He sighs out loud but still does what I ask.
It’s freakishly cold, even here where there isn’t a freezer, and the second I start taking off some of the clothes I’ve been wearing since I came here, I start shaking.
Still, I continue, stripping off layer after layer until I’m naked, exposed … vulnerable.
I glance over my shoulder, but he still isn’t looking.
Even though I know he wants to.
Badly.
I swallow.
Maybe he isn’t all evil.
“I’m done,” I say.
He grabs a towel off the rack and chucks it over his shoulder. I barely catch it.
“I’ll bring some more hot water from my kitchen sink.” He steps out and closes the door behind him, leaving me to my thoughts.
I immediately take a very deep breath.
I guess I should be grateful for the chance to clean myself.
And that I’m on my own instead of having a watchful eye over me.
I grab the bucket of warm water and set it down on a chair next to the tub along with a bar of soap I find on the sink. Then I slide in and settle my body on the cold plastic. I’m shivering like mad, so I quickly pour some warm water over my head. It’s not nearly enough to shake the cold, but it’s better than nothing.
I grasp the soap and smear it all over my body, making sure I clean myself from top to bottom. I hate the way this place has made me smell. Even though I haven’t been here for that long, the harsh conditions … and man … made me sweat profusely.
However, it feels as if I’ve been here for ages.
Maybe it’s the cold messing with my brain.
Or maybe it’s Liam worming his way into my mind until I’ve forgotten how to fight back.
Always the strong one until he shows up.
Until he looks at me.
Nothing’s changed.
Age 14
* * *
“Hey, Jas.”
The mere sound of his voice makes my heart skip a beat.
I look up from my textbook to look straight into his crystal-blue eyes, his beaming smile and jaw-dropping handsomeness, and I am just overtaken by breathlessness.
“Got a pen?”
“Uh …” It takes me a while to actually look down at my pencil case and mutter, “Yeah.”
I hand one over, but the second our fingers touch, electricity shoots through my veins.