Hickey
2134 Words
HER
Sera felt like a massive building had been dropped onto her head, its crushing weight pressing into her scalp until pain surged so violently it swallowed everything else. The ache pinned her down, thick and suffocating, dragging her under each time she tried to claw her way back to the surface. It fought her, relentless, until she gave in and slipped into unconsciousness again.
The cycle repeated without mercy, her awareness flickering on and off like a dying bulb, unstable and fragile, until something in her snapped with stubborn resistance and she forced her eyes open.
“She’s finally awake,” a voice announced from somewhere in the room.
Sera winced, both hands flying to her head as she groaned. So it wasn’t a building crushing her skull, just a headache so brutal it might as well have been. The pain throbbed behind her eyes, sharp and disorienting, making it almost impossible to focus as she tried to take in her surroundings.
She was lying on something that felt like a bed, though it was firmer than it should have been, and the room around her was… strange. Clinical, but not quite. Too cold, too controlled, too unfamiliar for comfort. Her stomach growled loudly, twisting in on itself, and she clutched it instinctively, her face tightening. “I’m starving.”
“Food was provided. Why didn’t you eat?”
Sera went completely still. That voice.
Cold, familiar, and unforgiving.
She turned her head too quickly, panic driving the movement, and immediately cried out as her skull punished her for it. “I feel like shit.” The words slipped out before she could stop them, and her brows pulled together when she realized she had said them aloud, just like before.
The pain dulled slightly as her gaze landed on him. He sat at the far end of the room, deliberately distant, his posture relaxed in a way that felt calculated. He looked as composed and unreadable as ever, his expression carved from indifference, but his eyes… His eyes told a different story.
He was angry.
Sera swallowed hard and gripped the edge of the oddly shaped bed, forcing her body to move despite its protests.
“Don’t move or you’ll pass out again, and my shift is over.”
She turned toward the voice and found a middle-aged man glaring at her over the rim of his glasses. He was unexpectedly good-looking, his face soft and slightly chubby, a strange contrast to the sharpness of his stare.
“Who… are you?” The question came out broken, barely more than a whisper.
He fought back a smile, one brow lifting, but whatever response he had died on his tongue as his gaze flicked past her. “Who I am doesn’t matter. Lie back down.” He turned away before she could push further, focusing instead on what looked like a collection of medication.
That was when it clicked. A clinic.
She was in what seemed like a clinic. The realization barely settled before she felt it again. That gaze.
It crawled over her skin, heavy and intrusive, raising every hair at the back of her neck. She turned back despite herself.
He hadn’t looked away.
His eyes were locked on her, unwavering, a muscle in his jaw ticking faintly. The anger was still there, simmering beneath the surface.
“As much as I’d love to keep staring at you like this,” Sera muttered, her voice dry despite the weakness in it, “I feel like s**t, and I swear I’ll die if I don’t eat right now.”
He regarded her blankly, then slowly stroked his chin. “Isn’t that what you’ve been trying to do?”
“Sorry?”
“Death.” His tone didn’t shift. “You’ve been impressively committed to running toward it.”
Confusion flickered across her face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please, where can I get food?”
He ignored her completely. “You’ve been going out of your way to get yourself killed. It’s deliberate.”
Sera said nothing. Thinking, talking and even breathing was hurting her. Whatever point he was trying to make wasn’t worth the energy she barely had.
“Answer me.”
The command cut through the air, sharp and absolute.
She groaned softly, frustration bleeding through. “Every time I got close to dying, the devil told me I was wasting my time because his companion had already claimed me.” Her lips curled faintly, mockery lacing her tone. “So I was wasting my time.”
“Hmm.” He tilted his head slightly, as if considering it. “Did the devil forget to mention that death would’ve been the better option?”
She pressed her lips together before forcing a thin, fake smile. “He did. But it would be a shame not to see it for myself.”
He studied her for a long moment, silent, then tapped his leg once. “I don’t play games. Try what you pulled today again, and I’ll burn your entire world to the ground. Every last piece of it.”
Her brows drew together, confusion flickering just before it hit her. The memory came back violently.
The escape. The struggle. The blood.
Her eyes widened, horror flooding in. “You killed him… You killed him?”
His jaw tightened, his gaze shifting for a fraction of a second before settling back on her. She followed it unconsciously.
Her neck.
Why did he keep looking at her neck?
She pushed the thought aside, her focus snapping back. “Is he dead?”
He leaned back in his chair, the movement slow, deliberate, his eyes never leaving hers.
He didn’t answer.
And somehow, that silence said enough.
Sera’s stomach twisted again, but this time it wasn’t hunger. Guilt crept in, cold and suffocating. The guard was dead… because of her.
He had been disgusting, yes, but he hadn’t crossed that line until she pushed him there. She had been so desperate to escape that she hadn’t stopped to think about the consequences.
“Why did you kill him?” Her voice came out softer than she intended, the weight of it pressing down on her chest. It was her fault. All of it. She had expected punishment, maybe a beating, not… Death.
“Are you questioning me?” His voice snapped, sharp enough to cut. “Since when did you think that was allowed?”
She blinked back the sting in her eyes, refusing to let the tears fall. “You didn’t have to kill him. It was my fault. I tricked him.”
He didn’t care.
If anything, his expression hardened further. “That makes it worse. Makes me want to kill him again.”
Her nostrils flared. “Why? Because a woman outsmarted your guard?”
“Exactly.” His voice was calm, almost bored. “Because anyone outsmarted my guard. There is no room for incompetence.”
Sera knew she shouldn’t care. Anyone tied to the syndicate deserved whatever came to them. She knew that. But she wondered why the guilt still clung to her.
“Then why didn’t you kill me?” she asked quietly.
“I almost did.” His tone didn’t waver. “I had the gun on you before you turned around. But…” He let the word hang deliberately.
She exhaled sharply. “But?”
“I remembered I have more reasons to keep you alive.”
“More?” She rolled her eyes faintly. “Wasn’t there only one before? What is it now, are you collecting reasons?”
His eyes narrowed. “Delusion suits you. My reasons multiplied within twenty-four hours.”
Her lips parted in disbelief. “What, because you think the other girl is the one who blew up your warehouses?”
A faint smirk tugged at his mouth, subtle but unmistakable. “Oh, I know it was you. I have no doubts about that.”
“Then why the investigation?”
He stood.
The shift was immediate, the air in the room tightening as he moved toward her, each step measured, confident, controlled. Almost intimidating.
Almost.
“Why?” he echoed, stopping right in front of her. “You’ll know when I decide you should. Not a second before.”
She tilted her head up to meet his gaze, her thoughts scattering under the weight of his presence. He was too close, too overwhelming, his attention suffocating in a way she couldn’t explain.
His hand lifted to his chin again, his eyes dragging over her face before settling… On her neck. “Did he f**k you?”
Sera froze.
Heat rushed to her cheeks, shock hitting before embarrassment could even settle. “Excuse me?”
His gaze didn’t move. “Answer me.”
She followed his line of sight, her fingers brushing over her neck instinctively. “Do I have something there?”
“Answer me,” he repeated, his voice dropping, colder, sharper. “Did he f**k you?”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”
“There’s a f*****g hickey on your neck.” His tone was calm, but it carried something dangerous beneath it.
Her breath caught. A hickey?
Her hand flew to her neck, rubbing at the skin frantically as realization slammed into her. The guard. The way he had been biting and sucking at her while she searched for his gun.
“Oh…” Her voice dropped, discomfort flooding her. “I didn’t realize–”
“The question.”
She hesitated. Then, stubbornness flared. “Why? How is that any of your business?”
He stepped closer and crouched in front of her, bringing them to the same level, his presence closing in completely. “I won’t ask again.”
The warning was clear.
Sera held his gaze for a second too long before exhaling. “No. He didn’t f**k me, Mr. Cassian Vale.”
His eyes searched hers, sharp and intrusive, like he was peeling her apart layer by layer. “Then how did you get it?”
“He was biting my neck,” she said flatly.
“And that happened because?” His tone wasn’t a question. It was a threat.
“I let him,” she snapped, irritation breaking through. “Because I was busy pulling his gun out. What is wrong with you and these questions?”
His glare was immediate, and cutting. Then he stood abruptly and said something to the other man Sera forgot was in the room. Sera caught none of it, the words slipping past her completely. It was a different language. The two spoke briefly before the man nodded and walked towards the door.
“Please give me food!” she called after him, desperation cracking through her voice, but the moment he disappeared, she knew it was useless. He worked for Cassian. Of course he would ignore her.
Swallowing her pride, she turned back. “I need food.”
Cassian said nothing, just watched her.
“Please,” she forced out, the word bitter on her tongue. She hated begging him. Hated it. But her body was breaking down, her stomach twisting painfully, her head still pounding. She didn’t have a choice.
“Why didn’t you eat what was brought to you?” he asked.
Her stomach churned again, anger rising to replace the guilt. “Why? Didn’t you feed Leona before bringing her in so she could dump everything and leave me with nothing?”
His expression didn’t change, but something flickered behind his eyes. “She poured out the food?”
Sera scoffed softly, unconvinced. He had to have been aware. This was probably another game.
“Answer me.”
“You heard me.”
“Watch your tone.”
She looked away. “Forget I said anything. Even about the food. When is the next guard coming to drag me back to my cell?”
Silence stretched.
Then… “What’s your name?”
The question caught her off guard. She looked at him, debating for a moment before deciding she didn’t have the energy to lie. “Sera.”
His jaw tightened slightly. “Sera,” he repeated, testing it, before turning toward the door.
“What are you waiting for?” he asked.
She frowned. “What? Isn’t someone coming to escort me back?”
He looked unimpressed. “So you can seduce him too? Take his gun? Get another hickey?”
The words stung, but she didn’t respond.
“I’m not killing another incompetent guard because of you,” he added coldly.
“I didn’t ask you to kill anyone! You–”
“Shut up.” The interruption was immediate, and sharp. “Get up. You’re coming with me.”
- Writer
