Captivated

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Avery links his arm through mine and leads me upstairs. We enter the dining room and my eyes immediately go to Jo who is seated at the table. She's wearing a ruby red dress, bright red lipstick, and a grimace that is impossible to ignore. When she notices that we've entered the room, she lifts her head and flashes me a half smile, then returns to looking down at the table. She has no idea what's about to happen. I take a seat. My heart is pounding through my chest. I don't know how I'm supposed to eat anything when I feel like I'm going to throw up. I keep praying that Dane will somehow change his mind and stop all of this nonsense.

"Thank you for joining me tonight," Dane smiles once we're all seated. "We have some special undertakings planned for tonight." My hands are quivering so much I nearly drop my fork. "On the menu we have sirloin steak, sautéed mushrooms, and ceaser salad. There's also fresh bread straight from the oven."

Dane stands up and distributes the food onto our plates, giving me an extra serving of salad and mushrooms. While Dane is scooping food onto Jo's plate, Avery and I lock eyes and I honestly can't tell if he's worried or relaxed. Once he's finished, Dane takes his seat at the head of the table. "Cheers," he says as he lifts up his glass. "To friends, family, and everything in between." He smiles and takes a sip of his wine. I don't bother reaching for my plastic cup.

Although my stomach feels nauseated, I convince myself that I need to eat. After all, I'll need to have energy for later. I need to be strong for this. What am I thinking? I've never fought a day in my life. How the hell am I supposed to do this? This is unheard of! Gladiators? Teenage girls? Who does that? I drop my fork and sit back in my chair.

"I feel sick." I say, somehow convincing myself that if I'm sick, Dane will cancel. He doesn't know that I know.
"What's the matter dear?" Dane asks, his voice sympathetic.
"I think I'm going to," I pause. "throw up."
Dane sits up straighter in his seat. He looks almost concerned. "Avery," he says. "Take her to the washroom. Now." Avery stands up and walks over to my chair. He takes my arm and helps me up, and together we walk out of the dining room and into the bathroom.
Once we're safely inside the confines of the washroom and the door is closed, he turns to me. "What are you doing?" he whispers.
"I..." I stutter, feeling the lump growing in my throat. It feels tight. "I don't know." And then the tears fill my eyes and I gasp for breaths I can't seem to take.
"Shhh," he tells me, then checks behind his shoulder to make sure Dane isn't coming. "He'll hear you."
"Good! Let him!" I cry. He puts his hand over my mouth and glares at me.
"Are you done?" he asks after a moment. I nod my head. He removes his hand. "What are you doing Reign? What's going on?"
"I can't do this," I whimper.
He sighs. "Fuck,"
"He can't expect me to fight if I'm sick, right?" We speak in hushed whispers.
"He's not going to believe you." he snaps.
"Why!?"
"Because... I don't know – he's Dane. He'll know something is off. And even if he did think you were sick..." he trails off.
"He'd still make me fight?"
Avery closes his eyes. "I don't know. Maybe. Probably," he says. I start to whimper again. "Hey." he warns. I sniffle and try my best to stop crying. It's silent for a moment. He rubs my back gently in attempts to comfort me. "I don't know what to tell you okay?" he says. "Just go out there and fight your hardest. I know you don't want to," he pauses. "but you're going to have to kill Jo." My eyes widen. His words cut into me like knives. "What makes me so special, Avery!? Why do you want me to live and her to die?"
He turns away from me. "It's not like that," he scowls.
"Well then what is it like? I demand. He doesn't answer me. "Avery!"
"Because you're different!" He snaps.
"What do you mean different?"
"Dammit, Reign," he slides his hands through his dark hair and shakes his head.
"I just don't understand,"
"I like you, okay?" he snaps at me again, almost like this is my fault.
"What?" I ask, the meaning of his words not fully sinking into my brain.
"I have feelings for you. And I'm not supposed to. But I do. And I don't know what to do about it. But I do know one thing, and that is I don't want you to die, okay? So listen to me," he takes me by the shoulders and looks directly into my eyes. "I know you're scared and I know you just want to crawl in a hole and hide away forever. But that's not an option right now. Do you understand that? Dane is out there right now wondering what the hell we are doing in here. And what's planned to happen after dinner is always going to happen, regardless of what we do; there's no avoiding that. So you need to pull yourself together, and try not to die, okay? Do you understand?" I nod. "Good. Now," he pulls his sleeve over his hand and gently wipes away the wet tears from my cheeks. "Let's go."