I immediately realized how that sounded, so I rushed to add, “I mean, I just didn’t want you to get sick and have it mess with the light adjustments tomorrow.”
I tried to pull my hand away, but Josh didn’t let go. Instead, he pulled me a little closer. I wasn’t bnced, and nearly copsed right into him.
Josh…” I whispered, flustered.
“Just worried I’d get sick and mess up the adjustments?” His voice was low, hoarse from just waking up.
My heart skipped a beat, and I could barely breathe. My cheeks flushed, and I stammered, “Yeah.”
As soon as the words left my lips, Josh’s grip tightened, and his gaze darkened for a second-something fleeting passed through his eyes.
The pressure in my hand disappeared, and he released me.
I quickly stepped to the side, rubbing the spot where his hand had gripped me, trying to regain myposure. “I’ve fixed all the issues you marked. Do you want to check them now?”
Josh didn’t move. He just reclined in the chair, closing his eyes again. “No need. You should go rest.”
“Oh, Okay. Goodnight,” I said, turning to leave.
“Zoey.” Josh’s voice stopped me in my tracks.
I froze. Did he just call me… Zoey?
That was my childhood nickname. The only people who ever called me that were my parents when they were alive, and Jasmine, asionally.
But I clearly heard Josh say “Zoey.”
I turned back in surprise. “What did you say?”
“Nothing,” he muttered, still with his eyes closed. “Could you… close the door for me?”
I stared at him for a moment, unsure, before walking out. As I closed the door, I applied a little more force than necessary.
Once I left Josh’s room, I didn’t go straight back to Myra’s room. Instead, I leaned against the wall in the hallway, trying to calm my breathing and heartbeat.
The more I tried to settle, the more images of Josh kept shing in my mind-the way he looked at me earlier, how his arm had circled around me as he helped me open the document.
Eventually, I had to p my own head to snap myself out of it. I forced myself to go back to my room and lie down in bed, trying to sleep.
To distract myself, I opened my phone. I had several unread messages on WhatsApp.
One was from Jasmine. She just sent one sentence. [The pest lives on, unharmed, though the blood was a little much.]
I chuckled at that and quickly replied: [Next time, I’ll make sure to hit harder.]
Jasmine didn’t reply. Maybe she was asleep, or maybe she was back on the operating table.
I exited the chat and opened Oscar’s messages. He’d sent me several, all about Alvin.
[Nice one, taking out your ex. You’re a real badass, girl.]
[Just saying, that was a good hit.]
[If you’d had this kind of energy before, maybe things wouldn’t have ended up this way.]
[Alvin’s the type who needs a little fire. He gets bored without it, and you have to keep him excited.]
Reading Oscar’sst message, I couldn’t help but picture Thea’s soft, pitiful face when she tried to manipte me. If she was like that in front of me, how much worse would she be in front of Alvin?
Wouldn’t he get bored of her eventually?
After a moment’s distraction, I remembered Thea saying Alvin owed her for ruining her. I quickly typed out a reply: [Oscar, does Alvin owe Thea anything?]
But Oscar didn’t respond. I waited a few seconds before adding: [Or maybe Alvin owes her husband something?]
I stared at my screen for a long time, but no reply came. I finally set the phone down, closing my eyes, trying to sleep.
Just then, in the quiet of the room, Myra mumbled in her sleep, “Josh… you’re so heartless…”
I couldn’t help but smile, turning to look at her.
She’d been tortured by Josh so much that even in her dreams, she was cursing him?
As Iy there, my mind kept drifting back to moments with Josh, but this time, I didn’t feel as flustered as before. Eventually, my thoughts wandered, and I fell asleep.
In my dream, Josh was there-his younger self, chasing after me as I ran around. “Zoe, be careful, don’t fall…”