I was the Wraith of Violence. I ate the bad people.
“I’m not like Sor–uh, Teo,” I said. “But if anyone ever harasses or threatens you, I can take care of them.”
Inola gave me a curious look. “Yeah? Are you like a bodyguard or something?”
Sorrow chuckled. “Or something. He’s telling the truth. Don’t hesitate if Sophia’s racist neighbor starts bothering you guys again. Vie can talk to him, and he’ll never come near either of you again.”
Inola’s expression turned interested and hopeful. “Really?”
I nodded. “Really.”
“I’ll send you his number,” Sorrow told her.
I frowned. “I don’t have a cell number.”
Sorrow gave me a big smile. “That’s our next stop. It’s time to enter the current century, Vie.”
I didn’t like the idea but nodded. “Fine. For her I’ll do anything.”
“I know,” Sorrow said, clapping me on the back. “And I’m going to take full advantage!”
Chapter 7
Willow
I blinked, realizing the movie I was watching had ended. Where had the last ninety minutes gone? The entire evening had been like that.
After Vie disappeared, I’d done everything on autopilot. I’d showered, eaten a late-night snack, and fallen asleep on the couch. The next day at the store was busy so I didn’t have time to think about anything but being friendly and selling things.
Now I was back home staring blankly at a screen full of movies my streaming service suggested I might like to watch next.
The worst part was that after I’d gotten home yesterday, I could tell Vie wasn’t with me. The moment I’d locked my apartment door, the feeling of being watched disappeared. I hadn’t gotten the sense he’d been around at any point today either.
I hated this.
I wanted Vie back. Even if he didn’t make himself solid, I wanted him with me. I told myself he probably needed to hunt and eat. I couldn’t expect him to hang out with me all the time. He might even have duties to protect people out there like he had with me. I couldn’t be selfish.
I couldn’t shake the worry that I’d never see him again.
The thought of losing him made me want to cry. I’d never felt like this before. If I thought I’d been in love before, it was nothing like what I felt now. It was powerful enough to be scary.
My phone rang, startling me. It wasn’t a number I knew. Normally I sent unknown numbers to voicemail, but hoping it might be Vie, I answered it.
“Hello?”
“Hey, babe!”
It wasn’t a scammer or sales call. It was worse, my ex-boyfriend.
“Go to hell, Alex!” I snarled, then ended the call. The number immediately called back, and I declined it. Then a flurry of texts came in, begging me to talk to him.
The text I sent back was short and mostly made up of cuss words, then I blocked the number. Alex and I broke up a week before I met Vie.
Now I could clearly see how Alex had love bombed me at the beginning of our relationship. I remembered the first time he’d shown me his temper. I’d been talking to Jina’s friend at a party. On the drive back to his apartment, he’d started a fight and accused me of cheating on him. He wouldn’t listen to me and by the time we got to his place, I was ready to leave.
He calmed down long enough to talk me into going inside. The moment the door was shut, he stood in front of it, blocking me from leaving and started the fight again.
I should’ve ended things right then, but his manipulation skills were good. We continued to date for several more months until Iwas finally ready to see who he was and what he was doing. Then I ended it for good.
