Page 35 of The Secrets of a Sin

“A sacred place.” Verity speaks up from beside me.

“Our sacred place.” Annalise corrects as she turns her head slightly from ahead of us, where she’s bouncing gracefully on her toes.

“Not so fucking sacred anymore if were taking her there.” Priscilla grumbles darkly next to Verity, causing my stomach to twist. What the hell was her problem with me?

“Be nice, dike.” Verity sneers with a rough smack to her side. Waiting for a fight to break out, I watch as Priscilla jogs slightly ahead of us, and cuts in front of Verity as she walks backwards. With them now facing each other, Priscilla smiles cockily.

“I’ll show you just how nice I can be if you let me in between that fire crotch of yours.” Priscilla’s tongue darts out in a slow drag that has Verity gagging. “Oh, come on, Verity. Let me see if you taste as bitter as you act.”

“Fuck you.” Verity curses and swiftly jogs past her up to Annalise, who’s ahead of all of us by a couple of feet. Leaving just Priscilla and me, awkwardly walking next to each other, we meet eyes in a rough clash. “You got something you wanna say?” She raises a dark brow that reminds of the model/actress Cara Delevingne, bushy yet still makes her look uniquely beautiful. Her ebony hair was piled up messily on the top of her head, while her ivory blouse was unbuttoned a few spots down, giving her that signature rebellious look she always carried.

“No.” I shake my head, feeling my face slack because of her cheeky word choice. Averting my eyes, I still feel her gaze puncture through me as if she knows I'm uncomfortable around her. She must find making me squirm amusing because she snickers softly.

“You’re too quiet.” She announces, surprising me with a less cold-blooded tone for once. Glancing over at her, my chest tightens when I capture a rare leer across her mouth. “You shy or something?”

“I’m shy around people I barely know.” I confess, directing my eyes to Verity and Annalise, who are immersed in their own conversation. “Or people who don’t seem to like me.”

Shit.

Did I really just say that out loud?

She’s eerily silent for a moment until she finally speaks up. “Make me like you then.” She shrugs a shoulder, almost bumping into me. Confused, I sneakily glance over at her again.

“How do I do that?” I ask, wondering how the hell I was supposed to do that when we clearly didn’t have much in common. But thinking of it, she didn’t have much in common with Annalise or Verity either.

I wonder how they all became friends.

“That’s all up to you. I can’t give you all the fucking answers or, of course, I’ll be bound to like you.” She scoffs. “Show me the real you. The one that got you sent here.”

Yah, that’s not happening.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea.” I exhale quietly.

“Why not?” She twists her head. “You’re not some fucking psychopath, are you?”

Shaking my head, I laugh. “No, nothing like that.”

Before the two of us could say anything, Annalise spins around to face us. “Are you finally getting along with her, P?” She grins wide, causing Priscilla to grunt beside me.

“Don’t push it.” She growls. Annalise grins back slyly and darts into Devil’s Barrens with Verity close on her tail. As they disappear, my feet come to an almost complete stop where the parking lot and forest meet. Something about entering a creepy backwoods forest doesn’t sit right with me. I’ve watched plenty of crime shows and documentaries to know not to follow practically strangers into secluded areas where they could chop me into a million pieces or something far worse, even if they were only trying to be nice.

“Scared?” Priscilla questions as she walks past me and slowly spins around to face me. Her grin is wide and mischievous, making my frame quiver with anxiety and embarrassment because, truthfully, I was scared.

“What’s in there?” I nod behind her, rubbing at the sides of my skirt, hoping to alleviate my jitters. Dark eerie forests weren’t meant to be hang out spots, especially for a group of unprotected girls. How could I be the only one on edge after Phoebe’s body was found in the courtyard?

“You’ll have to find out.” She tiptoes backward, ushering a finger in a ‘come here’ motion. “You’ll be fine, little mouse. We do this all the time.” She offers, sensing my apprehension, but I still don’t move an inch. Instead, I cross my arms over my chest. Huffing, she peers at the ground for a second, then lifts her head to connect our eyes. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything touch a hair on that pretty little head of yours.”

Narrowing my eyes suspiciously, I slowly drop my arms at my sides. “I don’t know.” I mumble under my breath, causing Priscilla to grunt in annoyance. Charging towards me, she snatches my hand in hers, entwining our fingers in a tight, almost painful grip.

“Don’t be a pussy.” She huffs, rolling her eyes. “See.” She lifts our adjoined hands in the air. “I’m doing something I don’t like, so now you have to, too.”

With wide eyes, I shake my head. “I’m not being a pussy. I’m being vigilant.” I try tugging my hand, but her grip is too tight. “Seriously?” I groan in frustration. “Holding my hand isn’t even a close comparison to walking through a creepy forest.”

Smiling wide, she takes a step backward, causing my body to follow hers. “Be fearless.” She continues walking us further into the cloak of darkness. “Being scared is good sometimes.” Transfixed by her words, I indulge her.

“Why would being scared be good?” I ask, focusing on her face instead of the fact we're now further into the woods. She was good at distracting. I'll give her that.

“Your senses are heightened. Touch.” She drags a finger over my palm in a single delicate stroke that has my hairs standing up. “Smell.” She inhales deeply, causing her chest to expand and stick out. “Like sex, you experience all the same senses. Maybe even stronger.” She explains as her upper lip lifts in amusement while she steadily guides us down the narrow path. Suddenly, she comes to a stop, and her free hand reaches out, and she gently places it over my racing heart. She notices the wild thumping and grins. “You must be really fucking scared.” At first, I didn't know how to respond because all I could concentrate on was the weight of her hand on my chest. Her warm palm was practically cupping my breast, making my nipple immediately stiffen from the pressure. Normally, I wasn’t attracted to women, but my body reacted the same way as it would if it were a man touching me. She notices a shift in my stare as my eyes focus on her hand, then lift to her face. My skin feels hot and achingly determined to relieve whatever force is coursing through me.

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