Alexander's POV
I had been lying on the floor for hours. It was quiet — too quiet. All I could feel was the cold ground pressing into my skin, seeping through bone and muscle. My body still hurt, though the worst of it had dulled into a deep, persistent ache.
"I brought water."
The voice pulled me back from the edge of myself. I opened my eyes slowly, vision blurring before sharpening. Bill stood above me, a bottle dangling loosely from his hand.
"Louis' father is coming in an hour," he said. "You should at least look a bit presentable. You look like you're about to die." He chuckled like it was casual, like he'd just commented on the weather.
"You're good entertainment," he added. "Your reactions. The faces you make."
