• secrets don't sleep { oli sykes} •

And there's a man.

His skin is so tattooed you can hardly see the paleness beneath the ink, swirling up his neck and down his hands, covering him in a cloak of perplexity. A little gasp escapes me as his head slowly raises, as if every movement he makes is strenuous.

He meets my gaze, just for a second, and in that time everything stops.

His raven hair is long and endearingly unkempt, his frame is lanky and pretty thin, but I know they don't exactly provide a five-star buffet in this place. His facial features are sharp and pleasing, his jaw is lined with dark stubble. Only these aren't the best things about him.

His eyes are dark rings of fire, encased in brown and green. They are smoldering with the pain of a thousand year's worth of torture, they are an inferno of everything they have seen. They are a storm of mystery and uncertainty.

I never thought I'd lay eyes on true beauty ever again, but true beauty lies in Oli.

His eyes answer the perennial question of this place: his eyes assure me that we will never, ever escape.

****

TW: Strong subjects, such as violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking are detailed in this book. Read at your own discretion.

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