“It’s not very pretty,” Henry says. He uses his thumb to drag my other eyelid down to meet it. I think about how I must look, sitting there with my eyes closed and fish lips, and I realize that it can’t be very beautiful either, and despite what is happening – what is happening? –I still want to be beautiful for Henry. When you rest your cheek on the back of the sofa, your body sinks and expands, forgetting its hardness.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Henry said from somewhere in the darkness. His hand moves to cover my mouth, as if I’m screaming. But why do I scream? I’ve been waiting for this too for a long time.
A minute, or the rest of your life, passes and your consciousness tingles. There was a knock on the door and Henry went to answer it. He’s talking casually to someone, telling them everything is fine, no, you don’t need anything, and yes, have a nice evening. I’m thinking of the teased-haired manager, perhaps the young man in cargo pants who carried my luggage up the stairs when I first arrived.
I can’t say please help me.
Excerpt from Helpless: A Novel by Jessica Knoll. Copyright © 2026 Jessica Knoll. Reprinted with permission from Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC.
Jessica Knoll is a New York Times bestselling author of Bright Young Woman, The Favorite Sister, and the hit Netflix movies The Favorite Sister and Luckiest Girl Alive, starring Mila Kunis. She was a senior editor at Cosmopolitan and articles editor at Self. She lives in New York City with her family.
