Read Faithless #2: A Tainted Love Serial for Free Online Page B

twenty.
    With every second that passes on the clock, I re-think my decision. I could go back home to Luke and Noah, and we could have this baby. We’re not in any position to do so right now, but things could change.
    But they never do. It’s the same cycle over and over. A cycle that I have to break. I’ll leave here in a few days when this is over and board the bus to Florida, where I’ll start a new life. A life hopefully void of tragedy.
    The door is pushed open and I’m hit with a breeze of warm air. “Hello, Faith,” the Doctor says as he shuts the door behind him. He’s an older gentleman with pepper hair and glasses perched across the crux of his nose. He takes a parting glance at my file, and he must notice the confliction spelled across my face. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
    I know if I surrender an ounce of doubt, I’ll be enrolled into a series of ‘ Do you really want this?’
    So instead, I lie. “I’m sure.” And of all the battlefields that I’ve seen in my life, this one is the hardest. Holding back the tears becomes a war, and the outcome of success is guilt.

8
    PRESENT
    T he man has been given a name—Ben—and denying his humanity is no longer an option. Before, when he was simply the man being held hostage, it was easy to pretend. Now I know there’s a soul in there, no matter how far gone. No matter what he’s done, we’re not in the position to decide his fate.
    We’re back in the square room, the same room where Ben’s been held captive for God knows how long. Noah stands behind the camera, framing the scene.
    Ben sitting in his chair with his hands chained behind his back.
    I stand in the doorway, leaning against the frame and alternating between looking at Ben and looking out the small, square window in the back. It’s snowing again and the trees are already colored white.
    Noah holds his fingers up, all five of them. “Five minutes, Ben.” Then he steps toward me and places his hands on my hips. “It’s going to be all right.”
    I give him a nod, and turn. He follows me out to stand beside the pulpit. “Say you get a confession, what comes next in your brilliant plan? How do you come back from this?”
    “That’s not currently a part of the plan.”
    “So, what? You surrender your soul because of him? He’s the monster, Noah. Don’t become him.”
    “He killed Luke!”
    “I know that,” I scream, shaking my hands. “And a part of me wants to go in there and beat him to death. But I came back to Old Town to start a new life, and losing what’s left of my soul isn’t a part of the plan.” But when have my plans every turned out the way I thought they would? No matter where I run, everything eventually falls apart. “It can’t be a part of the plan.”
    Noah throws his arm across the banister and swipes his sweaty head against it.
    “It’s us against the world, right?” I plead trying to gain access to his beating-heart, a heart that I know is still in there somewhere. “Well, I’m tired of losing. And this?” I point to the back room, where Ben is. “What’s going on in there? That’s losing.” My lips begin to tremble as I urge him one last time, “Don’t become him.”
    “It’s too late for that,” he says, avoiding eye contact, and burying his head further into his arm.
    “It’s never too late,” I protest, grinding my teeth against each other. “It’s never too late to do the right thing. That’s what separates the good men from the bad. You are not too far gone, and you’re not a monster.”
    “No?” he groans. “You look at me and you see a reflection of who I used to be. You’re so blinded by your heart that it won’t let you see me for who I’ve become.”
    “I am trying to save you!”
    He throws his hands together in a thunderous clap. “You’re wasting your time.”
    “God,” I scream and bolt away from him, turning back to him when there’s enough safe distance between the two of us. “You’re such a