𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 [𝟏𝟖+] ✔

51

I feel a hot sensation on the side of my face, hear the sound of wood crackling in a fire, and I can smell it too. It doesn't hurt when I move, but it's uncomfortable on my side, and I feel a hand on my arm as I try to sit up, opening my eyes to see Toby's concerned, mesmerising, ocean blues.

"Don't move, just lie down until you're fully awake," he says, tucking my messy hair behind my ear, the dents of his dimples deepening. "You've no idea how good it is to see you."

I flinch away from his soft touch on my cheek, causing him to sigh and kneel next to me. I'm lying on a soft, beige corner couch pushed up towards the massive fireplace, probably to heat up my frozen body. Toby looks different, his stubble and messy hair making him look exhausted yet... he's still as handsome as ever, even while wearing a hoodie and tracksuit bottoms he probably stole off someone. But he's still hot.

What? No... he's a prick who needs a knee to the balls.

"You..." My mouth runs dry, seeing images of the man's body falling to the ground next to me. My eyes widen as I look at my hands and then to Toby, specks of blood covering us. "You killed him."

"I had to," he responds with a shrug. "He was seconds from killing you."

I throw the blanket off my body and stand with a slight wince, looking down at him with fear. "But you killed him! Who was he?"

"Just a worker at Ravenscraig, I paid him to help us escape during the transfer." He looks at his new phone, then tosses it on the table next to the couch. "We're not expected to arrive for two days so we've got time to disappear."

"Who's we? And he's not just a worker, he was a fucking human being with a family and you took his life, just like you did with that young boy!" I'm taken by surprise as Toby drops his head, nodding, staring at the shaggy rug in silence as his hands tug at his brown strands. "You could have just injured him to stop him."

"He was about to kill you, Aria!" He huffs as he keeps his head down, shaking it. "I acted on instinct and I don't regret it."

"Of course," I reply sarcastically.

Stepping back, I make my way through the open floor planned room, stopping in the kitchen, scrubbing off the crimson stains on my hands vigorously in the sink. It burns, the harshness of the brush making my skin raw. I know Toby can hear my rapid bursts of breaths, the gasps that fall from my lips as I try not to break down and grip the basin.

I don't know why I keep making these ridiculous decisions, having it in my head that I, the woman he drugged and messed with, could talk Toby Mitchell into going back to a mental hospital to live out whatever sentence he's being served with.

I've not been myself at all this year, and it's ever since I met him.

"Aria," he draws out a sigh, his hand finding my waist as I stare at him in the reflection of the window above the sink. "Please don't be mad at me."

"Mad?" I retort as I spin around, knocking his hand away from me. "Do you want me to list off everything you've done to me? I should be mad, I shouldn't be standing here trying to help you once again!" I shove at his chest as I walk by him, standing by the fire, trying to heat myself up as my soaked through clothes cling to my skin.

"Then why are you here?" he asks, standing beside me as we both stare into the dancing inferno. "Am I just that irresistible?" he jokes with a soft shoulder nudge, and I fight to keep the scowl on my face as I grit my teeth.

"You killed two people, Toby. You shouldn't be allowed to walk freely." I pat down my pockets, turning to look at my surroundings. "Where's my phone?"