Page 51 of The Villain

“You smug little shit,” I let out a deep breath of frustration. “I want nothing to do with them. That bridge is fucking ash. I want Evie.”

Her squeal of excitement cuts off abruptly and the line goes silent.

“What now?” I groan in frustration.

“You know her name?” Her voice has gone wary again.

“It was on her coffee cup, Tera,” I scowl.

“Oh,” she breathes in and out slowly.

“Why are you freaking out?” I ask suspiciously.

“I’ve been changing her name on everything so the A-holes can’t find her. Have you called her that in front of them? Please say no.”

“No. I’m not sharing anything about her with them.” Now more than ever.

“Oh, good,” she lets out a heavy breath of relief.

“Tera,” I hesitate with my next question. I’m not sure if I want an answer.

“She doesn’t know anything about your life. Don’t ask me about hers,” she warns me quickly.

“What emotions does she have?” I ask heavily. Am I stuck on a woman who is literally incapable of feeling anything for me? Is that why she’s ok with me walking away?

“Oh. That question’s ok. It’s a little confusing so I’ll make it easy for you. In black and white terms, South terms, you’re hers or you aren’t. Nothing else matters.”

“I’m dragging my people out of it.”

That’s what she told Andi last night. Not Tera. My people.

“I’m hers, aren’t I?” I ask warily, more thinking out loud than expecting an answer. I want to be. So damn bad.

“I’d say yes but she’s been reacting to things differently since she came to town. It’s harder to read her. She’s more suspicious, quieter and sneaky. I’m used to her being upfront but she’s holding herself back.”

I can hear the pain in her voice over it. Evie is still upset with her for not calling when she had her breakdown. If I didn’t know it from our conversation last night I would definitely know it now. Tera just emotes and Evie doesn’t.

“She’s also not asking if her reactions to things dealing with you are ok or not. She’s just doing it and I can’t tell if she’s following the rules. They did something to you that she actually felt and that’s not the best thing for them.”

“Is that why you didn't tell her I was getting flak from Matthias about the damage?”

“Yeah. They hurt you, she made them pay, and you tried to take the blame for it. She’ll never let you sacrifice yourself for anyone, Shade. Not even for you. Owing is her way of showing remorse like she’s supposed to. She doesn’t feel bad, she just wants to acknowledge that what she did affected someone in a bad way and she’s willing to pay it back to make things even.”

“Then she’s faking emotion?” The thought twists something in me. A deeper wound than knowing my supposed exes were using me to keep tabs on me.

“South never fakes anything. She doesn’t want to. It’s pathetic to pretend to her. She bases her reactions on what you show her. If you’re upset she owes you something. If you’re happy she’ll play games with you. Games are a sign of affection for her. Do you understand?”

I’m not sure how to take this. Was she acting interested in me because I started it or is it real? How the fuck can I tell?

“The phone cloning. She wasn’t mad when I brought it up. She said she liked the game,” I mutter thoughtfully. “Keeping something from me that I want.”

“You’re already playing keep away? I’m proud of her for accepting you so quickly! It took me a year for her to play games with me. I mean normal people ones.”

“You imprinted on her,” I shake my head. I want to be imprinted all over her for everyone to see.

“Yup! She felt something when she saw me. If she didn’t I’d probably have permanent scars. When someone makes her get an emotion, she obsesses. She can’t let it go.”

“She told me how you met,” I mutter absently. She was angry about Tera’s reactions to confrontation. What did she see from me?

---