Page 4 of Bells

He remained wordless as I glared at him. He always liked to point out my daddy issues. It led to a fight every single damn time. I’d been with Sin since the start of the new academic year here. Several months of this was enough to drive me over the edge.

“Don’t ever fucking talk like that to me again.”

“OK. I won’t.” He held his hands up in surrender.

I was over this shit.

“Thanks for making me come,” I muttered, pushing past him.

“Bells, come on—”

I didn’t hear the rest of what he said because the door slammed shut behind me, and I left him there, my body trembling.

The last thing I wanted to talk about washim.

My father.

The man who sold my virginity for a line of coke. Who demanded he got to watch as part of the payment.

The one who hurt me so badly that it landed me in this fucking hell.

I’d regretted telling Sin about him moments before I’d finished the story of my life. It was one of the few times I’d ever opened up. Of course, I’d left out who my guardian was since it would ruin a lot of things I was trying to obtain. I’d been sworn to secrecy long ago on it, and there was no way I’d betray his trust. My guardian. The man who knew how to touch me and make me feel something real.

I made it a point to never speak of my past again though. Not to Sin, at least.

Maybe not to anyone.

SIN

Ashes danced around the burning barrel, his blue eyes wild through the flames as he tossed more stuff inside.

“He’s happy,” Stitches said, taking a hit off his joint. He blew out the smoke and passed it to me.

I took it and inhaled a drag, relishing in the high as it blanketed me.

“He’s always fucking happy when he’s setting shit on fire,” I muttered, handing the joint off to Church.

“It’s kind of beautiful,” Church said softly. “I suppose we all have ourthings, don’t we? Shit that keeps our insanity at bay.” He took a hit off the joint. “I like gutting cute little forest creatures. Stitches likes beating the fuck out of people.”

“And walls,” Stitches added, taking the joint from Church and finishing it off. “Don’t forget those.”

“And walls.” Church nodded. “Ashes has fire. And counting. He definitely counts a lot. Can’t figure out why he’s so shit at math though.”

Stitches snickered as Ashes let out a loud whoop of joy and threw a tire into the flames. We came here off campus to his special spot in the middle of nowhere Michigan every weekend so Ashes could set shit on fire. It really did keep him sane. He was a pyro. He had control issues with it. He was like an addict. If he didn’t get a fix, he’d completely lose his shit and probably burn the house down. . . with us in it. He tended to go off the deep end when it came to fire.

“And Sin.” Church raised a brow at me. “Is self-loathing a thing?”

“It’s my fucking thing,” I grumbled.

Church flashed his wicked grin at me. I shook my head and let out a laugh.

“I fucking suck, man. What can I say?” I shrugged.

“To be fair, you do spend a lot of time being a pain in the ass. Always pissed off. You’re a fucking grouch.” Stitches gave me a playful shove. “When are you going to lighten the fuck up?”

“He seems a hell of a lot lighter than he usually is,” Church said. “It’s Isabella’s pussy, isn’t it? What is it like burying yourself inside a self-absorbed narcissist with daddy issues?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t fucked you yet,” I shot back.