Chapter 72
seventy-two
EZRA
“Will you at least tell me your name?” I’ve given up on getting her to help me figure out a way out of here. She can’t tell me how long she’s been here, but it’s long enough to take any hope she ever kept of freedom.
I think I’ve been here for at least twenty-four hours.
I’m not sure how long I was out before I woke up.
So far, no food or water has been given.
I made my way around the room six times before my roommate hissed at me to stop.
There’s nothing in here. Just dirt and a bucket of shit.
There’s no one to ask about Maverick and Jo.
“You already know it,” comes the eventual whisper. Maybe this is some sort of psychological torture. That would at least make sense. Stick me in a dark room with no food or water and add in a woman who answers questions with nonsense. It’s working because I’m close to my breaking point.
“Can you just answer the fucking question?” I snap at her. I immediately feel bad because she’s been down here a lot longer than I have, and I’m sure that does something to one’s psyche. “Sorry,” I sigh. “You know my name. It seems only fair.”
I’d love to know how she knows it. Maybe she overheard someone, or she recognized me because we know each other.
I tried asking, but of course she didn’t answer.
I thought I was good with silence until now.
Turns out I’m only good with silence when there’s a light source.
There hasn’t been a moment since I woke up that my heart hasn’t been hammering so hard against my chest I’m afraid I’m having a heart attack.
I don’t have time to die. I need to get out of here and get to Jo and Maverick.
“How about I tell you how I ended up here and then you can decide if you want to speak to me?” Maybe she’s just scared. Knowing my name and knowing I won’t hurt her are two different things.
“Okay.” It’s a faint whisper. Unsure. I’ll take it.
I launch into the story I’ve had to tell too many times recently.
The secret boyfriend with horrible parents, the ruined plans to come out, the barn in the woods.
I tell this stranger everything right up to the fight that landed me here.
It’s easier to tell your secrets to the dark, the faceless.
She chokes up on the part about Gianna in the barn.
I thought I had told this story enough times to be numb to it, but that isn’t the case.
Tears fall down my cheeks as I fight the lump in my throat.
“So I’m a coward and probably deserve to be here, but Maverick and Jo don’t deserve any of it.
I need to get out and make sure they’re safe,” I plead.
I don’t think she has any information on how to escape, but I beg anyway.
She’s still quietly crying, but I hear her shuffle closer to me before a freezing cold hand lands on my arm.
“Noelle,” she says. “My name is Noelle Price.”