Page 104 of Lunar Crest University

It clicked, set in stone, when she looked at me and it wasn’t a look of horror. Or one of fear. It was none of those things I was so fucking scared I would see when I looked at her. She looked at me, and she didn’t see amonster.She saw… Fuck, I don’t know what she saw, but I’m really glad she did.

I have no idea what it means to love someone, but I do know I’ve never felt like this about any other person on this planet. My heart reacts to her every word, every reaction, every movement she makes. It swelled seeing her ride me last night like that, and not just because of the sex. It was in that moment, I knew I’d rip my heart out of my chest if she asked me to.

It’s hers.

I love her.

Although, she could wake up this morning and come to her senses. Having a night to sleep on it, maybe she’ll wake up screaming and run away. Even after telling me she loves me, I wouldn’t blame her if she wanted to go.

But I can’t dwell on it now, because there’s a decaying body downstairs that will start to stink up my house soon if I don’t get rid of it.

After detangling myself from Finley’s warm body, I sneak downstairs to get started on clean-up duty. All my supplies are in the basement, so I start there and haul everything back upstairs, grimacing at the blood that has now turned black after sitting all night. Unraveling the plastic wrap, I curse under my breath as I grab the fucker by the feet and drag him over. His dead weight is nothing to me, but his intestines spilling from his gut isn’t necessarily pleasant.

Blood is such a bitch.

It takes forever to clean up. It stains everything—which sucks, considering I have hardwood floors. Why did I do this here? Why did I have to snap like that? If I had kept my cool, I would’ve taken him to the basement and done it there, where I could easily clean it up.

After a few hours, I’ve cleaned it up as best as I can, but there are parts of the wood that are stained.Fuck.

I’m glaring down at the stains like they’ll just disappear suddenly when Finley emerges on the staircase, wrapped in thesheet from my bed. I hold my breath as I watch her descend the stairs toward me, clutching the blanket tightly to her chest as she looks from me to the body wrapped in plastic, swallowing thickly.

She’s so fucking beautiful. Her bedhead and sleepy eyes have my heart in a vicelike grip, and I realize this might be the last time I see her like this. She could leave right now. As she reaches me, I even close my eyes for a moment to soak this in.

“Do you need help?”

My eyes flash open as I gawk down at her. That’s not at all what I was expecting to come from her mouth.

“Finley,” I whisper, shaking my head. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to do anything. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t…leave. If you want to.”

“Why would I leave?”

I would speak, but I don’t know what to say. My brows furrow as I study her softly, observing the way she looks at me just the same. Her green eyes are softer than they’ve been in a whole week. I didn’t know if she’d ever look at me so gently again.

Finley lifts her hand to cup my cheek. “I’m a part of this now. You had to do this because of me. I’m not just going to leave.”

“You don’t have to be a part ofthis.”

“I’ve seen you,” she murmurs. “The good parts. The scary parts. And I’ve decided I don’t want to leave. I want to stay, and I want to help you figure this out. I want this to end. I-I want you to befree.”

“You shouldn’t worry about me,Princesa.” I clear my throat, hoping I don’t sound as choked up as I feel. “You should worry about you.”

“You’re worrying about me enough, so I think I’m okay.” She smiles feebly up at me, and I can’t help but relax at seeing that again. “But someone needs to worry about you too.”

I’ve never really believed in fate, but I think she blew into my life for a reason. Maybe the only real way I would be able to be free myself from this life is because of her. I can’t imagine how things would’ve worked out otherwise.

“I thought for sure I ruined everything last night.”

She wraps one arm around my waist, pressing her face into my chest as she holds onto the sheet with the other.

“I thought you’d go running out of that door,” I continue. “But you didn’t.”

“Does that make me stupid?” she whispers.

“Maybe.”

Her shoulders shake faintly, and I worry I’ve just upset her, but as I grasp her face to make her look up at me, I realize she’s not crying. She’slaughing. Tiny snickers leave her lips that turn into full-blown guffaws as she clamps a hand over her mouth in an attempt to contain them. I chuckle softly as I frown curiously down at her, and my concerned expression only makes her laugh more. This continues for a few seconds before she shakes her head, as if that’ll make the giggles disappear, and sucks in a deep breath.

“So,” she exhales in a huff. “What can I do?”

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