Page 284 of Sinister

Yes, I must be just as sick as he is.

“I need time,” I say instead—a normal reply, if I do say so myself. Although, running screaming would have been preferred. “I need to think, Sin.”

He doesn’t seem pleased.

“All right. Time . . . all I have is time,” he says on a dry chuckle.

78

PETRA

What I thought would be a couples’ retreat in an underground bunker with lots of lovemaking and maybe some detective work ended up with me back at my house.

Alone.

My parents are still away, which gives me some time to think about everything.

Although I’d already suspected a great deal of what Sin told me, some things truly shocked me.

He made a deal with a demon. He sold human souls in exchange for a home. For me.

When I woke up and remembered all the details, I was ready to hate him for abandoning me. But then he told me he did come—that he might have been late, but he never abandoned me. Instead, he embraced death with me.

Except death was not the end for him.

I am confused on how to feel about it. The logical thing would be to be horrified. To shun him and forget about him—forever.

But I am far from logical, especially when it comes to him.

He chose to damn himself just so he would not forget about me. He waited years for me to come back. He suffered in silence, all alone.

No matter how much I want to condemn him for all the manipulation, for everything he did to orchestrate my life and our encounters, I find that I cannot. Because if it were me instead of him, if I had been the one to survive, I would have done the same.

I would have done the same as him to ensure he returns to me, that he remains mine, that he cannot see or meet any other woman.

He might have taken advantage of me, and that does sting a little since I was so oblivious to it all along. But if the roles were reversed, I would have done exactly the same.

Perhaps we’re not so different after all—sans the murderous history, of course. But even accounting for the people he killed, he never harmed an innocent. From the beginning, he only went after evil souls.

And despite my previous misgivings, after hearing him out, I do believe him when he says he did not kill the students.

But the question remains: Who did?

Could it be Arnoult as Tom? Maybe Leah as Lisa? An attempt to get revenge on those who wronged them in the past? But it still doesn’t make sense: Why choose some high-school students for that revenge? Unless they were also reincarnations of people from the past.

I exhale loudly as I slouch in my seat at the desk. My brain is fried from trying to make sense of everything, and I can feel the emotional fatigue starting to claim me.

I turn on my computer and note a text from Sin.

Are you all right?

I’m fine. Taking a nap. Talk to you later.

Please let me know if you feel off in any way. I’ll be there in a second.

Right, a second, because he has supernatural powers.

Good Lord, what has my life become if this is the new normal?