Page 119 of Stitches

SIRENA

Two nights after Bryce and Asylum, I lay in my room unable to sleep. I kept staring at the ceiling, running everything over in my head.

Bryce liked me. He more than liked me. He wanted me.

Asylum loved me. He’d told me things.

Sin was…Sin.

The watchers were being wonderful and sweet. No one had made an issue about me hanging out with Bryce which only made what happened with Bryce worse.

I cared for Bryce. A lot more than I probably should, and I hated that I had all these feelings in my body because that was a whole lot of guys taking up space in my heart.

Throwing back my covers, I got out of bed and pulled on my black pants and hoodie. Carefully, I went downstairs, wincing when I noticed a light on in Dante’s room. With any luck, he’d simply fallen asleep with it on.

When I got downstairs, I slipped my feet into my boots, grabbed my coat, and went outside, letting the door click closed softly behind me. Within minutes, I was rushing through the dark forest, the cold air on my face.

When I reached my destination, I stopped, breathing hard.

Please be here. Please, Mirage. I need you. I need to talk to you.

A twig snapped somewhere behind me, and I whipped around in that direction to find nothing. Another twig on the other side of where I was looking.

I turned back to once again find no one there.

I shivered and hugged myself. I hated the dark so much. I was getting braver though. I could do this.

Steadying my breathing, I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of rustling. Movement. It felt like it was all around me.

Warm fingers brushed along my jaw. My lips.

“Sirena,” came that soft, familiar voice.

“Mirage,” I whispered into the night.

I opened my eyes and took in the rabbit before me.

“A lot has happened.” He cocked his head to the right. “You’re confused.”

I nodded.

“Why? Is it wrong to have such an open heart and to love so much?”

“Is it? I feel…lost. I feel like I’m betraying those who love me.” I swallowed hard.

“How can love betray love?” He thumbed my bottom lip. “The answer is that it can’t.”

“I have so many questions.”

“Ask them.”

“Do you truly know everything?”

“We’ve already answered this,” Mirage said gently. “The answer is we do not. We only catch glimpses. Some are more vibrant than others. Some…are simply darkness. Wefeelpeople. We…read the room. We anticipate, Sirena. Nothing more.”

“But you seem to know so much and it’s always right.” I reached for him and twisted my fingers in his t-shirt left exposed from his jacket being open. “How? Tell me.”

“I cannot tell you things I don’t have the answer to,” he said, wrapping his hands around mine. “The future is a dangerous thing to know which is why we only get bits of that information from…”

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