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“That’s not really a choice, is it? Stay locked in this room, or take my chances out there.”
“It’s only two weeks, Hughes. You’ll be fine.” He reached past her, his arm brushing against hers. The contact made her jump, but she immediately felt foolish when she grasped that he was only reaching for the door handle behind her. She heard the faint creak of the door as it swung open, and she dropped her gaze to the floor as she concentrated very hard on keeping her tears at bay.
When she felt like she had her emotions under control, she took a step back, then turned on her heel, and walked into the suite of rooms with stiff shoulders and her head held high. She fought to keep her nausea at bay, and bit back a scream.
“Iris?” She tensed at the sound of her name on his lips, but refused to turn and face him, not with tears welling in her eyes. “I’ll bring in your dinner shortly.”
She nodded, not trusting her voice, and waited for the door to shut.
Nothing.
What was he waiting for? The anticipation was torturous.
“Is there…” He paused, as if he were trying to gather his thoughts. “Do you have any requests? For dinner? I didn’t think to ask before. Do you have any food allergies? Or maybe you’re vegan or pescatarian, or something.”
Iris swallowed thickly and shook her head again. Still, he didn’t leave. Maybe he needed to hear it.
“I have no food allergies,” she said, her voice subdued. “No preferences. Whatever you make is fine. Thank you.”
“Okay.”
She could feel him watching her, but refused to turn around and meet his eyes. Instead, she waited—every muscle tense and on edge—for the door to close and the key to turn.
Her phobia had always been mild before now. Controllable. But every day in this room made it worse, and knowing that she would have to endure this for two weeks was unbearable. Her skin felt too tight, her heart was racing, she fought back the shudders, but she was determined to keep her shit together until after he left.
She refused to let him see her break.
“I’ll see you soon.” God, why was he still here? And still talking?
In the end, she couldn’t stand it anymore and she spoke, her voice hoarse with fear and panic.
“Please, Trystan. Please don’t lock the door.”
Her low, desperate plea was met with silence.
He didn’t acknowledge her words in any way. Finally, interminable seconds later the door shut. Softly. Gently.
And—after another long moment—the lock clicked.
Iris exhaled the breath she’d unconsciously been holding. It emerged on a despairing sob. The trembling began seconds later.
Full-body shudders that she tried to control by wrapping her arms around her. It didn’t work and she sank to the floor right where she stood, curling in on herself as she tried to keep the panic and fear at bay.
Her breath came in harsh gasps.
“You can do this, you can do this, you can do this.” She repeated the soft, panicked mantra over and over and over again.
But no matter how often she repeated it, she could not bring herself to believe it.
Chapter Nine
The following three days were difficult for Iris. Every day was harder than the last. Trystan always came for her after breakfast, when she would join him and Luna on their daily walks. It was the highlight of her day, but it always made returning to her forced solitude and imprisonment that much harder. She had declined the walk the day before, citing exhaustion, but she’d sensed Trystan’s confusion and concern.
He hadn’t said anything though, instead he strove to remain impersonal with her and continued to discourage any questions. Conversation between them on their walks centered around Luna and their surroundings.
He'd also steadfastly refused to let Luna spend any time in her room with her, and once their walk was done, Iris had nothing but a long day of stark loneliness to look forward to, only occasionally broken by Luna’s visits to her door.
It was wearing her down. There’d been no word from Hunter Quinn, and Trystan still refused to even look at Iris’s emails from his manager. They were at an impasse and Iris, already worn down and depressed just from trying to maintain her mental health, could see no way forward for them from here.
