Far too early in the morning, sunlight floods the dorm room and pries my eyes open. I want to fall back asleep, but I catch sight of Aiko.
She's already awake, writing in her notebook, her eyebrows furrowed with concentration. I hold back a smile.
The truth is I have no idea what's going on with me. I've never even liked a girl before, but then...
I kissed her. And it felt like I was... alive. For the first time.
Maybe I have this all wrong. Maybe it was just a platonic, "best friends" sort of kiss.
Or maybe it was something else.
Aiko looks over at me and smiles, tucking her hair behind her ear. I can feel heat surface on my cheeks.
I smile back at her, waving a little.
"Are y'all, like, a thing?" Sophie says as she walks out of the bathroom. She has a towel wrapped around her hair, and she's holding a jade roller in her left hand.
Aiko looks at me, her cheeks red. She doesn't say anything, but I know what she's thinking: Are we a thing?
And I have absolutely no idea how to respond.
"Umm... sure?"
Sophie stares at us for what feels like an hour. "Oh. I mean, I heard about y'all at the dance, but I thought it was just a rumor..."
"Nope," I say. "It's real."
Why is she still staring?
***
Aiko and I are sitting at the Crimson Cafe, sipping coffee. We do this almost every day, but now it feels... awkward. Like we're trying to keep something that's already gone.
"So, um..." Aiko says. "So we're a thing now?"
I look up from my coffee, eyes wide. "Are we?"
"Yes?" Aiko says, then cringes. "I've never been... like, in a relationship before. I don't really know what I'm doing."
"Well, me neither," I say. "We're in this together, I guess."
"Yeah," Aiko says, blushing again.
I laugh and drink some more coffee.
From the perspective of Theo.
I close the cell door quietly, careful not to alert anyone that I'm down here. I have a backpack on my back and a torch in my hand. The backpack contains two water bottles, some food from the Dining Hall, and the medicine Diana stole from the nurse's office.
Christina is asleep on the cot, her red hair like fire in the torchlight. I open my backpack, pulling out the supplies. I pour the liquid from the medicine bottle into the spoon I stole from lunch. I place the end of the spoon between Christina's red lips and let the medicine drip into her mouth.
Christina's eyes open, just slightly. She looks around the cell, then at me. She smiles softly, making my heart ache with relief.
"Theo..." she whispers. I take her hand in mine, trying to fight back tears.
"Christina," I say as hot teardrops trickle down my cheeks.
Christina sits up and cups my face in her hands. "I love you," she says, her eyes glowing in the torchlight. She leans in, her lips colliding with mine. All of a sudden, everything is okay. Because Christina is alive. Because she is here with me. Because she's mine and I'm hers.
I can feel her tears mixing with mine, her hair tangling with my hair. When she finally pulls back, it feels like waking up from a dream. And realizing you have to face reality.
All of a sudden, her manner changes. All of a sudden, her face is red and her eyes are panicked. She grasps my hand. "Theo, you can't let him control you! You can't give up."
"What- what are you talking about?" I say, my heartbeat quickening.
"You have to stop him," she says. "You can't give up like I did!"
"Christina," I say, beginning to panic. "Please-"
"No! I'm not worth it!" Christina yells, tears streaming down her face. "I'm not worth..." she says finally, her eyes closing. Her head hits the pillow, and she's asleep again.
The light of the torch goes out.
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