Page 80 of Blades of Obsession

“I’m going to ask you some questions. Don’t bother lying—she’s a phone call away to confirm.” I crouch down to eye level with him.

“Did you rape her?”

He shakes his head no, and an ethereal relief washes over me. The whole time she was gone, my insides churned, haunted by the thought of him causing her sexual trauma.

“Did you kiss her?”

He nods.

I start to reach for my knife but pause as another idea pops into my head. “I’m going to kill you with your very own knife.” I walk to the wall where his knife is lodged, keeping aneye on him the whole time. It’s stuck in the wall good, but with a little extra force, it wedges free.

“Please! I’ll disappear and never bother you guys again!” he pleads as I take a few steps towards him.

I smirk. “I was wondering when you’d start begging.”

“I hated you. I hated you so much because she cried for you every night. I was never enough for her and she went crazy because she couldn’t have you. I wanted to be enough—”

Grabbing his tongue, I interrupt his useless speech mid-sentence. Using a technique I learned in junior year, I cut the wiggly thing off. It requires a certain angle for a knife to get through the muscle. It’s a good thing I’m wearing gloves and don’t have to touch it with my bare hands.

It plops to the ground with a thud. For some reason, the sight of the small, pink stump makes me laugh as he screams his head off—well, as much as he can scream without a tongue.

“That’s for having that dirty thing anywhere near her mouth,” I hiss, the image of him forcing it down her throat,kissing her, flashing in my mind. “Now you can’t plead for your life anymore. Tell me, when you brought that knife did you stop and think… this will be the thing that ends my life? How ironic.” I chuckle. “That question is rhetorical by the way, considering you can’t talk much right now.”

I slash him across the chest, not deep enough to kill him. “Did you think you’d get away with taking the person who means the most to me?!” I slash him again in the opposite direction, forming an ‘X’ with the two cuts. The last one is just below his belly button, sinking deep enough to tear through abdominal fat and muscle tissue.

He’s still whining and yelling, but it’s getting quieter as time presses on. Antsy to get back to the mansion and see Amelia, I decide to end the torture here. There are so manythings I could’ve done to him, so unfortunately, I’m still going to have the itch to torture someone even after he’s gone.

“I usually ask for any last words. So, I’ll take yours as ‘I’ll disappear and never bother you guys again’. Guess those words are about to ring true, huh?”

I line the blade up to his neck, pausing for a moment to savor the pure panic radiating from him as he frantically shakes his head. “When you get to hell, tell Eli I said hello.”

Once I have a picture of the scene stored away in my head for later, I finally slash the blade through his jugular, watching as he goes limp. Seeing the life drain from his eyes sends a manic thrill through me. It’s a sight I’d watch every day if I could.

I pull out a small canister of gasoline and start dousing the kitchen and living room. The acrid scent fills the air, mingling with the smell of blood. Once everything is soaked, I step back, pulling a lighter from my pocket. The small flame flicks awake, dancing in the darkness.

The electrifying colors of red, yellow, and orange roar to life, spreading quickly and devouring everything in their path. The heat is intense, the light blinding. I back away into the front yard, watching for a few seconds as the fire consumes the cabin.

Now time to go see the girl who sets my heart on fire just as much as the one I’m seeing before me.

Chapter 31

AMELIA

It feels surreal to be here, safe and sound in the silk sheets of Blade’s king-size bed after everything that’s happened. From thinking I was dead, to waking up kidnapped in a smelly van, to being chained in a cabin, and discovering my mom is alive. My head is spinning. It’s crazy how life can change in the blink of an eye.

This may sound weird, but I’m glad I got kidnapped. If I hadn’t, I might never have found out the truth about my mom. Can you believe it?My mom is alive.Sometimes, I still need to pinch myself when that thought crosses my mind.

I stayed downstairs with her for as long as I could, but she really can talk, just like in the old days. She and Julie are still down there catching up, but after the first two hours, I had to come lay down—in the place that’s ultimately become my safe space. After I took a long, warm bath, of course.

I don’t know what it is about this room—the dark, moody vibe, our two scents mingling, the new comfy bed he brought because he said he wanted it to beourbed—but it feels like home now. Like I belong here.

A long breath comes from deep within me, and I allow the tension to seep out of my muscles, closing my eyes for a moment. It’s peaceful. I think I finally feel what it means to hope, thateverything could actually turn out okay. I mean I have to believe in miracles now, my mom came back from the freaking dead.

When I open my eyes again, I hear the faint sound of footsteps approaching outside the room before the door opens.

His jet-black hair is perfectly in place, and he looks clean, neat, composed. Like he spent the last few hours grocery shopping or something. I expected him to look at least a little disheveled. His eyes soften when they land on me, and he crosses the room, sitting on the bed.

“How did it go?” I ask.

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