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Chapter 8

It was a nightmare. Just another nightmare. She'd finally hit her limit and passed out again, and she'd be waking up at any moment.

She felt a spark of something invisible seizing her muscles and forcing her back. Her head cracked against the wall as her knees gave way, and she found herself on the ground, staring up at him.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that," Adam said, rubbing his hands together. His voice was calm and distant and slower than she was used to, along with a good deal lower. 

"Addie... What the hell -"

"I'm sorry," He said gently, tossing his glasses at her. She looked closer, noticing a bluish tint to the lenses. "Did I scare you?"

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out, and she couldn't move from the hard, stone floor.

He watched her struggle, then pulled her to her feet. She was shaking so much that she stumbled before standing upright again.

"Oh God, you're terrified. It's just so... So... Beautiful." He moved towards her and studied her expression. "Honestly, I'm surprised I was able to wait this long. You really aren't the smartest, are you? Giving so much of yourself to someone who never wanted it." He tore the patches from his jumper and dropped them on the floor, one by one. He had a wide smile, but he still seemed to be restraining his expression somehow. "All these years, I was stuck watching, waiting. And you never had a clue."

She tried to stand up, but it was as if some invisible force was holding her down. "I don't understand..."

"Oh, there's a surprise!" He laughed, sharper than his usual laugh. "Well, it's not like I expected you to. It wouldn't change the facts if you did." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet.

She pinched her arm, willing herself to wake up. Adam seemed to notice, and a smile spread over his face. "Oh, don't hurt yourself. Leave that to me, huh?" He pushed her against the wall and dug his nails into her shoulder, forcing her to look him in the eye. "I waited eight years, at least let me have some fun now..."

"What? Why?" Some sort of passionate determination overcame her, and she forced out, "Why are you doing this?"

His smile faded slightly, and he raised his hand again. "You don't have a clue what I am," he said. Then the horrible grin returned, and he tightened his grip on the air as if constricting an invisible animal.

As much as she wanted to keep talking, demanding answers from him, her throat had dried up. More than just dry, it felt like being strangled from the inside out.

Her vision swirled, and she closed her eyes as tightly as she could, willing it to be over quickly, that she'd pass out and somehow wake up and find that it was somehow still just a nightmare.

The weight lifted from her shoulders and she stumbled to her feet.

"Aw. Look at that," he said, tilting his head slightly. "What is it? Scared I was just going to kill you right away? Don't worry, I wouldn't spend eight years waiting just for one quick act of euthanasia." He took a step towards her with the same exhilaration she'd seen him have a thousand times over scraps and broken pieces, only now it looked a lot more potent. "I wouldn't be that kind. When I kill you, I want it to hurt."

The door was still locked from inside and she felt along the desks for anything to throw at him. Then some imperceptible change happened and she felt herself jerk upright and be pinned to the spot, staring him dead in the eye.

She remembered suddenly that they could control the nervous system from her lessons, and his left hand was elevated slightly as if he was holding something invisible inside it. Just like the pictures in her textbook.