Helanie:
I stayed in the office for a minute before deciding to go after him. I was going to confront him and stop him from chasing Lucy. There was no way I would let him get fooled by her, whatever lies she had spun. But then I wondered– was it really that easy for anyone to fool Norman?
The mont I stepped out the door, I bumped into soone, and he grabbed my arms, pulling back inside the office.
"Maximus, let go," I grunted, shoving him off .
"You’re not going after him," he demanded, pointing at .
I didn’t understand what was going on with my mates, or if they were even mine anymore. My face started to falter and tears welled in my eyes, and Maximus’s eyes widened.
"Wait, it’s not what it looks like. We’re playing a ga," he blurted out quickly.
I covered my face with my hands. I was a fucking ss, emotional as hell, hormones wrecked, my mind breaking down with them.
"Yeah, I know. You’re all playing with ," I muttered, hiccupping.
"No, no, no, no, no. Listen. We’re not playing with you—we’re playing with Lucy," he whispered.
I lowered my hands and stared at him.
"Just drink so water first." He grabbed a glass, filled it, and handed it to . I turned my back to the door, shaking my head, but he insisted until I finally took a few sips. He set the glass down, and I gave him a look that said he’d better explain everything.
"Did she lie to him? Did she fool him sohow?" I asked in a low voice.
"Oh, so if Norman cheats, it’ll be soone else’s fault? Helanie, how can you have a favorite?" Maximus groaned, half-playful, hands on his waist.
"It’s not funny, Maximus. You have no idea how I felt when he—" I cut myself off. I couldn’t even repeat it.
Maximus lowered his hands. "I can imagine. I’m so sorry. We didn’t know you’d co here."
I swallowed hard. What was going on with him? But if Maximus was involved, then maybe it wasn’t sothing private or intimate. Like he said, they were playing a ga. But what kind of ga? And why didn’t they tell ?
"It’s not Lucy," he said flatly, expecting to understand.
"It’s not Lucy’s fault? Is that what you’re trying to say?" I asked, confused. He wasn’t being helpful, so I had to piece it together myself.
"No. The girl—that’s not Lucy. That’s not your friend."
His words stunned . I stared at his face in silence, and then I heard footsteps behind . I didn’t have to turn to know who it was. Norman placed a kiss on my shoulder, and I instantly shoved him away with my elbow.
"Whoa," Maximus teased, while Norman rubbed his chin.
"That’s the entity from the 10th floor inside Lucy," Norman said, making my heart sink.
"No," I whispered. Not because I didn’t believe them, but because it made feel like a terrible, terrible friend. All this ti, it wasn’t Lucy.
"It’s true. When she fell, the entity entered her body and started living in it. Everything she’s been saying has been a lie to throw suspicion off, so no one would find out she stole Lucy’s body," Maximus explained.
My breathing grew heavier.
"Okay, you need to sit down," Norman urged.
I raised a hand to stop him. "Stay back. Don’t co closer."
"Let grab a chair," Maximus offered, but I shot him a glare too. Just because I was furious with Norman for hiding it didn’t an Maximus escaped my anger. He knew too. They were both guilty.
I sat down by the window and opened it, gulping in fresh air.
"Is Lucy dead?" I asked, shaking at the thought.
"No, no, no. She’s still in there," Norman said, stepping closer, reaching for my chin, but I pushed his hand away again.
I felt my heart instantly start to break down again.
"So, it’s been more than a year, Norman," I said through my hands. My voice ca out deep, partly from crying and partly because I was pressing my face so tightly against my hands.
"It’s been more than a year," I repeated to myself, feeling like such a terrible friend.
"It is not your fault. Nobody suspected it," Maximus said.
"Yeah, because nobody knew her. , Gavin, we knew her. We were supposed to know. It was obvious she was a different person. We just believed it because we didn’t care enough," I grunted, sniffling.
"It’s not fair to bla yourself. Her own family thought she was only acting differently because she wanted to change her life. And it happens, Helanie," Norman said.
I dropped my hands from my face and turned to look at him.
"Once soone has a near-death experience, they sotis change their life around. That’s probably what everyone thought happened with her," Norman explained.
It was a nice attempt to make feel better, but I knew the truth, we all failed Lucy. Every single one of us, even her own family.
"And listen," Norman said as he held my hand and knelt on the ground in front of while I sat in the chair. "We are going to rescue her, okay? This is our mission. And the reason I didn’t tell you was because I knew you’d feel this way. Our plan was to free her first, then let you reunite with her. It would’ve been a happy mont, instead of you feeling terrible and helpless."
Norman tried to explain, but I couldn’t look past the fact that she had been right there all along. Why did none of us notice her changing behavior? The entire 10th floor vanished. How did it never occur to us that it left in soone else’s body?
"How... How are we going to free her? And how did you find out she’s not Lucy?" I asked.
Norman took a deep breath. "When I was giving her therapy, she cracked at one point and told about the day I was on the 10th floor. Helanie, nobody else knew about that. There’s no way Lucy would have known. That’s when I knew instantly. I’d had suspicions for so ti, but I didn’t know how to handle it. But we will rescue her. I promise. We’ll find every way we can. We just need to make her believe we trust her, so we can trap her sowhere before she harms anyone else, or Lucy’s body."
As Norman explained, I heard a sharp gasp. The three of us turned to the door and saw Gavin standing there, eyes wide and watery.
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