Piece by Piece

41. Snitch Gravel

It couldn't be real. The man facing her could not be Davyn. Not with his perfect black suit and scarlet shirt and tie, not with that look of boredom on his face. He gave no sign that he had any clue who she was.

Maybe in a cruel twist of fate, Snitch Gravel just happened to look exactly like Millie's boyfriend.

"It's a girl," he deadpanned.

"Yes, I know," Harkin said, sounding a little apprehensive.

Millie couldn't take his eyes off the person in front of her to look back and assess how this turn of events influenced everything. She didn't even have the strength to let out a word, ask Davyn what was going on. Why she was still afraid.

"Well, don't just kneel there, take a seat." He indicated the chair waiting in front of the desk.

She couldn't. She didn't think she'd ever be able to move.

"Do you want me to make you?" Harkin growled from behind.

The threat got her moving into the chair. Her shoulders and knees shook, and she was a second away from choking on her tears. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. There were too many questions for her to be able to pick just one.

"Now, what is a little girl like you doing in a place like this?" Snitch Gravel or Davyn asked. "A bit far away from home, aren't you?"

The only answer she could give was a sob. Was it really Davyn, or had she gone insane? Maybe she was terrified enough for her mind to conjure the one person she truly loved to replace the evil. Except it made everything much scarier.

"I think you broke her brain, boss," Harkin said with a laugh.

Davyn smirked at this, but it was a perverted version of the smirk she knew, of the one directed at her before he said something naughty. "I do tend to have that effect on people." He leaned over the desk, coming closer to her. He smelled like Davyn. "So, what is this? Why are you here?"

To find you. To figure out what you're doing.

She opened her mouth, but the words wouldn't come out. Why are you doing this? Tears filled her eyes again. Her heart beat into her throat, making her nauseous.

"Was this a dare?" He pressed on. "To see if you could catch a glimpse of Snitch Gravel?"

The way he said it, the emphasis on the verbs, made her certain he wanted an answer. The outing he gave her felt safe, so she just nodded.

"Huh, I didn't think it was a thing," Harkin said.

"With that crowd outside the school, I wouldn't be surprised," Davyn retorted, then turned his cold gaze back to her. "Well, here I am. So what now?"

She had no answer. She just wanted to crawl into a ball and cry, forget any of this ever happened. The sound of footsteps from behind indicated that Harkin had moved closer.

"This isn't good. We can't just have random people waltzing in here."

"Agreed." Davyn turned to her, his eyes narrowed and calculating. Then his attention shifted to the papers strewn in front of him, and he started jotting something down. "What do you want?"

"What?" she choked out.

"Now that you're here and confirmed I'm real, I believe you must want something. I won't accept that you just took on that dare without thinking of a way out. So what will it be? What do you ask of me?" He leaned forward again, shuffling one of the papers towards her.

Her gaze took it in out of reflex, and there was one lone word written there.

"Leniency," she read out loud.