Freed

11

The next morning, I pretended not to notice the strange looks everyone was giving me, but it was proving more difficult each time I caught them.

During one instance, I was in the kitchen cleaning because I had nothing else to do and I wanted everything to look spotless, when Kaiden walked in. I ignored him for the most part because I was keeping myself busy, but I still felt his gaze following my every step. When I did risk a glance over, I was sure I saw a hint of concern in his expression and I didn't understand it.

When I felt him glance over at me again, I had enough. I threw down the towel and spun around, meeting his gaze. "What is it?"

Kaiden blinked and his phone stilled in his hand. "What?"

I glowered at him. "Why are you staring at me? It's annoying."

Kaiden watched me wordlessly, his face stoic. "I'm not."

"Yes, you are." He opened his mouth to protest again, but I cut him off before he could. "I can feel you watching me and you look worried. Just spit it out already."

Kaiden stayed silent for a few moments, his gaze scanning my face as if he was unsure about how he was going to approach this. After a moment of hesitation, he spoke, throwing his phone down on the table and leaning back against it. "It's just..." he trailed off, staring at an indefinite spot behind me. "You're acting weird."

I frowned. "How? All I'm doing is cleaning?"

Kaiden briefly closed his eyes and shook his head. "Not like that," he murmured, opening them again to find me. "You're just – I thought things would be different and I'm just surprised they're not."

"Different how?" I didn't know what he was trying to hint at.

Kaiden gripped the edge of the table tighter, his expression wary. "Ethan said that you'd been taking whatever Amina gave you for weeks, right?"

I nodded hesitantly. "But I stopped now."

Kaiden ignored what I said, his gaze swiveling over to the glass doors that led to our patio. "I know you did, but we were all expecting it to be... harder than this. We were expecting some..."

I shifted on my feet, waiting. "Expecting what?"

Kaiden sighed, pushing himself off the table. "We were expecting it to be hard for you to get off them. After how long you were on them and how they made you feel, withdrawal or anything really, would've been expected. Anything but – this," he finished, gesturing at what I was doing.

I studied him momentarily. "But I feel fine." And it was the truth. I'd woken up feeling completely fine, disregarding what Elijah had said. That whole part of the night had felt like a fever dream, and I didn't let my mind linger on what it could all mean. Other than that, I felt alright – physically and mentally. It had been surprising at first because I figured I'd go back to feeling the way I used to, but it never happened.

Kaiden stared at me warily. "I know you are, but it doesn't change the fact that it doesn't seem right." He hesitated before continuing. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy you're alright, but it just doesn't make sense."

I thought about it for a moment, before I shrugged and went back to wiping the island counter. I'd made a mess when I'd tried making a breakfast smoothie. "Well, I'm glad I'm not going through what you thought I would. I feel fine."

"Are you sure Amina didn't tell you what they were?" He broke the silence after a few moments. I paused and glanced over at him again. "The pills she gave you. What did she say about them?"

I set the cloth down again, and rested my elbow on the counter, debating what I should tell him. "She didn't say what they were, but she said they'd help me feel better. She said... She said they'd make the pressure go away and she said that they always helped her." There was more, but I barely remembered any of those days. Everything was a blur in my mind.