“I feel it, Bunny. Iseeit every damn day. You can pretend all you want to everyone else, like a little fucking coward, but at least I have the guts to admit what I want.YOU.”
She sucks in a sharp breath, but her glare doesn’t waver, then she explodes.
“Why do you always have to do this?Huh?!Why can’t you just fucking accept it? I don’t want you! I’ve told you over and over, Rook—I DON’T FUCKING WANT YOU!”
Her words slice sharper than a knife and my teeth grind, my whole-body trembling violently as more tears stream down my face. Everything she says is poison, seeping into me, eating me the fuck alive.
“You’re like the plague,” she hisses, her eyes blazing with fury and disgust. “You infect everything you touch—evenmyfucking soul.You can’t take no for an answer, can you? You had to tear our family apart. You’re alwayssmothering me. Corrupting me. Breaking down every part of me.Touching me. Pushing me.I can’t fucking breathe around you, Rook! Why the fuck would I want to be with you?”
I press my fists against the door, my knuckles white, my breaths coming fast and sharp as her words slice through me, but I don’t stop her. I take every hit, every stab to the heart like a fool.
“You wanted to fuck me?!” she hisses. “Well, you got what you wanted!Mission fucking accomplished.You broke me down! You fuckingwon!”
My bruised face twists, the pain of her accusation too much to hold back. “You think that’s all it was? A fuckinggame?” I ask, every word spiked with confusion and anger. “Why the fuck would I put myself through this—through all this… suffering—just for a fuckingbody? Yeah, I say fucked-up shit. Idofucked-up shit. A brother shouldn’t say or do half the things I’ve done to you. But one thing has been real through all of it is, I fuckingloveyou, Ebony. You could’ve had that pussy sewn up, locked away, and I’dstill choose you. I chase and continue to chase like a weak ass little bitch because I still cling to hope that one day maybe, just maybe, you’d fucking choose me!”
Her scoff cuts through me like a whip and she looks away, disdain written all over her face. “Well, get over it,” she says coldly. “I’m not interested in having a relationship with my brother.”
Something in mesnapsandI slam my palms against the hard door by either side of her head, the sound echoing like a gunshot. My body shakes as a roar rips from my chest, so realand pained filled, it rattles through the room, every ounce of misery I’ve kept hidden, unleashed, right in front of her face.
Her body jerks in shock, stiffening, her wide eyes staring into mine as tears flood down my cheeks. My breathing is uneven, my chest heaving as I stagger back.
“YOU’RE FUCKING EVERYTHING TO ME! YOU’RE ALL I THINK ABOUT... ALL I FUCKING WANT!” I scream at the top of my lungs.
“AND YOU CAN’T FUCKING HAVE ME!” she yells back, her body vibrating, her wet eyes blazing, then she points her finger at me, dropping her tone. “You need to leave me the fuckalone!”
My face suddenly falls. “Fuck you, Ebony,” I whisper, the words flat and lifeless.
My emotions now feel dead as I search her gaze one last time, desperately looking for something,anything—but when I finally see there’s nothing left, I turn my back on her.
The silence between us is deafening until I hear her take a careful step toward me and her hand brushes against mine.
“Rook…” she whispers, her voice soft, almost pleading.
I pull away, jerking my hand from hers like her touch burns.
“Don’t,” I mutter, shaking my head from side to side, my voice hoarse and broken. I sniff, my chest tightening with downfall as I wipe my tear-streaked face with my hand. I’m just fucking done.
“Just get the fuck out,” I rasp, low and final, hardly able to breath.
Istare at him, panting as that night crashes over me like a tidal wave, guilt clawing at my insides. My eyes streak with tears as I swallow the lump rising in my throat.
“What’s wrong, Ebony?” he says blankly, “Remember how you tore my heart fucking out and stamped all over it?”
I blink in a daze as he points to his mask, tapping the beak. “You created this. This fucking monster inside me. And I’m gonna make sure you never forget it. I'm the plague doctor, infected with a sickness and tonight, you're my only cure."
Before I can even process what he just said, he moves, grabbing something from the side of him, and when I see the black tape in his hands, a chill runs down my spine. My heart skips a beat, and I try to take a breath, but it’s like the air has been sucked out of the van. Then he’s already on his knees in front of me, tearing the tape with a harsh, ripping sound.
“Rook, I—”
The words die in my throat as the cold tape is slapped over my mouth, silencing me.
“Shut the fuck up. Your disobedience is annoying.”
He searches my watery eyes before leaning in and flattening his tongue against my cheek, slowly dragging it upward with a growl, collecting every tear and ounce of the pain he’s causing.
“I'm going to screw every part of you so fucking hard this Christmas, Bunny. By the time I've finished toying with you, your name will be nothing but a forgotten whisper, like a shitty stain erased from my crazed mind forever. I'll be rid of you, sis,” he murmurs, his tone cracking just enough to show he’s losing his sanity. “Whether you’ll be able to scrub me off your skin, feel anything but me crawling beneath it for the rest of your miserable life afterward—is your fucking problem.”
I almost roll my eyes, defiance swirling inside me before I watch and listen to him move behind me, the sound of fabric rustling, and my pulse quickens.
