Several seconds passed before it was time to go. I stepped out for the kill but hands closed around me, pulling me back into the shadows. I yanked at the hands to no avail; they kept me in the darkness, out of reach and away from the human. I wanted to follow him. I wanted to kill him.
“Dennis—let go!”
“No. You wanted me to stop you last time, so I’m stopping you now.” Dennis kept dragging me back, further into the shadows the more I tried to escape them.“You don’t wanna do this,” he said, holding tighter while I struggled harder. “I’m not letting you kill again when I know how much you’ll regret it.” His hand clamped over my mouth as the human walked by.
The man was oblivious to the muffled struggle going on in the darkness. He kept walking and talking on his phone, strolling past us and down the deserted street without so much as a glance behind. Dennis freed my mouth once the man was out of earshot.
“Let me go,” I grunted, trying to break loose. It was useless.
“Not until you calm down. You’re not thinking clearly.”
“Yes, I am!”
“No, you’re not. I won’t let you kill someone who doesn’t deserve it as a self-punishment for killing someone who deserved it.” He took the words from my mind. No one deserved that. No one deserved any of it.“You know she deserved every second of it. It’s simple as that, some people need to die. But killing an innocent person won’t solve anything.”
“Just let me go, I can still get to him—”
“Vixen. Stop.” He snatched me back when I almost escaped, turning me to face him.“This isn’t what you want.”
I choked up at the way he was trying to help even though I wasn’t worth fixing at all. He was always so gentle, always so careful with me when I didn’t deserve it. I wasn’t worth any of this.
“I have to do this,” I insisted, trying to shove him off.“That’s all I’m good for, is stripping and screwing up. No one’s gonna stick around anyway, so why do you even care?”
“Because I do,” he said. “This isn’t what you want. You’re not a killer.”
I stopped fighting as his words sank in. The reality of them and what I’d been trying to do. What the fuck was I thinking?
“You’re right,” I murmured.
“So you won’t try to kill him?” Dennis studied me, then finally let go. I didn’t try to leave. I didn’t move at all.“It’s not your fault.” He took my cheek as I looked away.“You didn’t do any of this on purpose. But you can’t take it out on other people. That’s when it gets bad. That guy didn’t do anything wrong.” He wiped the tears streaming down my face.
I had never been so ashamed in my life. So disgusted with myself and my stupid actions. With the fact that he was bound to me and all my pathetic emotions. I broke down again, weeping as he pulled me into a hug. I was such a horrible person and he was stuck with me, probably not even by choice anymore.
“You’re not a horrible person. Please stop crying.” He almost sounded desperate at the end. It caught me by surprise enough to work.
I pulled away to look at him.“You really don’t think I am?” I asked, playing with the dark fabric of his shirt.
A teasing smile crossed his lips.“Would I ever lie to you?”
“You do it all the time.”
“You must be confusing me with someone else.” He actually lied this time and I almost, almost smiled.“I mean it, though. You’re aggressive on the outside, but anyone who pays attention knows how sweet you are.” He almost seemed relieved when a full smile donned my lips.“Will you come back now?”
I stared for a few seconds before nodding. “We can go.” I let go of him and ran both hands across my cheeks, wiping away the remnants of tears. I held back another smile when he took my hand, leading us from the dark alley down a dimly lit sidewalk. We walked in silence for a while before a thought hit me.“Were you following me the whole time?” I asked.
“Yeah. I wanted to give you the space you asked for, but there’s no way in hell I’m leaving you alone right now. Not like this.”
“Really?”
“I told you I’m not leaving you,” he said. “I wouldn’t lie about that.”
“Thank you.” I wrapped my arm through his, still holding hands. A shadow moved from the corner of my eye and I jumped. I dropped his hand to tug at my hair but he retook it.“Do you hear that?” I whispered, glancing over my shoulder.
“Nothing’s over there.” Dennis urged me along as I started to freak out. He wrapped an arm around me when I tried to back up, then caught me fully before I could escape.
“Dennis—”
“It’s okay.” He pulled me closer as I started to cry once again. I was overwhelmed. Shadows were dancing, people were calling me from different directions, things were touching my skin.“Nothing’s over there and no one’s coming to get you. I promise you’re safe.”
