Page 125 of Fearless Sinner

Once Lance has me in his grasp, I shove my hand with the poison in his face and make sure I rub it into his skin.

“You little bitch. You can’t fight me.”

“Get off me.”

He manages to kiss my neck before he suddenly jerks back as if someone hit him from behind.

He loosens his grip on me, and I take the chance to get away from him.

“What the fuck?” Lance grabs his head and shouts. The pain in his voice makes the pitch louder. Blood suddenly runs out of his nose, and as it drips onto the floor, he glares at me. “You did something to me.”

“Die, you asshole.”

“I’ll take her with me.” He points the gun at Mom and cocks the hammer like before. But he doesn’t get to shoot her.

A gunshot rips through the air and lodges in the side of his head.

It came from behind me.

I turn to find Cillian in the doorway. He's standing tall and mighty with his gun pointed out.

I’m not sure if Lance saw him before the life left his body, and I don’t care. He’s on the ground now in a pool of blood and the poison still taking effect. His head swells up and becomes lumpy and veiny, making him look like some kind of mutant monster.

I look back at Cillian, and we stare at each other for a moment. Relief floods me in waves, rippling through my body.

The danger is gone now.

It’s over.

Finally.

I walk out to the garden.

Roxanne is sitting in the garden on the swing. She’s been out here all morning, chain smoking. She quit years ago when I was still around, but I know she has a cigarette from time to time, especially when she’s depressed.

When I approach her, she looks at me. She puts out the cigarette because she knows I can’t stand the smell. Then she stares ahead looking empty.

I sit on the swing next to her and hope I can find the words of comfort she needs.

Everyone is still reeling from the disaster that unfolded yesterday. Mom was so shaken we had to take her to the hospital to check her over. That was bad, but I knew Roxanne would be feeling especially terrible.

She spent the night here because I knew she didn’t want to be alone at her apartment. I stayed, too, for the extra support I knew Mom and Roxanne would need.

Roxanne arrived an hour after everything went down with Lance/Adrian. When she learned the truth about Adrian and heard he was dead, she broke down in a way I’d never seen her do.

I was glad she never got to see the real Adrian, but at the same time, I wish she had. It might have helped ease the pain of her loss.

She remembers him for the façade he was, behind the smokescreen of the supportive boyfriend she thought she might have a future with. It’s sickening that someone could be so manipulative, and you never really know who they were under their masks.

“Are you okay?” I ask her.

“No. I’m not okay.” Her voice holds the listless tone of someone who’s in a catatonic state.

“That was a stupid question. Of course, you’re not okay.”

“I feel so violated. I don’t know when that feeling is going to leave me.” She takes a quick breath of air and pushes her hair over her shoulder. “I can’t believe Adrian, or Lance, or whoever the hell he was, was such a fraud. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I don’t know where I went wrong. I’m so good at spotting these things, but I’m still stumped.”

“I’m so sorry. I was happy for you when I first met him. I liked that he was good to you. You deserved someone who could take care of you and make you happy.”

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