Recap: "Oh Jules," he whispered gently,"what have you gotten yourself into?" Slowly, the form in his arms twitched. A soft whimper passed through her lips, and then her eyes blinked open.
"W…wh…what happened?" she asked, her voice soft, eyes still struggling to focus.
"You tell me."
"What?" She sat up, before he could stop her, but he decided that if she was moving on her own her spine wasn't injured.
"You collapsed. Middle of the gym. And those burns on your hands? Bruises all over your body?" He felt himself getting angrier, and took a deep breath. More calmly he asked, "Jules, what happened?"
A million things to say entered her head. A million lies sat waiting for her to grab and use. She opened her mouth, about to weave a fantasy about staying up making Scott a birthday breakfast, about dropping the pan and burning her hands, about forgetting to eat breakfast herself. Or maybe she'd choose the one about swallowing meds on an empty stomach, burning her hands when she tripped this morning, and getting dizzy while working out, and not drinking enough water. But as she opened her mouth to start explaining away the bruises and burns, her eyes met with his and her mind refused to work. Her mouth was opened, but no sound came out. She struggled to think, but nothing came and her heart was pounding so loudly she was sure it could be heard across the hall.
It took a lot of skill to lie to a negotiator. Timing had to be perfect, eye contact had to be met and held, but not for too long. Already, Jules knew she had failed – the silence had been too long. She struggled once more to force out a lie, but instead a strangled sob came, and she buried her face in her mangled hands, unable to stop the tears.
Fin.
An epilogue will be posted sometime this weekend.
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