Once I’m naked, he leads me into the shower. It almost seems strange that he doesn’t follow me—isn’t that the point of this? No, all he does is place me under the water and soap up a washcloth, which he gently but quickly runs over my body.

The entire time, he never says a word. He doesn’t even look at me. I lean against the wall, still too wiped out to do much else. James. How could he do that? I can’t even put it all together in my head. It all feels like something that happened to somebody else. Not to me. Not from James. If it wasn’t for the water hitting me and the scent of the soap, I might think this was all a dream. After all, Nix is being nice to me. That’s the opposite of normal, too.

Once he decides I’m clean enough, he turns off the water and pulls out a towel from the wall closet. I just stare at it for a few seconds when he holds it out to me. Shaking his head, he wraps a towel around me and guides me out of the shower. He’s just as gentle as he dries me off, and it never occurs to me to do it myself. It’s hard enough for me to stay upright.

I could have died. I almost died. And he left me there, not caring.

Nix hangs the towel on a hook, then takes me by the hand like it’s the most normal thing in the world and leads me into his bedroom. I’m naked and shivering, so lost. What do I do now?

He goes to the dresser and comes back with a T-shirt, which he even helps me into. It falls almost to my knees, but it’s soft and clean.

Once he’s finished, he places his hands on my arms again, and I lift my head to look into his eyes. They’re flat, without even the light that usually enters them when he’s having fun with me. How is he so detached? It’s almost like his feelings are turned off or worse, he is so used to this, it’s normal to him.

“Did you see?” I don’t have to explain what I’m talking about.

“I did. Heard it too.” His words are so nonchalant as if seeing his dad choking and threatening to kill me is an everyday event.

“But you’re not surprised.”

“He’s my dad. I grew up with him. You don’t think I know this part of him?”

A shiver works its way through my body, and this time it’s not from the cold. Instantly, my mind goes to Colt and Nix being helpless children in a house trapped with James.