Expired With Me

Chapter Forty

Iris

"Jonas, is this really necessary?" He runs his hand through his hair.

"No, Iris. It's not. All you need to do is tell me where she is. That's it. We drive to her, pick her up, make sure there was no correlation with Vienna, A, and the attacks, and we all can live happily ever after."

"You know that's not true."

"I wasn't the one who helped a criminal escape."

"But you were the one who threatened to torture her."

"And now I'm about to be backed into a corner, having to do the same with you." Jonas kneels down next to the bed, taking my hand in his. "Iris, please. I... I can't lose you. Not like this." Tears begin to form in his eyes. Jonas, my Jonas, doesn't look at all like the man I met that first day all those years ago. The man that told me he didn't want the first person he killed to be an innocent girl. But I'm not anymore. I wasn't then, either. Jonas looks tired, exhausted. Bags hover under his eyes. His hand shakes, holding mine. His tie crooked.

I don't want to die. I never wanted Colton to lose his position. But I was, am, sick of the evil the Society demands the people I love to be. The evil that separated Colton and Vienna. The evil that caused Jonas' father to burn my orphanage. The evil that pleaded for Colton, Bently, and Z to kill me, just for breaking fate.

I am loyal to the Society. I have fought with, for them more times than I can count. I've lived on their grounds for over two years. I married the Preemiencnce. But I will not sacrifice my morals for the Society. I will not cower in fear and beg for my life. Much like Jonas is doing now. I shake my head, slowly pulling my hand away.

"I can't tell you," I say, quietly. "I won't let you hurt her. Not when she's innocent."

"You're willing to sacrifice yourself? Iris, she's not innocent."

"She doesn't deserve to be tortured, Jonas. Not when her only crime was marrying the man she loves. A man we all love. And don't mention the stupid book. I was going for the same one. She's suffered enough."

"Iris, if I don't know where she is by sunrise, I'll have no choice..."

"You always have a choice." Jonas shakes his head. After a minute of silence, he wipes his tears, stands, enters the bathroom. When he returns, he crawls into bed, face still wet.

"Can I hold you?" He asks, quietly, voice broken. I nod, wiping a tear of my own, and roll onto his chest, nestling into his warm embrace, where I fall fast asleep.