Page 64 of Brightness

Am I completely fucked-up for wondering about these kinds of morbid things?

Footsteps trample down the stairs, but I don’t look to see who’s coming. I already know from the sound of the thump of the boots that it’s Void. He makes his way over to me, standing by my side. I casually glance at him, and his face softens. “You reflecting on what happened to Andrés?”

I shrug. “I’m glad he’s in there. I just… there’s something inside me, and I question if I should be scared of it or not.”

Void reaches out and pulls me to him in a tight embrace, a move not often shown. I wrap my arms around him, cuddling into him completely. “That little bit of darkness in you, Ivy, is what scares me. Not the fact that it’s bad, but because it’s so fucking good. Your darkness matches mine. I’m fucked in the head, but I don’t want to drag you down with me.”

I pull back, peeking up at him. “If you’re going down, Void, then I want to come along for the ride. Bricking Andrés behind this wall made me feel more alive than anything I can ever think of… beside you being inside me, of course.”

Void’s eyes meet mine, and adoration shines back at me. “And that right there is how I know you belong at this club… that you belong with me.”

I lean up on my toes to kiss him. My lips pop and tingle as they always do when I kiss Void. Wrapping my arms around him, I push him up against the bricks holding Andrés’s corpse, and his fingers move straight to my ass to grasp and knead at my flesh. My clit throbs as I press my body against Void’s, needing friction. His cock grows hard as we kiss frantically, our hands going everywhere.

Is it wrong that I’m turned on by the fact we’re making out right next to the body of the man I killed?

Yeah, we’re both fucked in the head.

But I love every messed-up second of my life right now.

A Week Later

Void’s been a little better with his moods. He’s still tense, but with us basically fucking like rabbits, I’m sure it relieves some of the tension he’s feeling. I only wish he would trust me enough to share whatever it is that’s eating him up.

Dash is still not back, and it makes me a little more anxious about his whereabouts. I’ve tried calling him, but it continues to go to voicemail, and my texts are going unread. I want to talk to Nycto about it, but I’m worried if Void found out, it could be misconstrued as something that’s just not there.

As I sit in the main bunker and eat my lunch at a table, Stacey walks in, happy as ever. She’s carrying a parcel, and she slides it across the table toward me. “Delivery for you, Ivy.”

“For me?”

“You not expecting anything?”

“Don’t think so. But I was online shopping the other night, maybe I ended up buying something in my sleepy haze.”

“Ah, the old sleep-shopping trick. Done it many a time. I gotta get back to the bar, but I hope it’s something good, at least.”

I snort out a laugh. “Probably something completely useless,” I tell her as she walks off.

After pulling the tape off, I crack open the lid. A red rose sits on top of some sexy black lingerie. My eyes widen, and I try but fail to stop my lips from turning upward in approval. Taking out the rose, I bring it to my nose and smell it.

I had no idea Void had a romantic side.

I grab the string of the lacy top and pull it out of the box. My brow furrows as something wet coats my fingers. Looking at my skin, I see a pattern of red liquid. “What in the…”

I lift the piece of lingerie out, then scream, shoving the box away from me. It falls off the end of the table and drops to the floor, the bloodied heart landing with a sickening thump, then rolling a few times before coming to a stop.

My hands… there’s still blood on them.

I stand, wiping my bloodied hands on my leggings in an attempt to get the liquid off me as Void, Atomic, Ominous, and Nycto rush over.

Void hurries to my side, but I throw the rose at him, then shove him in the chest. “Why? Why would you send me this? Whose heart is that? Is that Dash?” I scream at him, pushing him again and gaining everyone’s attention.

Frown lines crease Void’s forehead, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he simply looks from me to the heart on the floor.

“Fuck you, Void! I get we’re both twisted, but killing Dash is not okay. He was my friend.” I storm off, tears streaming down my face.

I need to get away from him. Now.

I can’t believe he did this.

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