Page 86 of Sinful

“Asher,I was going to finish it.”

I looked to see what Sirena’s take on the entire thing was. She was watching, the tiniest smile teasing her plump lips.

I licked mine, remembering what it was like to kiss her. She’d been so out of it when I’d last kissed her. Drugged. Hadn’t even kissed me back.

How I wondered what it would be like for her to kiss me the way she kissed the guys.

But I knew it wasn’t going to happen. Church made it abundantly clear there was no way in hell, but the Mirage/Asylum ordeal told me to get in there and play anyway. That she chose.

I tightened my hand around the rosary in my pocket, my thoughts getting progressively more morose, until I felt Sirena shift beside me, the guys continuing their bantering.

It took me a moment to realize she’d slid a note into my pocket.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears at the prospect of what she’d written to me.

I cast a quick glance to her only to see her watching the guys with a hint of amusement on her pretty face.

“Hey, asslicks.” Cady came into the fray. “And Rina.”

“Cadence, never a pleasure,” Stitches said, no venom in his words.

“Haha, douche nozzle.” Cady rolled her eyes at him before looking to Ashes. “It’s Friday. That means burning?”

Ashes smiled and nodded at her. “You want in?”

“Does Seth Cain creep you out? Hell yeah, I want in,” she proclaimed, jerking her thumb in Mirage’s direction.

“Easy, Cady Cat,” Mirage said easily. “You’re not exactly giving off wholesome vibes with all the trash you’ve been dragging back to your room.”

Cady stiffened and turned on Mirage.

“I know everything,” he simply said with a shrug.

“What are you doing? Stalking me?” Cady countered, a curious look on her face.

“Well, I know you brought a certain someone to your room last night. Someone you don’t want Sirena to know about.”

Sirena’s eyes widened before she looked to Cadence, whose face had gone red.

“We were just talking. He was apologizing for being a dick that night.”

“Why hasn’t he been in classes? Seen on campus?” Mirage countered.

I frowned, watching the exchange. Apparently, Stitches and Ashes were as confused about what was going on because they watched with narrowed eyes and crinkled brows.

“Adam has a note. He’s taking a mental health break,” Cady said, her voice shaking.

I didn’t give a shit about that, though. It was Sirena I cared about because her hand brushed the side of my leg before she turned tail and ran.

“What the fuck?” Stitches said, looking confused for a moment before he hauled ass after her. She was fast. I’d give her that.

“Uh, sorry. I gotta go,” Ashes muttered before he loped off behind Stitches to get to Sirena, who had disappeared around a corner already.

I stood looking between Cady and Mirage, wanting some context.

“Adam was a dick one night,” Cady explained, frowning. “He said some nasty shit about Sirena. Like extremely nasty. The guys kicked his ass and left him on the side of the road. He’s been in and out of it since. It wasn’t him,” she continued, her blue eyes bright, her words making me think she was begging us to believe her. “He has different personalities. The one that night was one he hates. He wanted to apologize for what was said. He’s been in the med facility and his dorm, trying to get his mental health back on track.”

I’d heard Adam Larson was a real prick. We all had mental health shit going on here, so it was hard to discern when people were truly being pricks or when it was something going on with them mentally. I supposed there was an argument for both sides of that coin, one I didn’t have the desire to debate.

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