Page 63 of Stitches

I’d tried to hang myself.

I’d held her down so she was fucked by Asylum in the facility.

I’d hurt her just as much as he did. Just in different, awful ways.

“Fuck,” I snarled, getting to my feet so fast that the chair toppled over behind me and crashed to the floor. “Fuck this.”

I stormed from the room and went outside, forgoing my jacket. It was an immediate regret because the cold slammed into me, but I didn’t want to go back inside. Like I did so often in my life, I kept on fucking going.

* * *

“Hey,”Cady called out as I walked through the courtyard after my latest therapy session in which Janice tried to convince me the sins of my mother were not mine to bear, at least not alone. But fuck me if I’d drag anyone else down with me.

She’d evaluated my med intact and upped my dose on the new pills. I didn’t even fucking care. They mildly made me feel detached, so if something stronger would make it even more so, I was game.

“Malachi!”

I ignored her and kept going.

It was only when her hand shot out and she grabbed mine that I stopped and glared at her.

“I’m fucking talking to you, stranglehold,” she said, her breath coming out in white puffs.

“What do you want?” We hadn’t spoken to her since the rumble in the living room. Church had banned her from our house, which was one of the reasons Sirena was also pissed.

“I need to talk to you.”

“So talk.” I looked past her to see some guy in a rabbit mask focused on us a few tables away. I didn’t know what that guy’s name was, but he’d started here earlier this year. Something told me he was one of the initiates from early on and just hadn’t taken his mask off since then. I sucked with names though, and since all he’d ever done was lurk around campus, I’d ignored it. We all had our issues. Apparently, his was identity related, or maybe he just fucking loved being a rabbit. He was a big bastard though. He rivaled me and the guys in size. I didn’t remember seeing anyone that big in our line-up, but I was high as balls, so my memory was a little cloudy.

“I’m supposed to go with you guys tonight to burn, remember?”

“No.” I frowned as rabbit boy cocked his head to the right and seemingly studied me.

“Listen, I can’t make it,” she continued. When I didn’t respond because I was too focused on the rabbit, she snapped her fingers in my face. “Malachi. Listen to me.”

I shook my head and stared down at her. “OK. Great. I was under the impression you knew you weren’t exactly the top pick to hang out with after the living room incident.”

She rolled her eyes and waved me off. “It’ll take a lot more than fighting with you jerks to make me leave. I’m just giving you space right now. I’ll be back in no time. Rina seems like she’s fine.”

I nodded. “She is.”

“Good.”

“So why can’t you come with us?”

She bit her bottom lip and looked down at her hands. “I kind of have a date.”

“A date?” I raised my brows at her. “With who?”

“Adam Larson.”

“Larson? He’s a fucking nut, Cadence. He’d probably give Asylum a run for his money. Little shit hears voices, his just aren’t as useful as Asylum’s are.”

She shrugged. “I’m willing to find out.”

“Fucking ridiculous,” I muttered.

She laughed and fell in step with me as I walked again.

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