The Hollows In Our Freedom | 'Hollows' Book Ⅲ

Chapter Fifteen

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T h e H o l l o w s I n 
O U R F R E E D O M
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I entered the room quietly. Jace had escaped to the bathroom. I closed the door behind me, not being present, but instead seeing everything I did from outside of my body.

I'd snap out of it soon.
Hopefully.

I moved over to the window, drawing in the very pathetic curtains, shutting both the setting sun and the cold out of the room. The room didn't have very good insulation, it seemed.

I touched the radiator softly, flinching when it was stone cold. I bent down to turn up the heat, before rising and turning around. And there was the double bed.

I stared at it, finding it both glorious and terrifying; I couldn't tell which interpretation was the truest one.

Jace emerged from the bathroom moments later. Or it could've been a while later—I wasn't sure how long I had stood looking at the bed for.

He barely even looked at me. I had never felt more small and insignificant in my entire life.

How did he have that capability?

He rifled through the drawers before pulling out a remote control.

"Did you want to watch TV?" He asked, breaking the silence.

I shrugged. "Okay." I responded. He frowned, but didn't question it.

"Did you want to sit on the bed and watch it?" He asked, seeming a little more tentative than before but still not looking at me.

"Okay." I responded once more, not even sure what my actual opinion was.

He sighed, finally turning around to look at me. He watched me flinch under his stare.

He closed his eyes momentarily, "was I rude out there?" Jace asked, opening his eyes and finally addressing the situation.

I avoided his eye contact, though a smile began to form. "Kind of." I told him.

He shook his head, collapsing onto the bed. "I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to be." He didn't say anything, and instead switched the television on.

I joined him on the bed, sitting half a metre away from him.

"It's okay." I told him.

He stifled a laugh. "Please stop using the word 'okay'." He said, making me laugh.

Feeling more relaxed, I manoeuvred myself so that I laid on top on the covers, watching whatever was preset on the television.

Jace joined me, though with hesitation, before he started to change the channels.

"What do you want to watch?" He asked, bringing up the menu.

"Channel 5." I told him.

"Finding Nemo?" He responded with surprise.

"Of course." I told him, turning my head to give him a smile. He glanced at me and laughed, before playing the film.

"This seagull part is so damn irritating when it's not in a meme." I quipped as we watched the film; I had a bad habit of trying to be funny when I was nervous.

Jace had usually responded positively, apart from this time. I frowned, turning my head to see what was holding him up. He was asleep.

I froze, watching his chest rise and fall slower than before. I rose gently, pushing myself up by my hands, before watching him for a few moments. He was beautiful, but especially beautiful when he slept.