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It had one so I flipped it

If he noticed, he didn’t say anything I started to back up

“Aleks, can I ask you soo?”

His voice was so different than it had been earlier The fury and rage were gone for the moment

“You don’t have to answer,” Luca added

“Okay,” I finally said when he didn’t ain

“The blackouts… did they… did they start when you first got taken?”

I wasn’t expecting the question so it took me a moment to find my voice to answer “I’m not sure”

He continued to stare into the inky darkness It was several long seconds before he took another puff “Did they make it easier?”

I tensed because I started to understand what he was asking me and more importantly, why

“Yes,” I said “The first time I went into my head, it was more like I was just in a drea to me, I just didn’t feel it Does that make sense?”

Luca nodded “So not blackouts then,” he said

“No… I guess not I think those are more recent”

God, that was hard to admit to But I had no choice but to accept it The proof was on Vaughn’s arm

“I don’t knohy, though,” I admitted

“Because your mind feels safer now,” Luca said

I shook my head “That doesn’t make sense”