POVâ
My little fainting stunt must have been a bit over the top because now I'm stuck with a nurse shadowing me everywhere. She's not just here for that, thoughâMy little anger outburst might have been more than a push to this direction. It's not like they expect me to break down again, but they want to be prepared just in case. And that's where the needle comes in. If I faint, she's here to catch me. If something worse happens, she's here to stop it.
No offense to her, but the way she holds that needle is making me more and more anxious. Her fingers twitch slightly around it, her grip just a little too tight, like she's waiting for an excuse to use it. Or maybe I'm overthinking it. Maybe she's just inexperienced, nervous about being assigned to me. Maybe she doesn't even want to be here.
Still, the unease settles in my stomach and lingers. A slow, crawling sensation under my skin. Something like resentment, if that's even the right word.
Which is why, that night, when she dozes off, I take my chance.
I slip the needle from her grasp with careful fingers, pressing it lightly to her skin. She stirs slightly, brow twitching, before her breathing evens out again. I wait, watching, but she doesn't wake. Good.
I move to take her phone, already forming a plan, but irritation creeps in when I see it's an old model. Useless. I'd have to find anotherâsomething more advanced, preferably one from my company. Those have an existing code, making them easier for me to break into.
But the second I step toward the door, something else flashes through my mind.
The liquid in Kieran's room.
And the needle still in my hand. Maybe if I could extract a smal amountâ
A new idea takes shape, one I don't bother pushing away. Some might think I wouldn't go that far, that I wouldn't actually use the liquid on the nurse to figure out what it is.
They'd be dead wrong.
I know they might get suspicious when she wakes up, that something will feel off, but why would they suspect me? If I play my part well enough, we can spin this into something else. Someone sneaking in during the night. A break-in. A mistake.
I take only a tiny amountâjust enough that Kieran won't notice its absence. If it's poison, the damage will already be done, but it might not kill her. And I don't think it is. He wouldn't just leave something deadly lying around in his bathroom, would he? Unless that was part of the test. Unless it was always meant to be found.
Whatever the case, I'll figure it out as I go.
I return to my room, already calculating my next steps. Carefully, I lift the nurse and place her in my bed, tucking her beneath the blankets. When they find her in the morning, it'll look like whoever did this thought they were targeting me.
Then, without hesitation, I destroy the needle, getting rid of it.
After that, I move. Not aimlesslyâno, I go somewhere I know the twins will check first. A place I know they'll expect me to be.
Because they've been watching.
Tracking my movements.
Studying my patterns.
I'll be damned if I dont use that to my advantage. And if they think they have figured me out they'd be dead wrong. its a good thing my favorite hoppy is proving people wrong.