Page 47 of The Pretty Psycho

"I'm sorry," I said, closing my eyes as I pressed my forehead to her shoulder. "I don't usually cry this much."

"It's good." She chuckled. "You're going to pee less."

"What the fuck?" I laughed. "Where did that come from?"

"Eh," she shrugged, "it’s something my nanny used to say when I was younger. If you cry a lot then it means you're going to pee less." This girl. This fucking girl that came out of nowhere. "But seriously, you need to let it out, and if this is the way, then it's good. It's better than going out there and snorting coke from a stripper's ass just because you want to forget the things boggling your mind."

I pulled back, my face scrunching. "Coke? Stripper's ass? Jesus fuck, Yolanda, what kind of things were you doing in your life?"

"The kind they write books about." She laughed. "But eh," she wiggled on the bed, "snorting coke from those hot asses is an experience. You should try it sometime."

The way she said it in this completely nonchalant way told me I didn't really know her. Yes, she didn't exactly belong in this world, but she had so much life in her. Which brought me to my next question.

"Does your father know what happened at the Academy?" Her cheerful expression diminished the moment the question came out, and I hated the way her eyes lost the light in them.

"My father doesn't give a fuck what I do, as long as I'm not embarrassing the family. And of course," she laughed darkly, "as long as I'm able to snatch myself a husband. Trust me." She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "He doesn't care if I live or die. If it were up to him, I would've been shipped off to some boarding school a long time ago, but he needs me right now. He needs a golden goose that would give him more money and more power by getting married to someone outside of Sweden. He already has everything he needs there, but he wants more. It's always more with that man, and I don't know." She lowered her head. "Sometimes it feels as if I will never be enough."

"Oh, Yolanda."

"No," she smiled sadly, "it’s okay. I always knew where I stood with him and it's better this way. At least I would never forget it and I would never try to get his approval for anything else. Besides, maybe I will kick his ass once you show me some of those moves you have. Jax tried, but I think I would rather train with you."

"Jax, huh?" I snickered. "Don't think I haven't noticed you two."

Her cheeks flamed, her eyes looking anywhere but at me. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on, Yo. You can't deny that there's something."

"Even if there was, nothing could ever happen," she said sadly. "Jax is… Jax, and I know where I stand with him. It's all fun and games but I'm not here to let another man use me. Andno offense, since I know he's your friend, but Jax is a womanizer, and I've had enough of those to last me a lifetime. Yeah, I like him," she admitted. "I think he's cool. He can also be nice when he wants to, but other than that, there's nothing."

Yeah, her lips were saying one thing but her eyes were telling me something else. She didn't just like him. She was falling for him, and she hated it more than I hated wanting Adrian.

"Okay," I relented, not wanting to push her even more. Jax was obviously a sore topic, and until she was ready to talk about it, I wasn't going to push. "But if you want me to kick his ass, just tell me and I'll do it." She snorted, looking at me again with a sheen in her eyes. "He might be big, but I know how to kick ass."

"I know you do."

It was weird how comfortable it was simply sitting here with her and talking about our personal things. I never had anyone who would listen. Hell, I never had a female friend who would listen to me talk about my emotions and it was… nice? Yeah, it was definitely nice. I wanted more of this in my future, and regardless of where life took us, I was just hoping that Yolanda would always be a part of it.

Fatigue started catching up with me, and before long, my yawning was getting more and more frequent.

"You need to sleep," Yolanda said.

"I slept for days. I need to move and do something."

"No," she shook her head, getting up from the bed. "You need to rest. Sleep. Whatever. Just because you slept in the hospital it doesn't mean that your body is rested. You were in a terrible state when they brought you in and you definitely need to recharge. So," she fluffed the pillow on her bed and started patting it, "down you go. I'll be here, just working on some things, but you really need to relax."

The more she talked about sleeping, the more I yawned, and without fighting with her, I kicked off my boots and slidunderneath the covers, lowering my head to the pillow she was patting.

"Wake me up if we get any news about anything at all."

"I will. I'll get us something to eat as well when you wake up. I'm sure you'll be hungry." I probably would be, but as the lull of sleep pulled me under, I could no longer react.

My eyes closed, my mind shutting down slowly, and before long I was descending into a dark, dreamless abyss, ready to forget this day.

15

ADRIAN

I don't trust you.

---