Page 64 of Sick Bargain

“Thanks.” When I cough again, his hand comes back to my chest, relaxing me enough to admit the truth. “I regret almost succumbing to my family curse, but mostly, I regret how much it’d hurt my brother and how bad I scared Krypt.”

Kyd snorts and laughs way harder than someone should after a suicide attempt. “Yeah, those losers are currently locked in the basement because they went fucking feral.”

“What?”

“Lil baby Ghosty and Krypty. We had to lock them up in order to save you. They were just getting in the way and being irrational because of their love for you.”

Love.

I shake my head, unwilling to believe that.

“What’s it like to be loved?” Kyd asks.

For whatever reason, that’s my tipping point. My eyes well with tears and my chest cracks open, the poison of the past two days spilling out of me and rendering me weak and broken. He doesn’t say anything as I cry, but he moves to his side and cuddles me like… like we’re actually besties.

I let him because I need it.

Dr. Cooper comes to check on me, asking about where I got that pill. I keep my mouth closed about it until my brother storms into my hospital room, demanding to know who gave it to me and why the fuck I did it. Kyd stays by my side the wholetime, flashing his teeth at my brother like he’d rip out his throat for upsetting me. Guess I really do have a new bestie.

I told him the name of the nurse who gave me the pill and explained that I went for something else. Soren left as Ghost, eyes shrouded in the promise of death. Cain came by, bringing me something to eat from the Midnight Diner, crying with me and promising me that I’m stronger than my family curse. He was mad at me for not going to him and made me promise to always go to him. I don’t think it was empty.

I talked to a psychiatrist. About suicide and my mental state. I got a therapist. I got placed on a seventy-two-hour watch. I’ve tried it all before, the therapy and the help, but maybe this time will work.

Krypt never came.

Dr. Cooper sits at the side of my bed. He kicked Kyd out, and now I’m propped up on pillows, unsure what to make of this man or why a pharmaceutical scientist has such an interest in my case.

“They call me Director,” he says, draping his lab coat over the back of his chair.

“Who does?”

“The Vile Boys.”

“Oh.” I frown, unsure what that means. “You’re… what?”

“Vile House has been in my family for generations. My grandfather and my dad were both Director during their lives, and now it’s mine. I own and run Vile House, Remi. Since you’re now with one of my boys, it’s time you learn who we are.”

Literally nothing is what I think it is. My whole life is a fib. Moros is a mystery.

“My great-grandad used to work at the old asylum here. He was a psychologist, and he helped make Vile House what it is today.”

“Which is what, exactly?” I ask.

“A family secret, I suppose. Just another dark society in the history of Moros,” he says with a sigh. “But I like to think we do good. Good for Moros and the residents of Moros.”

“Virtue in lives exchanged,” I whisper.

He offers me a small smile. “My boys might be a bit unconventional, but they understand what virtue is. It’s their mind frames and genetic makeup that give them the ability to create goodness with vile acts. It’s not perfect, but I think Moros is better for it. Do you?”

I’d never really thought about it before. But Krypt and the rest of the Vile Boys helped me end a cult that did nothing but harm, so maybe I see his point. They got a sick thrill out of it, but the town will prosper without the Matter Cult. Vile House has always been a silent partner, a place to go for help, even if it’s feared.

“I think I do.”

He smiles again. “Remi, I created that pill you were given.”

“Why?” I gasp.

“It’s supposed to be for medically assisted death that isn’t sanctioned by the hospital. Or, in the case of Vile House, it’s a safeguard. If the ten are ever taken, they always have it as an option. But listen to me, Remi. None of them ever, in the history of Vile House, even before my specific pill, have taken it. They’re stronger than that. But… I worried about Krypt over the past few days.”

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