The Agreement of Erasure

a machine. The air smelled of antiseptic. A t

in a h

e had curly brown hair and a kind face, even in sleep. He was wearing a ridicu

wa

the drugs. My hand, the one that wasn' t bandaged, crept out f

and confused. He blinked a f

across his face. "You' re

so genuine it alm

t this morning to go over the presentation notes. The door was unlocked. I found you p

rnest, so transparent. This had to be Noah Jenkins. The new inte

asked, my

id you had some kind of reaction to something you ingested, plus exhaustion and dehy

d I meant it. This kid, this pr

n, Sophia must be worried sick. I tried calling her, but her phone went

nt, but they landed l

worried," I sai

at do you mean? You guys h

to lie, and this kid deserved some versio

rry, Ethan," he said, loo

. The room spun for a second, but then it settled. "In fact, I'

can' t leave! What about the co

aid, the words tasting like

g for me. I need you to not tell anyone you saw me. Not Sophia, not

then he saw the look in my eyes, the desperate, pl

ay, Ethan. I won' t te

over the side of the bed and sto

d up, ready to catch me. "You can' t ju

the back of my hand with a wince. "I' ve

hind. And nothing, and no