“Thank fuck. And are you all right?”
He blinks a few times. “I mean, yeah. I’m not the one who had a psychopath in me.”
“Wait. What psychopath?” There was some talk about having someone in me, but I seem to have missed that part.
Alexei pulls his phone out of his back pocket and keys away for a moment, then throws the phone down beside me on the bed. I pick it up and see the image of a man on his screen. Goose bumps prick across my flesh. It’s similar to the face I saw at the foot of my bed…
“Jonathan Farras: The Night Stalker of Buford,” I read. Buford’s the neighboring city, abutting Lawrenceville. I browse the Wikipedia page, noting his victims. “How did you find this?”
Alexei gives me the rundown of what happened, helping me make sense of my scattered memories.
“I don’t remember too much while I was possessed,” I say, “but I recall him saying some nasty things to you. About us messing around. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?Youdidn’t say that to me. He did.”
“It was disgusting.” Rage burns in my chest. It isn’t just what that asshole said, but that he pried it from my head, invading places he had no right to.
Alexei glances to the floor, quiet for a moment before he says, “Matteo, if anyone should be sorry, it’s me. You asked why I hadn’t told you about that monster from last semester…and I should have. I didn’t know that anything we did would lead to this. If I’d thought it would put you in danger, I wouldn’t have gone through with it. Please tell me you know that.”
I’ve had so much on my mind since I woke up that, of all the things I was stressing about, this wasn’t high on my list. “The reason I brought it up last night was because I was surprised you didn’t tell me about it, but I don’t blame youfor what happened. You didn’t make me help you with that ritual, and when I agreed to do it with you, I knew there might be consequences. Granted, I didn’t know some psychopath would possess me, but you’re not responsible for that.”
“I feel pretty damn responsible.”
I close my eyes. “Alexei, please, we have so many bigger problems right now. Don’t beat yourself up over this. I can decide if I hate you tomorrow.”
He cracks a smirk, which considering what we’ve been discussing, I’ll take as a win. But then his expression turns serious again. “I mentioned it to the guys while you had Farras in you, but do you remember when you said you felt feverish when we messed around?”
I nod.
“I felt something at the end there too. This heat I didn’t understand, and I’m wondering if that’s when whatever allowed Farras to possess you happened.”
From what I remember, it was pretty intense, and it was easy to assume it was the side effects of the sildenafil, but I can’t help wondering if he’s right. If whatever happened in that moment led to this change.
He adds, “I was planning to bring it up to the guys again when we see them at the church tonight.”
“What are you gonna tell them?”
“I don’t know. When I accused them of playing with black magic, they seemed confused, so I’m wondering if maybe they don’t realize what they’re doing. What if they’ve been thinking using their powers has been harmless fun andthe Saints have the wrong idea about the Sinners?”
“I’m assuming the Sinners is what Brad, Luke, Seth, and Cody call themselves?”
He nods.
It’s good to have some context for what Alexei’s been involved with, but I wish I hadn’t had to pay such a heavy price for that to happen.
“It’s worth hearing their side,” I say, though I can’t deny I still feel hurt by Brad not sharing this with me. Still, he did save my ass last night. That has to count for something.
“In the meantime, how about something to eat?” Alexei asks. “I can grab some stuff from the kitchen.”
“I’m tempted to take you up on that, but I need to move around a bit. How about breakfast at that diner across the street? Your treat?”
His brow creases. “It’s two in the afternoon.”
“What?” I snatch his phone off the sheet and check the time. When I was looking at it before, I’d been so fixated on the info about Jonathan Farras, I hadn’t even thought to see what time it was.
“Good thing they serve breakfast all day,” I say, scooting off the bed. Alexei starts to say something as I push to my feet and step toward him, my head bumping into what feels like a concrete wall, bouncing me back onto the bed.
“Fuck.” I press my hand to my face.
