The stark white walls are blinding, and my eyes play tricks on me after staring for hours and hours. Of course, there’s nothing else to look at, not even a window in the door. Just pure, maddening white. Rupert Elder, my boss and my oppressor, told me that I knocked a man unconscious when they tried to drag me here. I wish I’d done worse; they’d managed to succeed, locking me up in this tiny cell. After everything that happened, I thought I’d be allowed to stay under guarded watch at my house with my mother, but I should have known that would never happen. Rupert can’t be trusted. I repeat my daily mantra in my head; the only thing that keeps me sane. Somewhere out there, Asher is going through the same thing. Somewhere out there, he’s lying on the ground staring up at the stars thinking about me, wishing we were together. The warmth of his kiss defrosts the chill encompassing my body. The memory of his laughter keeps me whole. He’s the only thing that keeps me going. I have to keep breathing, so I can see him again.
