Failed Escape
His words were a plea, a confession, and a chain all at once.
I tried to move, but his arms held fast, desperate, trembling.
At some point, the fight went out of me. I simply stood there, his heartbeat drumming against my ribs.
A long breath slipped from my lips.
"Aaron," I said quietly, "I'm not someone worth losing yourself over. I'm ordinary. Forget me."
He shook his head, eyes shut tight as if denying gravity itself.
"I can't. I don't know how to be without you."
Aaron had risen to power at a young age, mastering control over everyone and everything around him.