But it’s too late… his bike's already revved up and gone before I even make it to the door.
My protector gone… probably forever.
ChapterFourteen
Krampus
Bitter tears of betrayal sting my eyes as I mount my bike and drive recklessly away from her shop.
How did I read her so wrong?One minute she seems all into me, accepting me for the deformity that I am, and the next…
She pushes me away.
Repulsed.
Physically and emotionally rejecting me like if she touches me, the scars will become contagious.
It stings.
It hits me harder than any previous rejection ever has.
That’s why I don’t go straight to the clubhouse. Instead, I take a detour, riding straight to my secret apartment to grab my backup mask. The second it’s in my hand, I treasure it, savoring the safety it brings me from the stares and judgment I see in other’s eyes. The fear. The misunderstanding. It’s a shield I’ve grown accustomed to—a shield I desperately need to survive the hateful world we live in.
No one understands what it’s like to be different. How you wake up every day wondering if it’s even worth waking up tomorrow. It’s a sad existence. The kind that drives people to drink or eat bullets. I’ve always managed to keep moving forward, but today’s experience makes me question whether I’ll ever be happy, or if I’ll forever live alone, locked in the shadows of a tower like a monster people want to destroy.
For almost ten minutes, I just stare at the mask in my hands, wondering how she could go from hot to cold in an instant? The acceptance in her eyes was dying almost immediately after it was shown. It didn’t make sense. Something happened over at Moseley’s office, something that changed her.
But what?
What could he have said to her that would’ve made her change her opinion about me so quickly? She literally told me I didn’t need to hide behind the mask… that I was beautiful. She said words nobody, especially a woman, has ever said to me before.
Was it all a lie?
Our connection feels so real, like a current I can’t quite control. The kind that’s connected by circuits and boards, and looks like utter chaos, but really is an intricate masterpiece that holds everything together.
It’s the only reason I go back to her store, and why I wait there for hours just to make sure nothing happens to her. But it’s all done from afar, the wound too deep and penetrating for me to head back inside.
Even after the last patron leaves, I stay hidden across the street, watching for movement. Hoping to God those bastards next door don’t try to come for her again. Around eleven, she left Amber inside, disappearing next door with an envelope in her hand. She was only over there for a few minutes, but the entire time I held my breath, ready to spring into action if I needed to.
Now her shop’s just dark. The closed sign sways recklessly on her door. There’s no other sign of movement.
Until…
An engine revs from somewhere behind her shop, making my heart stutter with fear.
Misfits…
A sleek black sport bike jets out from behind her building. The rider, dressed in almost all black from head to toe, doesn’t stop at the stop sign. The only thing different is the large white helmet with bunny ears they’re wearing on their head, concealing their face. Whoever it is just blows right through the sign, making a fast getaway.
I’m not sure what compels me to follow them, but I do, racing to keep up with the sports bike that could best my Harley on any roadway.
The rider is halfway out of Fernley before they finally notice me tailing them, and they increase their speed, weaving in and out of traffic like they’ve got something to hide.
My phone rings during the chase, clicking over to my Bluetooth before I can stop it.
“Jesus, Rich, are you trying to kill yourself?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I shout into the headset, annoyed that Drac’s distracting me enough to lose sight of the rider.
