The knock came again.
He crossed the room and tapped in the code.
The lock released with a soft click, and he pulled the door open.
Marie stood in the hallway, arms wrapped around herself, weight shifting from one foot to the other.
“Hey.” She glanced past him into the room, then back at his face.
“Sorry, it’s late — I know. I just… couldn’t really sleep.”
Marcus stepped aside, pulling the door open wider.
“Come in.”
Marie slipped past him, taking in the room — the too-nice furniture, the massive TV, a sectional that probably cost more than either of them had owned combined in their lives.
“This is your room?” She sat down slowly on the edge of the couch.
“Apparently.” Marcus dropped into the chair across from her.
“Better than the motel, not gonna lie.”
“Better than a lot of things, probably.” She wrapped her arms around herself again, eyes drifting toward the window, the city lights barely visible through a gap in the blinds.
Neither of them said anything for a moment.
Marie picked at a loose thread on her sleeve.
Marcus let the silence sit, not pushing her to fill it.
“Did they hurt you?” she asked eventually.
“While I was… wherever they took me.”
“No. Mostly just talked.” He shrugged.
“You?”
“No.” She hesitated, glanced down at her hands.
“Emma just—”
She stopped herself, shook her head, let the sentence die there.
“It’s fine. I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“That’s fair.”
The quiet stretched longer this time.
Marie pulled her knees up onto the cushion, curling in on herself, making her whole frame smaller than it already was.
“I tried to sleep,” she said finally, voice barely above a whisper.
“In my room. Just kept staring at the ceiling. Every time I closed my eyes I kept seeing the door blowing in again, or the rooftop, or—”
Marcus stayed quiet, letting her get there in her own time.
She looked up at him, something uncertain in her expression now.
“Can I stay in here tonight? I don’t really want to be alone.”
He held her gaze for a moment.
“Yeah. Course you can.”
She let out a breath she seemed to have been holding, some of the tension easing out of her shoulders.
She uncurled slightly from the couch, glancing toward the bed, then back at him, like she was waiting for him to say something else — directions, boundaries, anything.
She uncurled slightly from the couch, glancing toward him, something uncertain still in her expression.
Before he could say anything, she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.
Marcus went still for a second, caught off guard, before slowly bringing his arms up to return it.
“I’m so sorry,” Marie said, voice muffled against his shoulder.
“This is all my fault. If I hadn’t knocked on your door, none of this would’ve happened. You’d still have your apartment, you wouldn’t be locked up in some tower—”
“Marie—”
“Now we’re both trapped here,” she continued, words tumbling out faster now, like she’d been holding them back all night.
“Because of me. Because I couldn’t control what I am, and now you’re stuck dealing with all of it too.”
Her shoulders started to shake.
Marcus tightened his arms around her slightly, not saying anything yet, just letting her get it out.
“Look at me,” Marcus said.
She blinked.
Her breath came in short, shaky gasps, and her eyes were red and watery.
“I opened the door,” he told her, not giving her room to argue.
“I saw you out there. I knew it was a risk, and I unlocked it anyway. You didn’t drag me into this. I made that choice. Stop blaming yourself. It doesn’t help.”
Marie stared at him.
Slowly, her breathing started to even out.
The quiet room suddenly felt very small.
She was still standing right in front of him.
His hands rested loosely on her arms, and she hadn’t moved away.
Tired, overwhelmed, and just wanting to feel safe for one second, her eyes dropped to his mouth before moving back up.
She closed her eyes and leaned forward.
Marcus stayed completely still.
Her face was inches away, and he could feel her warm breath against his jaw.
Then she stopped. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Her eyes snapped open wide.
She gasped and jerked backward so hard she almost tripped over her boots.
She threw her hands over her mouth, breathing hard as she stumbled back until her back hit the wall.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered through the black fabric of her gloves, her voice shaking.
“I forgot. For a second… I just forgot.”
The memory of the boy in Mississippi sat heavy between them.
If she had closed that last inch, Marcus would be unconscious on the floor right now.
Marcus let his hands fall to his sides.
He didn’t move toward her, giving her space to breathe.
“It’s okay, Marie,” he said softly.
Marcus didn’t stay back.
Instead, he closed the distance between them.
He reached out, placing his hands gently on her waist, and pulled her right back into a hug.
She froze for a second, surprised, before she finally relaxed and rested her head against his chest.
“Don’t worry,” Marcus whispered near her ear, his voice calm and steady.
“We’ll figure this out. We will find a solution for your power. I promise.”
Marie let out a long, shaky breath.
The panic was finally fading.
Marcus pulled back just enough to look down at her.
The heavy, depressing mood in the room had dragged on long enough.
It was time to break it.
A small smirk touched his lips.
“So… were you actually trying to kiss me just now?”
Marie’s eyes went wide.
The sadness vanished instantly, replaced by a deep, bright red blush that spread all the way up to her ears.
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
“Hey, it’s fine,” Marcus said casually, acting like it was no big deal.
“We’re young. It’s our age to do these things. Just hormones acting up. Totally normal things, you know.”
Marie grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at his head.
“Oh my god, shut up!”