“It’s really not nice of you to let me go to voicemail. I even left you a present, Aeron but what should I have expected? Even when Killian was kicking and screaming for you not to send him to that place, you did it anyway. All you had to do was keep me away from those padded walls.”
Just like I could tell the difference between the other three, Finn was easy to pick out. His voice was slightly deeper, a haughtiness and confidence to his words that wasn’t presenteven with Daemon. “I’d say I was sorry but you weren’t yourself. How were we supposed to know that you were Finn?”
“I left you so many damn clues. That’s not even the point! They never put you away, Aeron. They never threw you into a place like that. Why would you do it to me?” The pleading in his voice almost sounded real until a cackle followed, echoing in whatever space he was in. “You have some apologizing to do, my love. Have you thought about what you’re making me for dinner? I was thinking curry.”
I swallowed nervously, pulling the phone away from my ear. Finn was definitely a different beast but he had a point. Slash and Samael had never thought about placing me in a mental institution. That had never been part of the plan. Had we done it to Finn because we were truly scared for him or did we just need to control the situation?
“Curry sounds nice, Finn.”
“Good.”
“Where are you? Why-”
“Aeron, I’m home. Enjoying all of the wonderful things that Killian denied us of. I’m lying on silk sheets right now.Silk.”
A purr erupted in the background, Finn cooing at his cat. I couldn’t imagine someone like him enjoying the fluffy animal. Slash cleared his throat and stole the phone from me. “When do we get to see you? We have a few things to discuss.”
“Ah, The Skinner. I was wondering when I’d get to hear your voice. I’ve only changed where I lay my head. Show up at TheRevival and ruin my day like you always did for Killian. Who knows? It might be fun.”
Finn hung up just as the coffee pot dinged, pulling us back into the reality of our kitchen. Slash was still staring at the phone, chewing on his bottom lip before meeting my gaze. “Wow, he’s a real peach in the morning, isn’t he? If he really thinks I’m not going to show up at his fucking job, he has another thing coming.”
FINN
Monday Evening
I grit my teeth as I shoved the other three down again, locking the door to the drab room behind me. It felt like trying to swallow when something was caught in my throat, constantly threatening to come out any way it could. And violently.Veryviolently.
But my metaphorical room was working well enough, keeping them out of the life I intended to live unless I wanted them present. Daemon kept trying to rip me out of the driver's seat but I was more annoyed at Killian for not being able to hold it together. He had said all of three sentences to me in the last few days and the crying façade had the other two pitted against me. Fucking liar was what he was.
I wasn’t going to dwell on it though because since I had been out, I had fallen back into the skin I could call mine. The new piercings had hurt like hell, additional ones added to the queue because the artist had told me I would look damn fine with the extra metal jutting out of my face. It was a rouse for me to spend more money but fuck if I hadn’t nearly orgasmed at my reflection afterward.
Bar just over the eyebrow? Check.
Nose stud? Check
Nose ring? Also, check
Lip ring? Tongue ring? Check and check.
Finding a new set of studs to adorn my ears had been motherfucking Christmas and as I found myself seated in some posh Italian restaurant, across from a man we used to call ‘Dad’, I realized that my very appearance contradicted everything this man stood for. Ioozedcriminal ambiance with my dark attire and overwhelming piercings.
However, I didn’t hate him for the reasons the other three alters did. I knew he had put Mom away because we couldn’t support her debilitating state alone. It still hurt that he had abandoned her there but I understood his initial reasoning. As for Aeron, I would have never walked away from him had I been conscious. Dark and Daemon would have never existed.
They wouldn’t have needed to exist.
Stop pushing, Daemon. You’re not getting out to play.
Letting Daemon out to play meant that he’d have us popping those pills the nurse had given me. Sitting in the underwater haze was the last thing I wanted to do. While it would loosen my hold on the other three, it wouldn’t give us control over much of anything. Worst case scenario, they would fade into the background and I didn’t want them gone. Not yet, anyway. So, no playtime for Daemon.
The real reason I didn't like our father was because of his lack of parenting. He immediately assumed that I was as useless as my mother when I was diagnosed with HMD. Everything became rules and arguments were abundant. College was the best thing to ever happen to me at that point. My father's desire to have me home where he could watch over me wasn't entirely selfless on his part. He didn't want to be a father again. He just wanted control.
Like my men.
But in an entirely nonsexy, nonfun, overbearing way
I watched the man in front of me, tear into his steak like a wolf. He scissored a bite that was socially unacceptable for the setting, stuffing it into his mouth before speaking to me. “I was really glad when you came back home, son. I didn’t know if you even wanted to speak to me after everything that has happened.” His words came out in a garbled mess as he chewed and my hand itched to reach out and slap him across the face. “After you were with my detective… I-”
"I thought we talked about the son thing. I agreed to come back but we're not jumping back into some white picket fence life where we pretend you cared about me all these years. You told Ki—you told me and I quote, 'journalism was a bunch of kids who did crack investigative work and posted pseudo-facts for popularity-pissing contests'."
