Page 109 of Dirty Little Saint

She passes the joint to me. “Are you okay? Your mom’s been saying some crazy shit.”

I roll my eyes and take a long drag. “Yeah, better now that you’re here. It’s been a wild year.”

I spend the next two hours telling her everything. We laugh and cry and drink an entire tray of Jell-O shots. And when the clock strikes midnight, like Cinderella, she has to go.

I hug her so hard it hurts. “I’ll come to visit you soon. Maybe even stay a while if that’s okay with everyone.”

Saint is the first to respond. “Maur, you and your guys are always welcome at Wickford Mansion. Stay as long as you want.”

I hold her hands while the guys say their goodbyes and promise to keep in touch. We stare at each other for an eternity, our entire lives flashing in our eyes. “I love you, bitch. Thank you for coming.”

She gives me one last hug. “I love you too, Maur. But you have Villette to thank. She helped make this happen. Such a sweetheart. Keep that one close. She adores you.”

I wave to Bailey as they drive away; my heart is the fullest it’s ever been.

When I walk back inside, Val is playing violin by the fire. Riot and Felix are discussing Poe—both the poet and the man who just left our house, and Atlas is playing with his poisons. I love them so much it hurts. I want to suffocate myself in their scent, drown in their hands and limbs and essences.

I’ve been let down a lot in my life. But never by them. These heathens are my ruin and my salvation. My beautiful devils.

As I stand there beaming, they turn their attention to me. It’s unnerving in the best fucking way. Spasms tingle in my core.

Riot crosses the room to kiss me. “Happy birthday, Firecracker.”

Felix grabs my hand and pulls me onto his lap. “I think we should unwrap her, what do you think, hmm?”

Atlas downs a vial of poison before stalking over. He gazes down at me with those electric blue-green eyes. “She’s ours to mangle, ours to fuck… ours to worship.”

My cheeks flush as my body heat rises.

Val runs his thumb across my lips. “Yeah, I think she’s going to let us play.”

I open my mouth and let him push his thumb all the way in. I let them strip me naked and play with my body all night. We kiss and fuck and carve new sigils, healing and saving each other with every touch.

Our ruin really is our salvation. We might never be fully okay but it doesn’t matter because we’re together.

Sometimes there’s just not enough light to chase away the darkness. Not enough holy water to cleanse your sins…

But who needs light and holy water, anyway?

Not this bitch.

Did I do the right thing?

Fuck it.

I’d do it again.

Maureen

The town of Ever Graves perches high atop a ridge on jagged cliffs with fog so thick you can’t see two feet in front of you. The air is dense and crisp, chilling me to the bone. I can see my breath on the window.

We drive past unmarked graves. They line the dirt road that zig zags up into the mountains. I try to not look down. As we climb in elevation, the road narrows, the edge getting closer. I shudder as I imagine what would happen if one were to fall off, into the ocean below—they’d be dead before they knew, the surface shattering their bones on impact, like glass.

I lock eyes with Atlas in the rearview mirror and he gives me a wink. “Don’t worry, pretty girl. We’re almost there.”

Valentin turns his head to look at me. I’m sandwiched between Riot and Felix in the back seat. “Draven is going to meet us at the front gates and show us where to go. They’re having a party for us.”

All my life it’s just been me and my parents. I always wished our family was bigger. I wanted grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. But now that my wish is about to come true, I’m nervous as fuck. The only thing I know about these people is that they kicked my pregnant mother out when she didn’t marry the man they chose for her. Do I even want to know them?

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