Page 261 of Eternal
“Be careful. See you soon.”
“Bye. Love you, always.”
He hangs up.
Ten seconds later, the screen lights up again. Kat. I answer.
She’s in her little garden, hoodie pulled over her head, knees to chest. Hair a mess. Face bare. Sunlight catching the strands behind her. She looks likehome.
“So…” she says, “He brought you breakfast.”
I groan. “Don’t.”
“You liked it.”
“It was just food.”
“You kept the note.”
I don’t answer.
She grins. “You’re so bad at this.”
“I’m not doing this,” I mutter. “I’m not…builtfor it.”
I tilt my head back, look at the ceiling. Hold my hand in front of my face, like I’m looking at someone else’s skin. Like Mom used to.
The bruises. The scars. The tattoos. No softness there.
But he kissed them. Touched them like they were silk. Like they deserved kindness.
Uglythings. And he still kissed them.
He kissed me. The scar on my jaw.Me.
Azra.
“He’s so gentle with me sometimes,” I say. “It feels wrong, Kat.”
She smiles, sad and warm. “You deservegentleness.”
“Maybe. But it’s strange. He’s making me mad. And he’s just…himself.”
And he lied. Came here to kill me.Can’t say that. Why? I don’t even know. Probably because if I do, I’ll have to kill him. Or they will.
“What do you think it means?” she asks.
“I don’t know. My heart beats faster when he’s around. And I feel safe. But I can’t…” I stop. Swallow. “I can’t feel that. Because if I do… I’ll understand how bad it was. How it’s never been like that.”
“You feel safe around him?” she asks.
“I strangely do.”
“Do you want more?”
“Even if I do… would I ever deserve it?”
Kat leans in, voice barely a breath. “Can I tell you something?”
