Page 17 of Stitches

“Tell you what. I’ll tell her what I did in the morning. If she doesn’t like it, I’ll. . . stop.” The words felt hollow.How the fuck could I ever stop doing it?I loved it and her, but I knew if she said no I might let it go. Maybe. Probably.

Ashes surveyed me for a moment. “Promise me, Dante.”

It was my turn to sigh. “I promise.”

That seemed to ease his mind because he jostled her gently and laid her back onto the bed and got out. I watched him disappear into his bathroom before I turned back to my sleeping beauty.

I took her hand in mine and pressed a kiss to the top before I placed both her hands on her abdomen, making her look like my perfect, living dead girl. I adjusted her top before leaning in and kissing her forehead, then her lips.

“I love you,” I whispered, my throat tight. “Don’t make me stop, specter. Please.”

Ashes returned then with a wet washcloth in his hand. I watched as he cleaned her pussy off before shimmying her panties back up her legs and tucking her in. Carefully, he got back into bed beside her and rested his hand over hers.

My throat tightened again as I stared down at them.

“Join us,” Ashes finally whispered. “Sleep with us, Dante.”

I didn’t say shit. Instead, I climbed in beside my specter, resting my hand over Ashes’s and nuzzled against my girl.

Our girl.

Always.

ASYLUM

“Stop brooding,” I said to Sin as he walked beside me through campus, his head bowed and his body tense. All he did was mope. If I thought I was a sad fuck, it was nothing compared to him. I was almost feeling kind enough to put a pillow over his face while he slept and put him out of his fucking misery, but I also knew I had to hold off on something that drastic if I was going to put all the pieces back together again.

Making my puppets dance was one of my most favorite pastimes, and they had only started moving. But fuck, how frustrating.

“Fuck off,” Sin grunted, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. He hadn’t even bothered to properly tie his tie, opting to simply let it hang loosely around his neck. His hair was an unkempt mess in his stupid-ass bun atop his head. Dark circles rimmed his gray eyes, and a frown was carved deep onto his face.

I knew he was in pain. All he’d done was punish himself since his exile. The beatings he’d give himself were quite impressive, even I had to admit that. His agonized screams well into the night could keep the dead awake. The tears I wasn’t a huge fan of, but I knew what they meant, so they satisfied me just the same.

I snickered at his response to me.

“I prefer Mirage to you,” he continued. “When will you let him out again?”

We stopped beneath an oak tree, and I leaned against it, taking in the student body. The sheep and cattle, here for the slaughter. Or fucking. Or what-the-fuck-ever.

“Many do prefer him over me,” I said absently. “We don’t much care about your preferences though. You’re not really in a position to have them. As for when?” I shrugged.

He scoffed but didn’t refute my words.

I continued my scan of the crowd. Before long, my focus settled on what I was searching for.

My forever girl.

My firefly.

She clung to Church’s arm as he led her through the commons, Stitches on Church’s left and Ashes next to Sirena, all moving like a well-oiled unit.

They’ve been fucking her.

You’ve fucked her.

I let out a soft huff of laughter which made Sin look at me with narrowed eyes. He was getting accustomed to our insanity.

I glanced to my left.

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