Ineedthis. His wrath, melted into inexplicable desire.
“Do you stillhateme, pajarito?” I ask Angel.
A boom of thunder shakes the walls, pieces of concrete rattling to the floor while I writhe and rock.
Come to me, angel… Show me howhardyou hate me.
“Si, papi…” The hushed words are spoken for real… not in my head.
I freeze.That didn’t sound like Warren…
“Eres el diablo.”
Each word is spokendeliberately, riding on a chill, like delicate fingers running up my spine.
Angel??
I push up on my arms, turning to the doorway. There’s someone out there… A shadowy figure I can’t make out.
But inside me, deep, in a place I never even knew was there before, I can tell.
Iknowit’s him. My eyes lock onto a flicker of emerald green.
“Paja—”
My words are cut off by aboom. Ten times louder than the previous ones. Loud enough that it ripples in the air, the reverberation of thunder bringing with it an echo of elongated sound.
Crackling above my head draws my attention up as the ceiling splits. Almost in slow motion, I witness the crack in the concrete race and widen.
Without thinking, some survival instinct takes over, and I whip my body weight left, hard enough to flip the cot. And it works. The flimsy metal topples, shielding Ren and me just in time.
The sound of the ceiling collapsing is louder than it should be, and in that split-second, I understand that this ismuchmore serious than just one ceiling caving in on one cell. The entire building is shaking in a symphony of loud crashing and crumbling as concrete falls on top of us.Buriesus.
It’s purely terrifying.
Covering Ren’s body with mine, I squeeze my eyes shut and just breathe. No more than five seconds pass, but it feels like dozens more as I shiver through fear and adrenaline… But oddly enough, a wave of calm washes over me at the same time.
I’m going to die.
And it’s fine. It’s really no big deal.
For as convinced as I’ve been over the years that I am truly a god walking among mere mortals, a moment like this has the ability to shine a light of truth on everything I keep hidden deep within myself.
Padre… Lo siento. I know I failed you.
I’m so sorry I didn’t listen. I’m sorry I’m not… good.
Mama, I miss you. If you were still here, I might’ve been different.
Vengeance felt good. I didn’t need it…
Jonathan, I didn’t wantthis.
Pajarito, I hope you can forgive me… and understand.
But when I finally pry my eyes open, I realize that I’m not dead…
I’m alive.
