Page 17 of Ashes

She was a siren, screaming my sins.

They just didn’t know it yet.

I ran from the room and didn’t stop until I’d made it outside. I slid down the brick wall and raked in air as I struggled to keep my composure.

Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!

Sinful.That was me.

A disgusting fucking sinner.

She’d named me well. The man who’d tricked her and locked her up with the devil.

I was truly sinful.

It just made me hate myself even more.

I deserved this hell. Sinners got punished, and I wouldn’t be an exception.

ASHES

Itrudged across campus, my heart heavy.

It had been one week since Sirena had been put into the medical ward. As much as Stitches and I tried to get in to see her, it was nearly impossible. Even Church had to leave because of classes. Her mother finally convinced him to go, citing Sirena wouldn’t want him to fall behind. Church had made her mother promise not to take her.

Surprisingly, her mother had agreed.

Church needed to be away from her. He hadn’t been sleeping. His behavior was becoming erratic and more unpredictable than usual. Last night, he was supposed to be in bed sleeping, but instead, he’d taken to the woods with his knife and had returned just before time to go to class with blood splatters on his shirt.

So now Sirena was alone in the medical ward while we attempted to get back to some semblance of our lives.

We all knew it was a sham though. We were just going through the motions.

“Ashes. Hey,” Stitches called out to me.

I paused and waited for him to catch up.

“Hey,” I greeted him tiredly.

He looked as bad as I felt. I had to give him credit though. At least, he was trying to sleep. He’d even gone to an appointment to get his sleeping medication refilled and was taking it. The dark circles beneath his eyes suggested despite his efforts, they weren’t offering him the deep, restful sleep he needed, which was dangerous for him since he seemed to require adequate sleep to keep his disorder in check.

“It’s the weekend,” he said.

“So?” I wasn’t about to have a damn party. In fact, I was appalled he was even considering asking me.

“Bonfire?” he continued, raising his brows at me.

“Hell yes,” I said, breathing out.

Fires had always helped relieve my stress. It felt like forever since I’d had one when it had really only been a week. I’d actually considered starting a fire in the bathtub just this morning as a means to gain some semblance of control in my life. I needed the distraction.

“I figured you’d like that idea,” Stitches said. “I already told Church. He’s agreed to come too.”

“And Sin?”

“He’s coming,” his voice was tight.

Stitches and Church were still on edge and pissed because Sin had disappeared the night Sirena needed help. I didn’t want to stay mad at him. I knew he was fighting his own demons, and the last thing we needed was to be angry with one another.

---