Page 95 of Shattered

“I’m right here to help. The worst you’ll do is give me a shitty tattoo, but I don’t think you will.”

She’s not convinced, and her anger skyrockets again. “Why are you being such a fucking asshole today!?”

“Bane was going to tattoo a mountain on me. Now, he can’t. Fucking do it.”

Playing on her heartstrings works, and after a little more hesitation, she gives me a hesitant nod.

Since she doesn’t know what she’s doing, I set everything up for her and show her how to keep everything clean, which she catches onto easily, being a nurse. I lay on my side in the chair, giving her the easiest angle to work with. When she picks up the machine, I stop her.

“Remember, hold it like you were before.”

She corrects herself. “Like this?”

“Perfect.”

Having the number of tattoos I already have, I can tell the moment she touches that needle to my skin that she’s not pushing hard enough.

“A little deeper, Sunshine.”

“Like this?”

It might be a little too heavy-handed now, but that’s alright. If it blows out, so what? It’s her first tattoo.

“Much better.”

She’s slow as a snail at first, not trusting herself. This tattoo boot camp may be a little extreme, but I think she needs extreme. When I check after a few minutes, I see she’s doing good. Her lines are steady, but she’s tense as a board.

“Lila, relax.”

She removes the machine and shoots me a glare.

“Okay, bad choice of words. Just loosen up. Have fun. This is supposed to be fun.”

She scoffs. “Fun for who?”

“For you! You’re giving me a tattoo!”

Something I say seems to stick because she’s a little more confident when she returns to my ankle.

The tattoo doesn’t take her long, being it’s just line work. Once she’s done, she turns off the machine and sets it down, and I take a look. It’s too deep in spots, with insufficient ink in others. Despite that, her lines are steady.

“You did great, Sunshine,” I say.

“It looks like shit.”

Her eyes clench shut as she spirals out of control.

Chapter 39

Lila

As I stare at Asher’s ankle, something inside me breaks, shattering into a million pieces. And my reaction was not what Asher was expecting.

“Lila?” he stares at me.

That’s when my sobs take over, rendering me speechless, and I curl over, letting myself fall to the ground, unable to catch myself.

“Lila, talk to me,” Asher pleads, reaching down for me.

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