“Come back here right now!” Viktor screams, stomping after me.
“No!”
“Don’t you fucking use that phone,” he yells.
I can hear his feet behind me, but I don’t look back. I run into his room where I know there’s a lock. I already found the key when he left me alone yesterday. Now, I’m using it to lock myself in.
Am I insane? Probably. But if it’s the only way to contact my sister, then I’ll take it.
“Alexis! Stop!” Viktor says.
“No. I’m gonna call her, and you can’t stop me.” I slam the door shut right before he can get in and tuck the key into the lock, turning it.
He bangs the door so hard, it moves, and I jump back.
He growls, “Let me in!”
“No! I’m calling her.”
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into,” he says, bashing the door again.
“I don’t care. I have to tell her I’m okay. Have to speak with her.” I turn away from the door and dial the number I know by heart.
“Dammit, Alexis, you’re making a mistake!” He kicks the door.
“Not listening!” I yell, putting one finger in my ear.
“So you just fucking kissed me to get the phone,” he hisses.
I know what this must look like to him, and I don’t blame him one bit. I used him to get what I wanted. Is it wrong? Yes, because now he probably thinks I only kissed him for the phone, even though it’s only partly true. But I know he won’t believe me, so I say nothing.
He grunts. “If you don’t open this damn door in three seconds, I’m gonna break it.”
“Good luck.” I clear my throat as I hear the phone ring. “C’mon, pick up, pick up …” I whisper.
“Alexis!” he screams.
BAM.
I glance over my shoulder, my eyes widening.
One big hit has the door almost unhinged.
The phone’s still ringing while I say a mental prayer, hoping the door will hold.
BAM.
This time, it’s his fist … and it’s gone straight through the wood.
My jaw drops and the phone almost drops from my hand.
His hand searches the wood until it’s found the doorknob. And that’s when I notice I didn’t pull the key from the lock.
Shit. Shit. Shit!
I panic and try to grab it, but Viktor grasps my hand instead.
“Gotcha.”
“Let me go,” I hiss.
“Fuck no.” He’s so strong; he manages to bring my hand to the lock and forces me to twist the key.
He releases my hand, and at that same instant, the door slams open. “Give that to me. Now!”
“No,” I yell, holding it tightly to my ear.
“Who is this?”
My pupils dilate. “Alisha? Alisha! It’s me, Lex!”
“Lexi? Oh, my God, are you okay? Tell me you’re okay, please?”
The phone is ripped from my hand.
I scream and struggle with him, but he’s already snatched it away from me. And then he presses the end call button.
“No! Give it back!” I yell, fighting him over it.
He holds it in the air while pushing me with his other hand and guiding me toward the couch. “Sit. Down.”
I almost fall down when he nudges me.
With a pissed-off look on his face, he gazes at me from above, lowering the phone. “So this is what it was all about, huh? A phone?”
“You don’t understand,” I say, shaking my head.
“The fuck I do! You kissed me just so you could get your hands on my phone. You’re a conniving witch.”
My eyes tear up from the harsh words. Even though I deserve them, I still don’t like hearing them … because it’s not completely true.
“Lie,” I say.
He makes a face. “This ain’t a game of truth.”
“No, you don’t want to hear my truth.”
He cocks his head. “Oh, yeah? Tell me then. Tell me how getting this phone didn’t have anything to do with that kiss.”
“It does, and I don’t deny that. Call me whatever you want, but you don’t know what it’s like to be me … To have to watch over someone who has you as her only family, only then to be ripped away from them. She needs me.”
He shakes his head boldly. “I do fucking know what that feels like … so I guess I’m not the only ignorant asshole in here.”
For a second, I get the feeling he’s talking about me, but I push the thought away.
“Hey, I stole your phone for a good reason,” I spit. “My sister doesn’t even know if I’m still alive.”
“You’re lucky if she is still alive.”
I gasp. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He rubs the back of his head and looks around a bit, groaning. “See? You have no fucking clue.”