The Shrink Program

Chapter 125

"Oh my god." I nearly screamed.

It would have been a scream if I actually had any air in my lungs.

"Apollo, I'm dying!"

"You're not dying Maddison." He muttered back impatiently, stepping off the last step of the giant staircase and onto the balcony floor.

"No seriously, I know this realisation is a little late here, but I am literally on the verge of death right now." Frantically, I tried to slow my hysterical breathing.

"I haven't eaten anything since... Since... Who knows how long!" I cried, clutching at myself to make sure I wasn't wasting away. "I'm going to die!"

Apollo just sighed tiredly, muttering the word "moron." under his breath before addressing me sarcastically.

"Do you think that, maybe, the reason you haven't realised this until now is because you don't actually feel hungry."

"But... But...." He was right. I felt fine. Even though it had to have been at least twenty-four hours since I had last had a meal, I felt fine.

Despite waking up with a massive headache that soon passed, I wasn't hungry, thirsty, or anything else really.

In fact, I felt awesome.

There was only one logical solution.

"Oh my god." I near screamed again. "Apollo, I'm already dead."

"Wha- You were healed by nano-tech, you idiot." He hissed. "Every god damn cell in your body has been rejuvenated. You'll be working at 100% capacity for the next day or so before it starts wearing off."

"So what you're saying is that..." I stared at my hands in awe. "I'm invincible?"

Apollo stopped to lean against the railing, possibly to stop himself from falling over, his jaw clenched so hard I could hear it creaking from where I sat on his shoulder.

"If you don't somehow manage to find a mute button for yourself in the next five seconds, I'll be all too willing to help you test that theory, Maddison." He promised darkly.

"Ah... Not to worry, I'm sure I've got one around here somewhere." I hastily relented, only to perk back up enthusiastically as a masked waiter passed by with a tray of fancy hors d'oeuvres.

"Apollooo. Can I..?"

"No."

"But..!"

"No."

"Damn it, you never feed me. Why is it that every time I get abducted, I get stuck with the worst hostage-sitter on the planet?"

"The answer is still no Maddison."

"... I wouldn't be able to talk so much if my mouth was otherwise preoccupied... Just saying..."

Apollo turned and started making a bee-line towards the closest waiter.

"My preference is chocolate," I informed him, smugly sitting back on his shoulder.

"Don't push it." He warned flatly, sounding about ready to dump me off to fend for myself, but I only smiled.

And just like that.

It happened.

With all the horror and sudden devastation of a head-on collision.

A flutter of white caught in the corner of my eye.

Apollo had said that my subconscious would protect me from seeing things that would harm me.

Turns out my insane sense of self-preservation never stood a chance against the desperate need to see him.

My gaze locked onto him, trapped by something akin to starvation.

White skin and hair almost luminous in the bright light of the ballroom, tragically beautiful, costumed in a stark white straight jacket. His crimson eyes completely blinded behind a mask of white bandages. What I could make of his expression, completely detached as he was lead around the room by a silver chain at his neck.

Of all the things I thought I would feel... betrayal...anger...nothing prepared me for the two emotions that fought to rip me in half.

Grief, an overwhelming loss strong enough to break me all over again.

And Relief.

Sobbing, clutching relief that collected all pieces of shallow heartbreak and fixed the deepest part of me.

I suppose it says a lot about what he means to me.

That no matter how long we part, for what reasons we separate.

No matter how much we hurt each other.

The sight of him still felt like home.

Vain.