“Yeah, but why?” He took a step forward, and I scooted to the left. He froze. We stared at each other, and when he moved again, so did I. “Scout, this is stupid. I’ve learned my lesson. Come home.” He extended his hand. I shook my head and gulped.
“No, Desi. I can’t. I’m not—”
“My bitch?” His words were ice, and his eyes suddenly turned from amused to rage.
I nodded, and slowly, my hand went to my pocket where the bottle sat at my hip. I reached into it, and Desi watched me do so cautiously. He straightened and took a step back as I pulled out the small bottle with the sharp knife attached to the cork top.
“Yeah. Did you forget what you did to me?” I asked, my voice starting to shake as the horrible memories of that night began to flood my brain.
“I—” Desi opened and closed his mouth. He seemed to be struggling to find the words.Good.
Confidence soared in me. I lookedtowardthe stairs where Landon and his friends were still partying loudly. They couldn’t hear us. Ginata’s suggestion came to my mind then. Maybe I should just end this once and for all. Could I truly be free then?
I walked backward, toward the back of the boat. I had a plan— kind of. I walked until I hit the railing with my back. Desi followed me slowly, his arms out, almost as if he was ready to pounce at any minute.
“Do you know what this is?” I pulled out the Sunshine from my pocket. A gust of cold air suddenly ran through us. It blew my hair all over, and I shivered.
“Yes. How did you get it?” he asked. His words were just as cautious as his stance.
“Doesn’t matter. If you come any closer, I’ll uncap this and use it.”
He blinked. His mismatched eyes processed what I said, and he straightened. Slowly, I uncapped it and pulled the short blade drenched in the vampire poison out. It dripped onto the wooden floor between my feet.
“You shouldn’t make empty threats to someone like me. Either fucking do it or not.” He steppedtowardme and snatched the bottle from my hand. Without another thought, I lurched forward with the tiny knife and sunk it into his right pectoral. He gasped and stumbled back, taking the blade with him. He dropped the glass bottle, and it shattered, the liquid splashing all over. I leaped up and fell against the railing. I let out a small scream as I scrambled to hold onto it.
When I regained my balance, I looked for Desi. He had fallen to his knees and stared in horror at the knife in his chest.
My heart was beating furiously as I watched him respond to my stabbing him. He gulped, and his shocked expression turned into one of annoyance. Finally, his eyes found mine again as he wrapped a hand around the knife. Tensing his jaw, he yanked. It made a loud, squelching sound, and blood poured from the wound as he tossed the blade into the water.
What had I done?
“Did that make you feel good?” he gasped as he struggled to stand back up. “Hurting me like I hurt you?”
Keeping his eyes locked on mine, he placed one hand over the hole, and the other dove into his pocket. He then pulled out a flask. I watched with wide eyes as he used his teeth to flick the cap open. He then poured its contents into his mouth, and when it was all gone, he tossed that, too, into the water.
He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. Then, he removed the hand from his chest. The blood had stopped spilling out. A slow smile spread over his face, and he reopened his eyes. Smirking, he slid his jacket off and pulled the shirt off completely. My mouth fell open as I saw that the gash I had created from stabbing him was gone. The blood he’d lost was the only indicator he’d been hurt.
Desi stared at me, his entire body heaving. I stared at his chest, my eyes raking over his bare form. The flashes of all the times his arms embraced me shoved through my pain. I hated how I still wanted him.
I shook my head and turned quickly away from him. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t be with Landon, Paulo, and Kyle all at once. They didn’t love me. They were robots living in Ginata’s fucked up community. They were told to be with me, and they blindly followed. That wasn’t something I wanted. But I couldn’t go home either. Whether I wanted to or not.
I gripped the railing and steeled myself. I lifted my leg, put a boot on the first rail, and pulled myself up.
“Scout—”
My name on his lips spurred me onward. I scrambled up and threw my hands out to balance myself. I was teetering, and my nerves were freaking out. I closed my eyes tightly as the wind came back with a vengeance. I could not let myself look at the water. The sound of it lapping the moving boat was already terrifying enough.
Suddenly, thick, familiar arms were wrapped around my hips, holding me firm. “Scout, stop.”
“What do you think happens when a Bloodborn commits suicide?” I asked, keeping my eyes closed. My voice was shaky as I began to make a decision. I didn’t want to do this anymore. Any of it. I had spent too long hoping that once my curse was broken, I’d find happiness, but that never happened. I was still—me.
I leaned forward, and Desi held me tighter. “You end up like me.”
What?
My eyes popped open, and I looked down at him. He was staring up at me with his beautiful cursed eyes. Was that true? Would I still live but be forced to bare the mark of what I had done?
“You didn’t kill yourself,” I said. He smirked.
