Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 127712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
You can get lost in the right kiss.
But you can also be saved.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - LOCKE
We’re still in the Oregon woods and Mercer’s hand is still extended.
I’m just staring at it. Then my eyes travel up and they meet his.
There’s a part of me that wants to be enraged. That wants to hit him. Ruin him.
But mostly I just want to walk out on him and feel sorry for him.
“How could you, Mercer?”
He squints his eyes, like he’s confused. “How could I what? If you’re talking about Nova, then—”
“I’m not talking about Nova. I’m talking about us.”
“What?”
“I’m crashing, Mercer. I’m remembering things. And do you know what I’m remembering?”
He actually has the fucking gall to look confused. “Why would you be crashing, Locke?” He even conjures up some fake anger. “You’re not on the—have you been taking the pills behind my back again? Are you—”
I cut him off. “Oh, you’re good. Good liar, that is. You’ve been feeding them to me—”
“No, he hasn’t!”
Mercer and I both turn to find Nova crashing through the underbrush, branches slapping her face as she runs towards us. “No, Locke! You’ve got it all wrong.”
“For fuck’s sake, Nova,” Mercer starts. “You’re going to make everything worse. We’re going home and you’re not going to stop him.”
She points a finger at Mercer’s face. “Mercer. I’m gonna need you to shut the fuck up now. I’m talking to Locke. I will get to you next.”
“Who the hell—”
“Mercer,” I growl. “Shut. The fuck. Up.” It feels kind of good to say that. “I literally just told you that I’m crashing. I remember how we met. And…” I stop here because this makes me a little sad.
“And what?” Mercer says.
“And it wasn’t what I thought.” Any enthusiasm I had about throwing all this reality in Mercer’s face fades quickly.
“What are you talking about?”
“Is that what you’re gonna do then? Just… double down and deny, deny, deny?”
“Locke!” Nova turns to me. “It’s not what you think. He doesn’t know anything. He’s been on the drug since they recruited him. Decades, Locke. Even more than you.”
“What are you talking about? What do you mean, even more than me?” I glance at Mercer for this, because he thinks I’m on one right now, and it’s not true. “I’m not on the pills. I haven’t been on the pills since I was… fresh out of…” I have to stop here because it’s starting to make sense.
Nova comes over to me and takes my hand. She uses two of hers to wrap around mine. And she stares up at me. “You…” She pauses, looks at Mercer. I look at Mercer too. He just looks confused. She directs her attention back to me. “It’s a long story, Michael. And I don’t know all of it. But you’ve been under the influence since the very first time you took a pill. You never crashed out.”
“What?” I look over at Mercer again. He’s shrugging.
“You can’t ask him. He doesn’t know, Locke.”
“How could he not know? He’s in charge of the fucking project.”
“He’s not, Locke.” Now she looks at Mercer. “Are you?”
He’s still confused. Which is not a good sign. Mercer is always confident. Always in charge. But right now, he’s looking very lost.
“He’s been on the drug since the beginning, Locke. I don’t know how many doses they’ve given you, Mercer, but it’s a lot. You crash out early. You told me that. This is how you had time to come to me the night before my last trial. We had a plan and Veda.” Nova sighs a little. Maybe even shrinks a little. “Veda was part of it. We got married—”
“Oh, yes, the marriage,” Mercer spits. “You blackmailed me. For my money.”
“No! That’s not how it happened. You had a plan for us and this is it. You got me here, Mercer. You chose this place. You put me here. This was your plan. You put evidence in a storage facility. You gave me—”
“Stop.” Mercer puts up a hand and his confusion is gone. He’s very much back in control now. “Just stop, Nova. It’s sad the way you cling to us.”
“Mercer—”
“No.” He shakes his head and looks at me. “Locke, we’re leaving. She’s crazy, she’s lying, and we’re leaving.”
“Oh, fuck you, Mercer. I don’t know if she’s lying. I don’t even care if she’s lying. But I do know one thing. I’m not going back with you. Whatever we are, whatever this was—it’s over now. You will finally get your wish. You will finally get rid of me.”
Nova puts a finger in my face. “Just hold on.” Then she lets go of my hand and walks over to Mercer. “I’ll prove it to you. We’ll go to the storage facility and—”
“No.” Mercer is adamant. Too adamant. It’s like he’s put up walls to stop her from explaining. “No,” he says again. “I’m leaving.” Then he tries to push her aside so he can grab hold of me. “We’re leaving,” he corrects. Then he’s trying to get at me.