Page 88 of Until He Confesses

Me: Why don't we make a schedule for this? That way, I can plan for it, and we don't have to have disagreements because of issues like this.

He responded a few minutes later.

Lucas: You didn't read the contract?

I wondered what he was talking about because I had read it, but what did that have to do with anything?

I asked him this in more polite terms, and almost immediately a photograph arrived.

I opened it up and found that it was a screenshot from the contract, and what it very clearly stipulated was that when a request was made, I had within the space of three hours to respond to it, or our contract would be void with absolutely no chance of resuscitating it.

I stared at the image in complete disbelief.

Immediately, I threw my phone on the bed, got up, and returned to my meal with my family members. Just like that, thanks to him, my mood had taken a plunge, and I soon found that nothing could bring it back.

An hour passed with me angrily focusing on my evening with my family, but then, when I got up to return to the kitchen along with Anna, she stopped me by the sink.

"You've been frowning for the last hour," she said.

I glanced at her, frowned again, and returned to washing the dishes.

“Let's use the dishwasher," she said and tried to load it, but I stopped her.

"No, I'll do it by hand. There aren’t too many.”

She stopped and sighed, "You hate washing dishes more than anything else."

This was true, but if I didn't keep my hands busy, I was sure that I was going to explode from anger. Anna didn't leave, just as I knew she wouldn't.

She also didn't pester me, seeing how mad I was, so instead, she joined me, and soon we were cleaning together.

"It's Lucas, isn't it?" she asked.

I contemplated responding, but even after we were done, I couldn't make up my mind, so I shook my head. I tried returning to the living room once again to join my mom and the show she was watching, but I decided against it and went to my bedroom. I got underneath the covers and began watching the first thing I saw when turning on the TV.

The time was clear on the screen, and basically, I had ninety minutes to go before this whole thing came to an end. At first, it had been amusing, but now it absolutely wasn't because it was in the contract, and for him to have sent it to me, he meant every word. He wasn't at the status he was in life by accident.

Soon, there was a knock on the door, and this annoyed me, so I pulled the covers over my head.

No one spoke but the side of my bed suddenly lowered from someone joining me, and I sighed.

Of course, she was here to make sure I was okay again. I looked up, then pulled the covers down to my nose and turned to see her face. She was expressionless but unmistakably concerned. Eventually, as time kept passing, I had no choice but to speak.

"Lucas and I have an agreement," I said.

My voice was low and muffled under the blanket, so I hoped that I wouldn't have to move it away so that she could hear me. To my relief, I didn't.

"What kind?" she asked.

"To pay him back for my mom. For flying me over, and such."

"What's the agreement in exchange for?" she said, and I sighed, wondering once again if I was ready to share this with her.

"You know," I said, and she went quiet. Then she got up and pulled the covers down to look at my face.

"What do you mean by 'you know'?" she asked, and I was slightly taken aback by her calm demeanor.

"I go to him when he wants me for a little while, and then..."