Page 9 of A Sinner's Saint

“Yeah, babe?”

“Shut up and kiss me,” she says.

Like a well-trained soldier, I follow her order. I kiss her. I consume her. If my soul weren’t so fucking tainted, I’d meld ours together, so we’d be one. But I could never drag this girl into my darkness.

“Mmm, I could kiss you all day and not get bored,” I tell her.

“I would let you,” she replies, and then her stomach makes the most god-awful noise.

“What the hell was that?” I laugh, lifting the sheet and looking down at her naked body. Big mistake. My cock was already hard. Now it’s just aching to get inside her.

“Sorry.” Cammi covers her face with her hands, her cheeks pinkening as her stomach rumbles again.

“I think I need to feed you,” I tell her.

“I can go. You don’t have to feed me,” she spits out quickly.

“You want to leave?” I roll over and begin to push off the bed.

Cammi’s hands reach out for me, her arms hooking around my neck and pulling me back to her. “No,” she says. “I don’t want to leave. Icanleave, though. I don’t want to be a bother or overstay my welcome.”

I cup her face with one hand and my thumb strokes up and down her cheek. “You would never be a bother to me. Ever,” I tell her, kissing her forehead. “Let’s shower, get dressed, and then I’ll take you to get food. I doubt there’s anything in the kitchen.”

“Do you live here?” Cammi asks.

“No, I used to. For a little while, after our house burnt down. But then my brother bought a big-ass place in the 'burbs. That’s where I live now.”

“Oh, nice.”

“It’s a house.” I shrug, leaving out the part about how it’s becoming more and more a home since El’s moved in.

“Yo, Vin, where’d you disappear to last night?” Dash walks through my bedroom door.

Pressing the pause button on the console remote, I turn my attention to him. “Who the fuck let you up here?” I ask, knowing full well none of the soldiers would allow anyone upstairs.

“Gio.” He smirks. “Your brother likes me.” Dash plops down on the sofa and swipes up the second controller.

“My brother likes one person, and you are not her,” I grunt while pressing the pause button.

“Come on, man, you’re not gonna restart and play doubles?” Dash complains.

“Nope.” I continue tapping on the controller, all my focus on the imaginary enemies attacking me on the screen, until I finally meet my virtual demise and toss the damn thing aside. “What are you doing here?”

“Checking on your ass. Where’d you go after the party?”

“Did you grow a vagina overnight? What’s it to you where I went?” I scowl in Dash’s direction before pulling my tin from the pocket of my jeans.

“Well, I can see you’re in one piece and in a fine-ass mood. I’ll leave you to it.” He stands and walks out the door.

The proper thing to do would be to stop him. Hang out with my friend. I don’t do that, though. I’m really not in the mood for company. I woke up in the best mood. Spent the whole morning with Cammi before I dropped her off at home.

Then I came back here, and the ghosts started to invade my mind again. Every time I blinked, I saw them. It’s as if they’re making up for the brief reprieve I had last night.

I slide a sheet out of the packet and pinch the green herbs between my fingers, lining it up along the centre of the paper before rolling it up and licking down the edge to seal it shut. Then I lean forward, grab the lighter from the table, and walk over to the balcony. I don’t smoke in my room. This shit stinks, and the last thing I need is my big brother storming in and lecturing me.

I drop onto my ass, lean against the balcony wall, and light up, enjoying that first hit as my lungs fill with smoke. After finishing and stubbing out one joint, I immediately roll up another one and light it. I need to numb my brain. I need to smokethemall out. It’s the only way I’ll get any peace tonight.

When I’m done, I shut the balcony doors and collapse onto my bed, closing my eyes. This time, I don’t see them. I only see her. Cammi. Big, beautiful green eyes. Brown hair that never seems to end, and pale skin. Tiny freckles that spread across her nose and pouty lips that are as soft as pillows when you kiss them.

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