Page 93 of Stitches

“What’s Ashes doing?” I finally asked.

“Bathing her. I fucked her before we got here, and she was a little dirty.”

I let out a soft chuckle that didn’t feel like there was any humor in it. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Because you know me. I know you too though, and I know you want to be happy. Your happiness is being bathed by your other best friend right now. All you need to do is join in.”

I exhaled. “I think I just need some time.”

“We don’t have a lot of that, brother. You know that.”

“I know,” I murmured before we both went quiet again. We’d agreed we were all in this shit together. That we’d all be with her no matter what. Waking or sleeping. Classes or no classes. She wouldn’t ever be without one of us, and that included Asylum and Sin, even if Sin were from a distance.

When the time came, we were going to kill them all. Ashes would burn this motherfucker to the ground, and we’d revel in the ash and soot and fuck Sirena in the coagulating blood of our enemies.

It was a rough plan, but Asylum and Church had decided on a course of action. We’d agreed to it and hoped that Asylum wasn’t fucking with us. So far, I didn’t see that happening with him, but this world we lived in was fucked up and nothing would surprise me at this point.

And Sin.

I’d seen his face. Heard his voice. He was really in this. I kept telling myself he was. I wanted him to prove he was with us because the alternative of learning to live without him was beginning to not sit well with me. While he pissed me off and I was struggling with that hatred I had, I also still loved him.

He was my brother too. Just like Church. Just like Ashes. We were a family founded in darkness and trauma. That meant something.

“You can do this,” Church said, pushing off the balcony. “I know you can. I’ve seen you overcome a fuck of a lot of things since I met you. This is just another one of those things. Like your scars. You earned your name because you can always be put back together. No matter what, Malachi. You’re made of stronger things than you think. I’ve seen it. I believe it.”

“Really?” I looked over at him.

“Really. Now come on. Let’s give this shit a try. I don’t know about you, but I really want to kill these fucks.”

I gave him a sad smile. “Then what?”

“Then we rule as we were meant to. Trust the process like our new friend Asylum says. Maybe our plan is best just being spontaneous. We’ve always worked better that way. At least let’s fucking try it until we have a better plan.”

“I think killing them all is the best plan.”

He smiled at me. “We’re on the same page. Come. Let’s go see our girl.”

“I’ll be there in a minute,” I said, looking back to the stars.

“OK. Just…don’t forget.”

“I could never forget her,” I murmured.

Church left, the patio door closing softly behind him.

I closed my eyes and sent out a prayer, hoping someone would answer it.

Help us find these sick, twisted fucks, God so that we can kill them all before they find us.

Amen.

SIRENA

“Let’s get you out of here,” Ashes said, dropping a kiss on my bare shoulder. He’d spent the last thirty minutes washing me and telling me how much he’d missed me and how they had a surprise for me tonight.

As much as all of that made me happy and helped me to get over my anger and frustration at them, I was hurt over Stitches’s reaction to me being back. Hugging him had taken a lot of bravery on my part, and he’d simply brushed me off. It hurt.

But I wasn’t going to stop. If I was here, then I was with them all. I’d have to suck it up and show him how much he meant to me.

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