Page 65 of Covetous

“Fine. I won’t kill him.” He presses his forehead to mine, his lashes grazing my skin as his eyes drift shut. He lets out a long, slow breath, and I feel the tightness leave his muscles. In its place, a fierce tenderness settles over us like a shield. “I love you,” he breathes, his lips skimming my face as he speaks.

“I love you too.”

He kisses me, soft and lingering, pouring unspoken apologies and fierce promises into the gentle press of his lips. As he pulls back, his eyes blaze with resolute determination. “He will never hurt you again. I promise you.”

My heart clenches at the ominous weight of his words. “Wh-what do you mean?” I stammer, searching his face for answers.

He takes a step back, his jaw set. “I have to go.”

Panic rises in my throat, my pulse thundering in my ears. “Where are you going?” I reach for him, but my fingers grasp at the air as he slips away, already at the door, yanking it open.

My sister stands on the other side, her eyes wide and startled. “I-I’m Yasmine. I’m here to see my sister—Skylar.”

I can’t let her see me like this. I bolt to the bathroom, catching a glimpse of my smeared makeup and tear-stained face in the mirror. Locking myself in, I clutch my phone like a lifeline, my thoughts spiraling with the possibilities of what Victor might do.

The sound of his car peeling out away from the house reverberates through my bones. I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself, knowing that I’ll have to face Yasmine and the consequences of my actions soon enough. But for now, I just need a moment to collect my thoughts and figure out my next move.

“Sky,” my sister calls out to me, concern lacing her voice.

I can just about imagine what she’s thinking. “I’m in the bathroom,” I say through the closed door as I send Victor text after text, begging him again not to do anything crazy. He doesn’t know where Ian lives or what hospital he works at, so there’s a little comfort in that. But all of my texts go unread.

“Liam’s asleep in my bedroom. He went down over an hour ago,” I say, pulling up a text message window to Isabella. With trembling fingers, I type out everything that just happened, along with everything from last night. I hate doing this over text, but I can’t risk Yasmine overhearing anything.

“What was that about?” Yasmine is right outside the bathroom now.

“What was what about?” I ask, trying to sound normal.

“Are you okay, Sky-Sky? What happened?”

“I’m fine. Nothing happened.”

“I don’t believe you,” she admits, matter of fact.

I laugh, but it’s hollow, an empty sound. “Seriously, Yas. I’m good. I just need a minute.”

Dots swim across the bottom of my screen.

Isabella

What the fuck??? To all of it, btw. Seriously.

Me

You have to stop him from doing anything crazy. PLEASE.

Isabella

I’ll handle it. But I’m so pissed right now.

“I ran into Victor. Almost literally,” Yasmine says. There’s a beat of silence, and I can picture her on the other side, hand on hip, not buying my act for a second. “Did he and Esme just have a fight?”

“No,” I reply, the single word feeling like a boulder in my throat.

Me

I’m sorry, Isabella. This is the last thing I wanted to happen.

Isabella

---