Page 19 of Saviour
She sighs and shakes her head slightly.
“It’s fine. I’ll stay.”
A weird little shiver rolls down my spine and I almost want to smile that she wants to stay with me, but then I remember what’s happened and there’s absolutely no way I’m letting her live under Carlo’s roof.
“No, come on, let's go,” I say and help her up.
“You don’t want me?” she whispers, looking up at me from under her lashes. “To stay? You don’t want me to stay?”
I play her question around in my head and decide to answer truthfully.
“I’d love for you to stay but—”
“Then I’ll stay,” she cuts me off harshly. I can tell she’s not happy about her decision, but I’m torn as to why she’d make it if she really didn’t want to.
I try to figure out what’s going on in her mind but get nowhere. She was fuming, then almost shy, and now she’s just an empty void.
I want to ask her about it, but I want to wait until we’re out of the entryway and out of sight from prying eyes and ears.
I lift my hand to wipe under her nose to swipe away some of the blood and she looks down at my thumb, glistening in the sticky redness.
“Too pure for red,” I say quietly and her eyes find mine again.
After what feels like minutes, she clears her throat and takes a step back from me, looking around the ridiculous marble staircases on either side.
“Where do I stay?” she says, without turning to look at me.
I hesitate, really not wanting her to stay here but conflicted because I really want her to be close to me.
But she’s already made up my mind for me.
“This way,” I say, leading her up the left staircase and through the cream-and-white hallways. I take her to the corridor my room is on and stop at a bedroom next door to mine.
I open the door and let her take in the lavish room and cringe slightly at the ridiculousness of it.
The walls are a pale orange, with brown bedding on the large queen-sized bed. There’s wooden furniture dotted against various walls, a set of drawers, a walk-in closet, and an en suite.
She walks further into the room and looks out the floor-to-ceiling doors leading out onto a balcony that overlooks the gardens, my balcony just to the right of hers.
“My room is right next door if you need anything. Don’t leave the room without me. Do you understand?”
After swivelling her head around the room one last time, she nods and I can see the uneasiness in her whole body.
“Take a shower,” I say, pointing to the large en suite bathroom. “I’ll get you some clothes, okay?”
She nods again and I walk up to her, tugging on one of her French plaits, her silver hair wisping out all over the place after having the bag over her head.
“Looks like you’ve clipped my wings after all,” she says, watching my hand twirl her plait around my fingers.
“Hmm. Sorry, Birdie. But I promise I’ll keep you safe until they’re fixed.”
The shower is boiling and it drenches my back as I sit underneath the spray, hugging my knees to my chest. I’m trying to hold myself together when all I want to do is scream. What the fuck is happening?
Who actuallyisDax? And why am I now in the middle of all of this?
Who is Carlo? And how does he know who I am and why I’m running?
So many questions but absolutely no answers.
