Unravel

18—THE BRINK

“How are you, Naomi?”

I glance at Dr. Rutledge as I take a seat. “I’m good.”

“Did you sleep well?”

“All right, I guess.”

“Excellent.” She takes a sip of her coffee before she grabs her pen. “How about we get started then. Can you tell me—?”

“Miss me?” Max whispers.

Suddenly, he’s right next to me. My heart does somersaults in my chest.

His presence is powerful enough to suspend reality. My head stays forward, but my eyes turn at the sound of his voice. I soak in his features. The slant of his dark brows. His bright hazel eyes. The curve of his lips. My fingers grip the armrests so I don’t reach out and touch him. I miss him so much.

His hands curve around the arm rests, inches away from my elbows. A few seconds later, I feel the hard wall of his chest press against my shoulder. It’s tantalizing. His hair brushes against my jaw as he leans close and the scent of his aftershave reaches my nose. His lips brush against my ear and I jump.

“Keep talking to her. It’s your only chance of getting out of here.”

I swallow and look at Dr. Rutledge. Her lips are moving, but I can’t hear her. I can only hear Max.

I know what he’s saying is the truth. Dr. Rutledge is my only ticket to getting out of here. And when I get out of here, I can help Max and Lana and everything will be better. Not perfect, just better.

“I miss you,” Max whispers into my ear. His voice is like sharp talons around my heart. Each word that comes out of his mouth pierces me, making my breath hitch. My face remains forward but I can just see his lips curving up into that sexy smile of his. “I need you to come back.”

And just like that he’s gone. His scent. His voice. His presence. All gone. I hang my head, wanting so bad to scream in frustration.

I had him. Just for a minute Max was with me, but that is almost worse than not seeing him.

When I look at Dr. Rutledge, she’s staring at me with a confused look on her face. She doesn’t know that I was just given the highlight of my day. Maybe my whole week.

“Did you hear me?” she asks.

I shake my head. “I’m sorry… what?”

“I asked if we could pick up where we left off last session.”

I nod. “Yeah…” I say slowly. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Words start to spill from my mouth and the whole time, Max’s voice echoes in my head.

“Keep talking to her. It’s your only chance of getting out of here.”