Sharp pain lances through my knuckles, but it’s not enough—not nearly fucking enough—so I do it again. Again. Again. Until there’s a smear of blood on the wall and my arm is shaking violently.
“Fuck!”
This isn’t how it was meant to be.
None of this was supposed to happen.
I have a dying girl in my basement, a dean who thinks she can threaten me, and a mother I’m somehowstilltempted to mourn when I should be dancing on her grave.
And where I expected sanctuary in Haven and Kai’s arms, they’ve instead turned their backs…and found sanctuary in each other.
My phone buzzes.
I want to ignore it, but on rote, I take my phone out of my pocket and check it.
It’s a VibeFeed notification
My heart stops beating. I can’t breathe. My entire body goes numb as I fumble to unlock my phone and open the app and go to messages?—
@bssweetgirl
You were right.
About everything.
I read it twice.
Three times.
…you were right…
Haven.
My sweet girl, Haven.
She’s testing the water. Seeing if I’ll drown her.
Warmth floods back into my body along with a long, stuttered breath. My lips pull into a smile as I lean back against the wall I’d just been assaulting.
I knew she’d come back to me. I knew if I was patient, if I gave her space to realize that I could offer her exactly what she wanted, what sheneeded, that she’d find her way to me.
…you were right. About?—
I’m about to type a response, but I stop before my fingers touch the screen.
Haven said I was right about everything.
And for the first time in my miserable existence, I don’twantto be right.
Not about what’s happening to the girl in my basement while I stand here smiling at my phone like a lovesick fucking imbecile.
I spin around, eyes wide as I punch in the key code. Too fast—it beeps and flashes red. Again, slower, trying to breathe when all I want to do is pant. My feet thump down the stairs, the impact jarring my phone out of my hand before I reach the bottom.
Melissa’s head lolls forward. I grab her chin and wrench her head up. Heavy-lidded eyes roll in their sockets, mouth gaping.
“Christ!” I drop to my knees in front of her, grabbing her face, forcing her to look at me. “No, no,fuck! Wake up. Wake thefuckup!”
Her eyelids flutter, then drift closed all the way.
