dear old dad. ”
“I-I’m not lying,” I gasp loudly. “I want to set you free, Mavie.”
My heart riots inside my chest. I know my family did something horrible to him, but I never have. He knows me. Deep down, there has to be some good in him that can recognize how absolutely dangerously ridiculous this is.
There’s a thoughtful hum that drifts from the intercom system. “Hm, nope. That wasn't convincing enough, Everly.”
My heart drops as I stare at his silhouette.
The sound of movement around me starts back up, but I can’t tear my eyes away from Maverick.
This isn’t him. The Mavie I knew would never entertain something like this.
He’d be fighting tooth and nail to get down to save me, to save anyone really. Because that’s just who he was.
“Pull the ECT machine closer, Sheldon,” Rowan orders. “Let me know if it’s all ready to go.”
As Sheldon does as he’s told, I stare up at the guys up in the window. My watery gaze locks onto Maverick.
“Mavie,” I choke out. “I would move heaven and hell for you, just like you would’ve for me. Let me save you.”
“What next, Rowan?” Sheldon calls out.
“Admit your role in this game, Everly!” Maverick snaps.
For a second, I consider lying. I don’t want to be electrocuted.
If all I have to do is lie to get out of this, maybe I should.
Maverick doesn’t want to be saved. Not by me anyway.
I could walk away from this knowing I tried.
I did what I could to save the boy I loved.
The boy that, at one point in life, would’ve done the same for me.
Who would still do the same, even as a man, if Father and Peter hadn’t betrayed him.
At that thought, I swallow thickly before shoving away the idea of lying.
“There’s nothing to admit,” I reply anxiously.
As my heart races faster than ever, I force myself to close my eyes. The small saving grace is no one gets the thrill of seeing my tears. So far, I’ve managed to keep them bottled up. I don’t know how long that will last as my eyes remain watery, but I’m going to hold out as long as I can.
“Jonathan, give her the mouth guard,” Rowan drawls. “We don’t want her biting off her tongue.”
My eyes pop open as panic begins to overwhelm me. Jonathan reaches for something beside the ECT machine and lifts it. The brown mouth guard he produces looks ancient and used. My stomach roils in disgust. As he reaches for my chin, I tear my gaze away from him to peer up at Maverick.
I can’t see his face, but I can feel his eyes burning into me. He’s waiting— expecting a betrayal. So sold on the idea I’m just like Peter and Father, he probably isn’t even holding his breath. To him, it's a given, I’m going to admit to this betrayal.
With a deep breath, I remind myself of my purpose.
I’m here because I love Maverick. At no point did I think this was going to be easy.
Then again, I never thought it would be this hard.
If I could’ve seen into the future and had known this was going to happen, would I have decided Maverick wasn’t worth it?
The answer comes to me immediately and without hesitation.
No matter how dangerous the situation turned out, I still would’ve shown up. I would still be right where I am.
That knowledge solidifies my decision to see this through. I’m not going to let Maverick down. If this will prove to him I’m serious, that I’m here to save him, then so be it.
“I’m not a liar and I’m not going anywhere,” I say loud enough for everyone to hear me. Looking at Jonathan I add, “So put that damn thing in my mouth and have your friend throw the switch.”
Jonathan blinks in surprise then looks at Sheldon who just shrugs. They both glance up at the guys watching us, but when none of them says anything, Jonathan makes the call.
“Fine, open wide,” he mutters.
I do as I’m told. Jonathan slips the gross guard into my mouth, and I carefully bite down. I’m going to do this. I’m going to see this through. The determination is supposed to give me strength, but instead, tremors race down my body. A cold terror freezes me from the inside out.
I’m doing this for Maverick. This is just one more obstacle I have to endure in order to get him out of here. I’ve cleared all the rest so far, what’s one more?
“You’re bluffing,” Maverick declares. It’s followed by a dark chuckle. “You’ll be spitting that thing out any second now.”
“Put the conductors to her head,” Rowan orders.
Sheldon moves, grabbing a strange looking contraption that almost looks like a set of headphones, and situates them on either side of my temple where he’d lathered my skin with gel.
“Last chance, Everly,” Maverick jeers. “Let’s hear the truth.”
With my mouth filled, I can’t speak, but tearing my eyes away from Maverick, I turn my head to look at Sheldon. When our gazes meet, I give him a sharp nod, letting him know I’m ready.
“So be it,” Rowan says. “Flip the switch, Sheldon.”
Sheldon hesitates for only a second before reaching over to fiddle with the machine. Before I even have time to brace myself, my world explodes.
Every thought inside my skull scatters like roaches as a blazing heat burns away the cold terror in my veins.
The violent electrical current barreling through me may have started in my head, but the force and speed in which it travels throughout my body makes it feel like I’m being shocked everywhere.
The pain is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.
Every muscle in my body constricts, locking up painfully.
My lungs seize, and the world goes out of focus.
Inside my head is only a wordless scream.
Suddenly the electricity rushing through me stops, as does the immediate burning.
But my body doesn’t seem to understand my punishment is over.
It flails uncontrollably against the straps.
My throat squeezes shut, trapping the scream that desperately wants to escape.
The painful convulsions that follow the current of electricity are almost worse.
I can’t breathe while my body thrashes and muscles remain so rigid I’m afraid one hard jerk will cause a limb to break.
I’m trapped in hell, and there’s no escape.
It goes on for what feels like an eternity. When my body abruptly goes limp and my muscles finally relax, my lungs expand, and I’m able to breathe again. Though I'm no longer convulsing, going from plywood-stiff to limp as a noodle is agony.
I couldn’t move even if I wanted to.
Around me, I’m vaguely aware of shouting, flashing lights, and the sound of a siren.
None of the commotion is enough to drag the pieces of my mind back together so I can focus.
It’s like my mind is trapped between utter nothingness and mild consciousness.
And with each deep breath, I fall further and further toward the nothingness.
Darkness inches into my vision, and I welcome it as it swoops down and steals me away from reality.