OF THE NIGHT ∘ Seth Gecko

29 | Sunrise

"Jane," José says and comes to crouch in front of me. For the first time in a while, I see sympathy in his eyes. He doesn't look very good; he's sweaty, bothered, uncomfortable. "This can be easy and it can be difficult. But more than anything, we want this to end. And you're not helping."

Again with the accusations.

"Does it seem to you like I know something? I can't get you anywhere if you haven't noticed. I'm worthless," I reply, tired of holding back and taking shit. My voice comes out weaker than I'd like and to be honest, so is my soul. It's too much.

"Mentirosa! (Liar!)" Dani snaps as her hold on my hair tightens. I flinch, while she says something too quickly for me to catch.

In front of me, José puts out his hand as a sign for her to calm down. "This trick is not helping you. If we can'... manage you, someone else will."

"Trick?" I echo, confused.

It seems to be the wrong thing to say since it sends Dani into a long muttering of swear words. She does, however, let go of me and walks away to stand closer to the door, but I wouldn't doubt that she still wants to punch me in the face. Unlike her, José is more collected. He glances at her for a moment, before studying me. I'm so used to Dani being in my face that having so much of his attention feels strange.

Eventually, he decides to keep being patient. "The temperatura–stop it."

I stare back at him. Temperature?

He waits for a response, yet it doesn't come because I have no idea what he's talking about. I'm considering my options; pretend I know what he means and try to negotiate around it, or tell him I don;t know what the hell they're on about.

"Then let me go," I say eventually with a weak shrug.

It's obviously a weak attempt, but I have to try. Something flickers in José's eyes and it takes me a moment to realize it's tiredness. Dani snorts, while I keep my eyes on him. She's obviously calling the shots here, though maybe if I'll push José hard enough it will have an effect.

"Or do you want to see what happens instead?" I add quietly.

I can see the wheels spinning in José's head and it makes a wave of satisfaction wash over me. The pleasure of having some power back is something I haven't felt in a long time. Too long.

"Ignora lo que ella está diciendo. Si hubiera podido hacer algo, ya lo habría hecho," Dani calls. (Ignore what she's saying. If she could have done something, she would have already done it.)

I hate her. Always one step ahead of me, always sharper and smarter. "Is that why you're standing so far away from me?"

She throws me a dirty look and shakes the front of her shirt. Temperature... It should be impossible. Right?

My hand starts rising because I have to try, yet Dani is quicker than me. Before I realize what's happening, her magic pushes me back until I hit the wall. Pain spreads over my back and my arm falls back to its place at the side of my body. I'm quickly reminded that I can't handle a fight anymore.

"Maybe next time you'll be smarter," Jose says and gets up.

The loneliness and helplessness are here again, my closest friends. It's one of those moments when I can't stand the sight of this back room anymore, its dirty walls, the emptiness of it, and the fact that I'm still stuck here.

Where the fuck is Seth? I'm usually not angry with him, but now is one of the rare times that I'm flooded with fury towards him. We've spent months together and he has no idea something went wrong with me? What the fuck has he been doing all this time? Aren't I supposed to mean something to him? Then where is he? And where the hell is Santanico who promised to get me out, who told me tales about needing me?