Page 25 of Obsession

My heart hammered against my ribcage as he pulled a tattered journal from the shelf, the spine creaking under the weight of its dark secrets. Riot dropped it onto a nearby table.

“Read this,” he commanded, gesturing to the open journal. His eyes were full of shadows, daring me to look away, but I couldn’t. The words on the page were a mirror into his twisted soul, and I found myself drawn to them, unable to resist their perverse allure.

“Jesus, Riot…” I whispered, flipping through the pages filled with violent fantasies and demented ramblings. My hands shook as I read aloud a passage detailing his time in the institute for the criminally insane. “It says here that you witnessed unspeakable horrors during your stay… that they changed you.”

“Changed me?” He scoffed, pacing the room like a caged animal. “I was born with the darkness, Hollis. But the institute… it gave me the opportunity to embrace it fully.”

“Sounds terrifying,” I murmured, trying to keep the fear from my voice. I knew Riot was dangerous but hearing it straight from him only intensified my dread.

“Terrifying?” he mused, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “No, Hollis, that’s not it. It was… liberating.”

“Riot, you can’t possibly expect me to understand this,” I said, closing the journal and setting it down on the table. My heart raced as I looked up at him, searching for some sign of humanity in those cold, unyielding eyes.

“Maybe not,” he admitted, his gaze never leaving mine. “But if you’re going to stay here with me, you need to know who I am. And what I’m capable of. The journals I showed you before were a mere taste.”

And in that moment, despite the fear that gripped my soul, I felt an inexplicable connection to the man standing before me. A bond that was both terrifying and exhilarating in its intensity.

“Crash and Kane,” he began, his voice tinged with a twisted fondness. “I met them in the institute. We were all there for… similar reasons. They recognized the darkness within me, just as I saw it in them.”

“Darkness?” I echoed, my voice shaking.

“Sadistic desires,” he clarified, smirking at my reaction. “An insatiable thirst for blood and pain. We bonded over that shared hunger and became brothers.”

“Brothers…” I whispered, trying to comprehend the perverse connection they had formed.

“Brothers,” he repeated, his gaze piercing through me. “We promised each other we’d never let anyone control us again. Together, we’d embrace our true nature and rule Raven’s Vale with an iron fist.”

Riot paused, his expression shifting from pride to something more intense. He clenched his hands into fists, the muscles in his arms tensing as he spoke of a nurse at the institute who dared to show him kindness.

“Her name was Emily,” he said. “She thought she could ‘save’ me. Saw something redeemable in me. Foolish girl.”

“What happened to her?” I asked, sensing the tension building within him.

“Her kindness was… intoxicating,” he admitted. “For a moment, I allowed myself to be vulnerable with her. To trust her. And then I betrayed her.”

I needed to ask, and yet I feared his answer. But still, if I wanted to get closer to Riot and understand him better, I needed to know as much as he was willing to tell me.

“Betrayed her how?” My heart pounded in my chest as I braced myself for the answer.

“By taking her life,” he confessed, his eyes burning with a mix of rage and satisfaction. “She never saw it coming. One moment, she was holding my hand, trying to find the humanity in me… and the next, she was lying lifeless on the floor.”

“Riot…” I wasn’t sure what to say. I knew he enjoyed killing, but to think he’d done it in the institute as well.

“Tell me, Hollis,” he demanded, leaning in closer, his breath hot against my cheek. “Can you still look at me knowing what I’ve done?”

I swallowed hard, torn between the terror that threatened to consume me and the inexplicable bond I felt toward this ruthless killer. In that dimly lit room, I tried to understand the man before me and the darkness that had shaped him.

“Your past is terrifying, Riot,” I admitted. “But… I can’t deny the connection we have.”

He studied me, his cold eyes searching for any hint of deception or weakness. As I met his gaze, all I could do was hope the truth in my words would be enough to satisfy his dark and insatiable hunger.

The dimly lit room seemed to close in on me, the shadows cast by the flickering candles dancing across Riot’s face as he continued his story. His words were punctuated with cruel laughter as he described how the nurse had fought for her life, her eyes wide with terror and disbelief.

“Her struggle was pathetic,” he sneered, his eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure. “But I enjoyed every second of it. The way she gasped for air, the way her blood warmed my hands… it was intoxicating.”

I shuddered, unable to comprehend the satisfaction he derived from such brutality. My heart raced as I struggled with the realization that this man -- this monster -- was someone I’d grown to care for. And even worse, I was lying to myself. Had I not felt something similar when he’d told me how to kill the man in the alley?

“Is that what you want, Hollis? To be another one of my playthings? To feel my power over you?”

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