Page 26 of Depraved Desires

Clearing my throat, I straightened my spine and leaned against the headboard. “Come in,” I instructed.

When Monroe entered the room, relief rolled off me in waves. He stayed near the door, which was probably for the best considering things that have happened in the past. His white, button-down shirt clung to his muscular frame, allowing me to see his bronze skin beneath. Sucking my lower lip between my teeth, I brought my gaze to his.

“I wanted Rocky to be the one to tell you,” He began. “But he’s been busy. Collin and Rocky fought Saturday night and Collin is in the hospital.”

Hearing that Collin was in pain should have brought me some sense of comfort, but honestly…it didn’t. He deserved to pay for the things he did, and I intended on making that happen on my own terms. But not like this. I wanted him to know what it felt like to be used and discarded, to have hope for someone, just for them to turn around and tell you it was never real—that it never meant a thing.

“Pity,” I murmured. “Looks like I’ll have to wait to play with him then.” The words left my mouth before I could process what I was saying.

“Actually…this might work in your favor.” His gaze raked over my long, purple hair and new clothes. “I don’t condone this revenge plot you and Rocky have cooked up, but Collin is alone and helpless in the hospital. If there was ever a time to strike, it would be now.”

Saying I was surprised would be an understatement. The last thing I expected was for him to want to help me with this, and while Collin was tucked away in a hospital bed no less.

“Have you talked to Rocky about this?” I asked.

Monroe leaned against the door frame and folded his arms across his chest. The muscles in his arms flexed, affecting my body in unquestionable ways. I still remembered the way it felt to have him dominate me, his hands digging into my sides as he jerked me down on his length.

Heat crept up my neck and blossomed across my face, followed by embarrassment. Now was not the time to be thinking about that.

He nodded. “He has plans for the rest of the week, but I can take you now if you’d like. Or you can wait until next week to go with him.”

My heart raced as the thought of seeing him again so soon invaded my mind. This is what I wanted, so why was fear clawing at me from the inside out? Since I woke up over two weeks ago, this was what I thought about nearly every second of every day.

Blowing out a breath, I clenched my eyes closed and worked on clearing my mind. After a few moments, my heart rate slowed, and my head stopped spinning long enough for me to think rationally. If I didn’t do this now, I’d continue talking myself out of it.

“Fine,” I decided. “I’ll go now.”

When we arrived at the hospital in Brookhaven, my anxiety was at an all time high again. I couldn’t believe I was doing this, or that Monroe—my history teacher—was helping me. All I knew about Collin so far was that he had been beaten pretty good and was on bed rest. Hopefully, he was coherent enough to notice me or this would have all been for nothing.

“You have the phone I gave you?” Monroe asked from beside me. When I nodded, he blew out a relieved breath. “Good. Call me if anything crazy happens. My number is already in the device as well as Rocky’s.”

“Okay. I’ll be back within a half hour assuming everything goes as planned. If it takes longer than an hour, something happened.”

“Just be careful.”

I nodded again and propped open the car door. Monroe had instructed me on what to say to the receptionist, but I wasn’t sure if I had it in me. Schooling my features for a moment, Istepped out onto the pavement, closing the door behind me with a thud. Once I was ready, I willed myself to cry and ran my hands through my hair to mess it up a bit. Then, I started for the building.

With every stride, it felt like I’d taken ten. I didn’t want to be here, but I needed to be. They killed my best friend—they almost killed me. I had to keep reminding myself or all of this would be pointless.

When I reached the front doors, I slipped inside and hurried over to the front desk. This performance needed to be believable, so I had to go all out. The scent of antiseptics filled my airways as I breathed in, causing me to scrunch up my nose in distaste.

The woman behind the desk glanced up at me, a bored expression imprinted on her face. “Can I help you?” she questioned monotonously.

“Yes.” I sniffled for dramatic effect. “My boyfriend was admitted here on Saturday. I’d like to see him.”

“Name?” She turned to her computer and hit a few buttons before glancing over at me expectantly.

“Collin Walker.”

Her face scrunched up as she did some more typing, then her eyes met mine again. My breathing shallowed in fear of getting caught. “He’s stable and is allowed up to two visitors at a time. His room number is 305 and is located on the second floor.” With that, she turned back to what she was doing previously before I interrupted her.

So…in other words, this performance was pointless. Internally rolling my eyes, I crept past her desk and kept walking until an elevator came into view. Wiping at my crocodile tears, I hit the button and then waited.

As soon as the door slid open, I stepped inside and hit the button to the second floor. My chest rose and fell at a rapid rate, my nerves on high alert. This was happening much sooner thanexpected, but I wasn’t about to pass it up. The fear I’d felt on the drive up here was quickly transformed into anger. The need to make him pay was suddenly much more important than any other emotion I’d been feeling previously.

When the elevator opened again, I wasted no time, striding out of the metal box. Doors lined both walls with room numbers imprinted within them. This was going to be good, but nothing compared to what I had planned for later.

It didn’t take me long to find room 305. The door was already partially ajar, so I crept forward, placing my hand against the handle. Glancing both ways, I was relieved to find that the nurses’ station was further down to the right and wouldn’t be spotted.

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