Page 3 of Lethal Truths

Asher moves faster than I do, striding over to me and dropping to the floor where he grabs gauze, a needle and thread, and antibiotic cream. Standing, he visibly swallows, giving me an uncertain look.

If he keeps wasting time, I’m going to lose it. Fisting a hand in my hair, I motion to Prudence with my other hand and bark out, “Do something! Fix her!”

“If my dad finds out we nursed her back to health instead of letting her bleed out on the porch, he’ll—“

“I don’t give a fuck, Asher!” I grab the shit from his clammy fist, turning to Prudence and taking a calming breath. “Call him now if you want to. Tell your daddy all about what I’m doing for her, what I’ll continue to do to protect her. Send him my way and let’s see if he can put the monster back in its box or not. Maybe he’ll shove more pills down my throat until I’m a walking corpse, waiting to be ordered around for another goddamn decade.”

He blows out a harsh breath, clearly conflicted here. I know his dad’s been hard on him. I know all Asher ever wanted was to finally get that cold fuck’s approval. But he can have a meltdown about it some other time.

“Help me, or get the hell out,” I mumble as I sit beside Prudence. I don’t look back at Asher, but I also don’t hear any retreating footsteps.

As I’m tearing the remains of her tattered shirt off, trying to find the worst wound first, Asher curses under his breath and then comes to crouch by my bed. I spare him a quick glance as I unroll a bunch of gauze. His face hasn’t regained any color, and his eyes are still as wide as saucers, but he gives me a jerky nod, grabbing the needle and getting it threaded and ready for me.

Asher’s eyes stray, following the cuts and drying blood down her chest and stomach, making his face more pale, if that’s even possible. Sucking in a ragged breath, he jerks his chin toward her hip and asks, “What is that?”

As I’m cleaning and tending to her wounds, I dryly answer, “A scar.”

“Yes, obviously,” he drawls, handing me the prepped needle when I hold my hand out for it. I’m no fucking surgeon, but I can stitch up some deep gashes and hope for the best. “I mean, what happened?” Asher adds.

My teeth gnash together so hard it gives me an instant headache. I pause for just a second to sweep my eyes over the scars she had been so nervous for me to see. My perfectly scarred, fallen angel. A heady sense of protectiveness streams through me, and I blow out a rough exhale, ignoring Asher’s inquiring. She can tell him the story if she wants to. I won’t be spilling shit about her to anyone. I’ll be her personal vault, taking all her secrets and pain with me to the grave.

When it’s clear I won’t answer him, Asher smacks my arm with the back of his hand, just hard enough to get my attention. “Creed? What happened to her?”

Finished with the stitches for this wound, I move to clean the next one. I’m on a thin balance here; rushing to stop the worst of the bleeding but slow enough to be calm and careful so I don’t fuck her up any worse. “Prudence got hurt. Bad. Now drop it so I can focus, alright?” I finally grit out.

The silence in the room is heavy as I work on my Ember. Jesus Christ, there are more wounds than intact skin. When I’m finished, she’ll damn near be covered head to toe in stitches, gauze, and antibiotic cream. It’ll take a miracle to bring her back from this, but I’ve got nothing but time and devotion. The only thing that matters to me in this world is lying on my bed, waiting for me to help, so that’s what I’m going to do. And once she’s awake and gazing at me with those gorgeous hazel eyes, I’ll go out and avenge her.

“Who do you think did this to her?” Asher murmurs after a while.

With an easy shrug, I say, “Doesn’t matter. Dead men walking. I’ll be bathing in their blood soon enough.”

Hours later, and I still can’t peel my gaze from Prudence’s still form in my bed. I kicked Asher out once I finished patching her up. Don’t need him in here when she wakes up. And she will wake up because I won’t settle for anything else.

Any minute now… Any second, and she’ll blink those eyes open. My right eye twitches with how hard I’ve been staring, barely blinking, but I’m scared to miss the very moment she comes to. I’ve gone through half a goddamn pack of toothpicks, snapping each one in seconds with all the anxiety coursing through my veins.

As Fright Night comes to an end, the first rays of sunlight peeking through my black curtains, Prudence finally stirs. I’m at her side before I’ve even registered my movement.

“Ember?” I whisper, almost reaching out to cup her face but stopping myself. I don’t want to startle her. Not after all the shit she just survived. My hand hovers in the air, my lungs squeezing tight as I wait.

A broken groan falls from her busted lips, and her face scrunches up in pain.

“Open your eyes, baby, come on,” I urge softly, flicking my gaze down her body. No way was I putting those bloodied clothes back on her after tending to her wounds, and I was worried I’d jostle her too much trying to get her into one of my shirts, so I left her naked. I’m not a damn perv, though, she’s covered with my sheets.

Prudence doesn’t blink open those eyes like I so desperately need her to, but with what little strength she has, she reaches out her hand. I don’t hesitate to take it, lacing my fingers with hers, probably squeezing too tight. Her bottom lip trembles and a tear slips from her closed eyes, and it fucking guts me in ways I never imagined.

Pressing my lips to the back of her hand, I mumble, “You’re safe, Prudence. I’ve got you. You’re safe with me.”

She slips back into a deep sleep, but her grip on my hand stays firm, cementing my place at her side for the rest of my goddamn life.

3

Prudence

Have you ever felt such immense pain that you become numb to it? Like your mind and body simply shut down to protect themselves, leaving you blissfully unaware of how bad things have gotten.

I have. In the forest, bleeding out and certain I was about to die, I was numb to it all. It was almost… nice. A peacefulness washed over me as the pain slipped away, as my soul started to drift.

But now, in the light of day, as I lie on a soft mattress and force my groggy mind to be alert, all of that agonizing pain is crashing into me once more.

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