Page 17 of Mania

She is mine to keep.

Act Two

For years,I watched him.

Studied him.

Memorized the freckles on his nose. The small specks of green in his brown eyes. Or how he could make everyone feel special just by being around them.

I loved him.

Ilovehim.

He has taught me the subtleties of the human experience—the wide spectrum of mortal emotions. He is the reason why I came to know jealousy intimately.

Because I could never touch him. Not like others could. The soft bounce of his skin when a finger trailed its surface. The sweep of a hand through his hair. The damp taste on his tongue.

There was a closeness between him and others that I could never have.

Jealousy.

It tasted like vinegar. It became unbearable.

So I took the taste away. And no one touched him ever again.

And I was happy.

With him. Always with him.

My feelings no longer tasted foul.

Except … his festered.

But at least he stayed.

He stayed.

I made him stay.

Miserable. Touch-starved.

But with me.

Together.

Always together.

Chapter 10

Maeve

I take a deep breath in,but all I taste is water. It spills, and spills, and spills into my lungs. I choke, but all it does is waste more oxygen.

Air.

Breathe.

My body thrashes, my movements slowed by the body of water I’ve somehow found myself in. I take another lungful, and it burns like I’ve just gulped down a live, burning flame. My eyes sting as they try to see through the chlorinated water. I only see darkness and a faint glow of lights as my head peers upwards trying to find a way out from this living hell.

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