When we were kids, I always thought Heidi was pretty. Just a cute, innocent little angel—Everett's kid sister and one of the only people who never tried to harm me, thanks to my ill-will curse. She had these gorgeous brown doe eyes and the cutest little laugh. If someone told me they bottled sunshine and it turned into her, I would've believed them.
She was so fucking precious.
Every day, I wanted to kill the Frosts for the shit they put her through. Mostly her mom. Putting Heidi—myHeidi—on those extreme diets when she was still so young, keeping her locked away in their attic, making her try that fucked-up “cutting edge" shock therapy some crackpot invented for empaths that proved to be a complete scam, trying to fuckingbleachher birthmark away…
With my boiling anger, bloodlust starts to roar in my ears again.
If the Frosts are still alive, I'm going to kill them now that I’m back.
And if they're gone, I'll be jealous of whoever offed them until the day I die.
A couple of years after Heidi was sent away in middle school to try to live a human life, Everett asked me to check in on her from a distance, using my particular skill set—hacking, hypnosis, information trading, etcetera.
I was relieved to see her living a real life in Koasville, enjoying high school. As I expected, as soon as her family wasn’t suffocating her, Heidi bloomed.
But at some point, checking in on her in the months and years after she graduated school…
I don't know exactly when, but something changed. Seeing that Heidi was okay—washappy—took center stage in my life. Even from thousands of miles away, observing her gave me meaning. I could be lounging on a private Hawaiian beach, staring at the sea and sipping a mojito, and all I could think about was Heidi.
Her smile. What she was doing. Who she was talking to.
What she was wearing.
Fuck.
Sure, I thought she was pretty when we were innocent little kids. I never thought anything of it. That's just who Heidi was—lovely and understanding despite the hell she was put through.
And then she grew up, and so did I.
I should be ashamed of how many times I've scrolled through her social media profiles over the last couple of years. There's this one post of hers in particular where she's standing on her back porch with a big smile, leaning up against the porch railing, wearing this flowery little sundress that clings to all those curves…
Sundresses should be fucking illegal.
Especially the low-cut V-neck ones.
Fact is, Heidi is the prettiest person I've ever seen. I can't remember the last time I noticed another woman, because for well over a year before the Divide fell, I was in heaven whenever she walked past one of her home security cameras.
Was I fucked up for hacking into her phone, stalking her online, taking a couple of impromptu trips to Illinois to watch her from a closer distance without her ever knowing, and fantasizing about the woman I was supposed to be looking out for?
Yes.
But Ididalso look out for her. She probably doesn't know where a couple of her shitty ex-boyfriends wound up, and it's for the best. I made sure one got jail time for some of the shit he pulled on her, and a couple of the others experienced karma as I saw fit.
That last scumbag she broke up with for cheating on her—Ryan, was it? I wonder if he's still alive. If he is, I'll keep him chained in a basement as a living snack for hurting her like that.
Long story short, it's a slippery slope, falling for your best friend's sister.
"Who's that?" Horton asks, still loopy under the hypnosis as he glances at his phone in my hand.
"My future wife, if she'll have me," I murmur, feeling something deep inside me calm slightly just seeing this picture of her.
Heidi thinks I died years ago—but if she can get over the nasty shock of me being back and beingthis,then I'm not holding back anymore. I'm going to show her how perfect I can be for her.
I know she prefers acting human. I'll pretend to be human, too. We can live in her cute, modest house in the woods and get married like humans, if she says yes. Then we'll travel, stay home, or dowhatevershe wants. As long as I get to be part of Heidi's happiness, I don't fucking care.
And if Everett tries to scare me off again, he can kiss my ass.
16
