Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 167671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
“Thank fuck you’re finally here.” An old lady gets up from the couch and turns off the TV. “I thought you’d never show up.”
“Thanks for watching her, Mrs. Schwartz,” Ivy says, her hands diving into her pockets to fish out some change and a couple of bills. “I’m sorry, this is all I have tonight. I swear, I’ll repay you tomorrow.”
Wait a minute …
Max steps forward and plucks a wad of cash from his pocket, stuffing it into Mrs. Schwartz’s hands. “Consider the debt paid.”
Ivy looks up at him. “You don’t have to—”
“I want to,” Max replies, smiling.
She blushes, and my nails dig into the fucking walls of her apartment.
“Thanks, sonny,” Mrs. Schwartz waddles off in her slippers and pushes past us without even granting us a single look. “Oh, and feed that fucking cat, will you? He keeps nagging me, and I’m allergic.”
A cat?
I look up at the windowsill where a black cat with vicious yellow eyes home in on mine, sharpening its claws to prepare for an attack. And I nearly fucking turn around and waltz off.
“Hey, Bagel,” Max says as he pets that demon spawn on its head.
“Wait a minute … you’re acquainted?” My eyes narrow as Max looks up at me, and then it finally clicks. “You’ve been here before.”
He throws his hand behind his head and grins stupidly. “I was just looking out for her.”
“Looking out for that fucking pussy, yeah,” I grit, pulling up my sleeves.
Heath laughs, and I turn to glare up at him. “You knew?”
“Oh, he didn’t just know.” Max rolls his eyes.
My fingers dig into my palm so deeply they begin to bleed. “You both knew she lived here, and you kept it from me.”
“I did what you told me to do,” Max says.
“I never said you could lie to me.”
“I didn’t lie. I just … omitted the truth.” Max chuckles awkwardly. “Can you blame me?”
He glances at her with a crazy amount of love in his eyes, and for some reason, it makes me boil over with rage.
But that kid … that kid is staring at me from the couch like she’ll haunt me for the rest of my life if I don’t stay. And I can’t look away either because in her tiny hands is that red flower of mine.
“Cora, come here. It’s okay,” Ivy says, and the little girl runs into her arms to hug her tight.
Cora.
I try to swallow, but something’s in the way.
“Wait, Cora?” Heath mutters, gazing at Max. “You said her neighbor’s name was Cora.”
Max begins to flush heavily. “Um …”
“You lied.” Heath forms a fist.
“Sorry,” Max mutters.
“They’re scaring me,” the little girl whispers, huddling closer to Ivy, who throws me the sternest look I’ve ever seen. They radiate even more violently than my mother’s eyes, which is an impressive feat.
“They won’t hurt you,” Ivy says. “Right, guys?”
Max smiles and approaches the kid, patting her on the head. “Of course not.”
Ivy looks at Heath, who shakes his head. “I couldn’t hurt a kid. Not ever.”
Her eyes land on me at last, the look in her eyes deadly as can be. Maybe even more murderous than mine, and it silences the angered voices in my head.
“Silas. Promise me.”
So … this is the reason.
This is why she fought so hard, defied me so many times, stole from me without a conscience, and gave up her body to feed my wicked desires.
This girl.
I feel frozen to the floor as I stare at them both while an unfamiliar sense of caution overwhelms me. Like my body is being torn to shreds from the inside out. My hand instinctively rises to grasp my heart, as if it knows somewhere deep down something about it has irrevocably been changed.
But that doesn’t make any sense. My heart doesn’t beat for anyone else but me and my deranged desires to rip everything in my vicinity to shreds and watch it bleed to death. It beats for blood to rush through my veins so my muscles can keep on killing anything and everything that walks like the monster I truly am.
But this heart is beating violently as if it’s been stabbed by the very same knife I carved her skin with.
Fuck.
What is happening?
“Promise me you won’t let her get hurt,” Ivy reiterates.
My lips have gone dry. “I swear.”
She breathes out a short sigh of relief.
“Well, that was tense.” Max laughs.
But I’m still not fully here. It’s as though my mind has wandered off somewhere else.
Heath clears his throat as he looks at me like I’ve gone crazy. “Silas?”
Something warm rolls down my nose, and when my fingers swipe along, I can clearly see the blood, but it doesn’t register with me at all.
Suddenly, a hand wraps around my arm and drags me away from the living room and into the bathroom. The door is shut, and I’m pushed down onto the toilet.