I yanked my arm back, easily shouldering past her. “You’re not keeping me here against my will! I know I sound crazy! I feel crazy! This place is making me crazy! I don’t want to leave forever. I just...I just want a couple of minutes of sunshine. Just a moment to feel alive again.”

Ryan appeared in front of me, holding up his hands. “Whoa, buddy. You’re getting yourself all worked up,” he said. He spoke through nervous laughter, trying to lighten the mood. “You need to take a minute to think about this. No one is making you stay, but maybe if you think about this a little more, you’ll reconsider.”

Jared looked to me with hope in his eyes.

“I thought you were on my side,” I said.

“I am, Nigh. I’ve always been on your side.”

“No one’s on my side. No one hears me.”

Ryan relaxed a bit. “Just try to clear your head and think about it. You’re not a prisoner here. You’re here to keep the baby safe until it’s born.”

I nodded. “Okay, I’ve thought about it. I can’t stand it anymore. Who wants to have their baby in a tomb? Not me. This was a bad idea. I just need to go. I have to go.”

I made my way to the entrance that led to the stairs, but Jared stood in my way, his fingers digging into my shoulders. “I can’t let you go, sweetheart. If you go upstairs, they’ll kill you.”

“But, we...you...you need to get me out of here, okay? I don’t want to be here any more.”

Jared nodded, his voice low and calm. “I understand. As soon as the baby comes, we’ll leave. I promise.”

I shook my head, the tears cascading down my cheeks. I took a step back. “No. No, I don’t want to have the baby here. I can’t stay here another night. Not another second.”

“That’s a prize-winning freakout, right there,” Kim said without emotion.

Jared grimaced. “You’re not helping, Kim. Listen,” he said, returning his attention to me.

My body shook. I was in control of nothing. Not my body, not where I slept. I couldn’t even go to the bathroom alone or take a walk. It was too much. Too much.

“You can’t make me stay here. I can leave when I want.”

“You’re right. You can leave when you want, but...I want you to stay. The second you’re aboveground, Nina, you’ll regret your choice. Just...trust me? Please? Just a little bit longer. Can you stay with me a little bit longer?”

Tiny twin rivers dripped from my jaw onto my dirty shirt. I closed my eyes, but all I could hear was the dripping. The damn dripping. It wouldn’t stop.