I turned around after setting them on the counter, fully ready to make him try one, but he wasgone. A trail of white powder led into the living room and up the stairs in the wake of my demon.
My heart crumbled as my soul sighed in disappointment, the happiness I'd felt before evaporating into thin air.
I cried as I cleaned up the kitchen.
I cried when I took the cookies to Haley.
I cried until I fell asleep in her arms.
The cookies went untouched, my hunger forgotten.
“Just do it,” I said to the man behind the desk.
It was mid-morning, and I came straight to his office after I showered and dressed. I found a light blue, thin cotton dress that fell just above my knees in that fancy ass closet. I pulled my hair up into a high ponytail, praying for confidence. My ponytails never failed me in the past, and this one wouldn’t fail me today.
I waspissed.
Last night was the last straw.
I was going to push him until I saw the true part of him. Until hesnapped.Haley told me I was crazy and begged me not to, but she was stuck in a bed.
She couldn’t stop me even if she wanted to. I was too angry to care.
He was wearing black slacks and a deep red shirt, the color of blood, the sleeves rolled up, showing his tattooed skin. He had both hands braced on the table, his head bent as he studied the documents on the desk.
“Do what?” he snapped.
The man from last night was gone, and I ignored the pain in my chest, the whimper that came from my soul. He was acting as if nothing happened, as if I didn’t make him laugh for the first time in years.His real laugh.I was the only person with the power to do that. He was fake with everyone but me…except for today.
“You know what,” I hissed as I made my way to him. He lifted his head just a fraction of an inch to watch me as I approached him. The ice walls had returned. I looked down to see a gun on the desk next to a glass of whiskey, surrounded by a mess of papers filled with numbers.
“I don’t have time for your bullshit today, Karina.”
“Then just do it!"I shouted, my fists at my sides, clutching the cotton of my dress.
Instantly, he snapped up to his full height, those eyes piercing mine, sending a chill down my spine as his lips thinned into a line of anger, his jaw tight. I snatched the gun as I rounded the desk. I ground my teeth, shoving the fear away, and pointed the end of the barrel to my stomach, the metal digging into the fabric of my dress.
“Just fucking kill me already,” I spat, looking up at my demon. “Just get it over with so you can be done with me!”
Something flashed behind those cold eyes as he slowly turned to face me fully. His free hand snapped to the back of my head, his fingers gripping my hair to the point of pain as I pressed the barrel of the gun farther into my stomach. Fear leaned over my shoulder, sporting a wicked smile, the Grim Reaper lingering outside the windows, ready to collect my soul the moment my demon pulled the trigger.
I reached out quickly, grabbing one of his tattooed hands and putting it on the handle of the gun.
He was in control now, my life in his hands.
“Is that what you want?” he growled, his voice sending chills down my spine.
My gut twisted.
No, I didn’t want this.
In a perfect world, he wouldn’t be evil. He would just be sweet and kind Collin, a guy who would take me out to the drive-in movie on Saturday night and to brunch at the Pancake House on Sunday. He would kiss me, make love to me and protect me, better than anyone else could.
“Answer me,” he growled.
I swallowed the lump on my throat and tilted my chin higher. “Do it.”
In that next moment, he shocked me to my core with one little word.
