Page 125 of Play With Me
I feel something inside of me loosen. She’s looking inside of me, telling me exactly what I’ve always needed to hear. But instead of making me feel better, I feel something like panic. These walls have been up so long, I don’t know how to lower them. And if they’re gone, who am I under it all?
So I deflect, pulling her hand away. “Hey, when we get back, I’m going to take you out, okay? We’ll go on a date. Just you and me. Cap and Farrah will be back the last night and he’s going to want to hang out and play. Then we’ll be busy packing and getting ready to leave the next day…”
Nora smiles, but there’s a sadness in her eyes I can’t stand. Because I know I put it there.
Suddenly, I realize the tables have turned: I’m the quiet, scared one, while Nora’s forging ahead, the better person.
“Well? I asked you out. You going to leave me hanging?” I joke. All smiles. But it doesn’t sound jaunty. It sounds desperate and sad.
“Okay,” she says, her voice a soft whisper. But it’s not the same tentative softness she used to have there. It’s something else. But I can’t quite figure out what.
* * *
When I wake up the next morning there’s a strange sound that’s incongruous to the soft silence of the convent.
I open my eyes—early morning light is streaming in through the gap in the curtain, and I catch a glimpse of blue sky at the top.
But that sound—it’s a thundering, rhythmic sound, growing louder by the second.
“I TOLD YOU TO QUIT PLAYING THAT GAME SO LOUD!” Nora yells at the very top of her lungs, causing me to fly out of bed, heart pounding.
“I’M TRYING TO READ!”
I’m confused as hell, but I look up to see Nora standing on her bed, fists planted in her hips. Her eyes are glassy. She’s asleep. I go up to her and place my hands on her shoulders. “Nor—”
“CHRISTIAN!” she yells directly in my ear.
“Holy shit,” I breathe, stumbling back and landing on my ass. The room’s practically vibrating. I had no idea Nora was capable of setting her voice at that volume.
I get to my feet, gripping her shoulders again, wincing as she takes a breath.
“Nora! Wake up!” I say before she can yell. I shake her gently, which at least makes her mouth close. But when she still doesn’t respond to her name, I press my lips to hers.
It works. This close, her face is blurry, but I can see her open her eyes. She yelps, jumping from surprise. Unfortunately, this makes her forehead collide with my nose. A splinter of pain shoots through my face.
“Ow, shit!” I exclaim, cupping my nose with my hand.
“Oh my God, Jude, I’m sorry!” She claps her hands to her face and spins around. She’s looking for her glasses. “What happened?”
I grab them from the table, my nose still killing me. “Here,” I manage. “Sleeping. Did your brother play video games or something?”
“What?”
“Your brother—never mind.”
She pulls her gasses on, then freezes, her head tilted. “Is that a helicopter?” She jumps off the bed. I don’t think she realized she was standing on it. What must it be like to spend every night with Nora Albright?
But before she can pull the curtain, there’s an even louder banging on the door. “Madam! Sir!”
The handle rattles and the chair slips easily loose, banging on the floor as the door opens. Sister Carolina comes in, looking frantic, though she’s momentarily confused by the chair on the floor.
I grimace. “Guess that only works in the movies.”
Nora’s cheeks are pink. “Hello, Sister!” Her voice higher is pitched than normal.
But Sister Carolina is staring at me, her jaw wagging but no sound comes out.
I look down. I’m in only my shorts, and those are riding low enough to be nearly indecent.
