Page 110 of Little Psycho

The finality of my words unnerves even me, but with each moment spent in his presence, I feel the growing control of fear I thought I commanded slip further away.

His eyebrow arches, intrigued.“And how do you propose to do that?"

“By ending it for good.”I bring the knife closer to his throat, a reminder that I’m still holding the power, even as my own resolve wavers.“I’ll make sure you regret every second of what you did to me.”

His laugh is low, rich with an almost sadistic delight, echoing in the tension of the moment.

"Put me out of my misery then, Calista."His diabolical gaze urges me on, his resolve hardening before my eyes."Go on, kill me.But I can promise you, once you do kill me, you're not going to feel better.Things aren't going to be better.You'll still have nightmares, except these ones will be of the men you've murdered just to prove a fucking point.You'll still be lost, broken, and?—"

I sharply stab the knife directly into his adam's apple, silencing him.Not wanting to hear another word, I look into his eyes and keep stabbing him, feeling myself losing control with each slash.

I don't know why tonight is any different than the others; they all did something vile to me.But Pete's words stay in my head, taunting me and making me go overboard with the knife.I end up stabbing and slicing him so much that his head eventually falls off, rolling to the bloody mattress beside him, and I still can't stop stabbing him.

I don't know what makes me stop, but the next thing I know, I'm slumped on the bedroom floor, hugging my knees to my chest and rocking back and forth, my eyes glued to the headless dead body on the bed.

I'm losing it.

I'm going fucking crazy

He was right, and I let him get inside my head.

And shit, now I don't know how I'm going to fucking get him out of it.

FORTY

LIVING

ALIVE—POD

KILLIAN

Fuck, it's freezing out here.

I knew this winter would be harsh, especially after the sweltering summer we just had.But this bite of cold is fucking unbearable.Still, I manage to keep a smile on my face as I navigate my bike through the city's snowy streets, Ash riding alongside me.For the first time in ages, we feel alive.

And I know it’s because Cali is finally back in our lives, and by the looks of it, she isn't going anywhere anytime soon.We can finally begin to explore all of the feelings we've buried deep—the feelings we tried so hard to forget.

Regardless of the shit she's dragged us into—the shit we do so willingly now—I fucking love her, and I know that Dominic and Ash do, too.

Cali was the first girl I fell in love with, and that was back when we were eleven—back before any of us knew exactly what love was, what it meant, what it felt like, and all the sacrifices it demanded.But somehow we all just...knew.We knew we felt something strong for her, and we knew that we didn’t want it to end—to lose the feelings we shared for so fucking long.

When she got ripped away from us, we held onto that love, so fucking optimistic.But as the years passed and nothing changed, we learned how to suppress those feelings, just so we could make it through each day.

Neither Dom, Ash, or myself ever felt the way we did about Cali for anyone else.We couldn't bring ourselves to move on from her, especially living without closure.We let those suppressed feelings consume us, but in the best fucking ways.

We held onto the fading past and our confusing feelings tightly, using the tiny glimmer of hope to forget about all of the hurt, the trauma, and the betrayal we experienced at the hands of our fathers.We fuckingclungto that hope, hoping thatmaybeone day we’d be reunited again and she would take all of our pain away like she used to promise.

After a few days apart, meant to alleviate some of the pressure our fathers have been putting on us, Ash and I decided to check in on her since we hadn’t heard anything for a while.

It’s starting to worry me a bit.Even when we first moved her out, she would always call, text, or engage in her typical creeping through the shadows to sneak in through the window.But we haven’t heard a fucking peep from her lately.

Approaching the subway tunnel where I often work on my graffiti, I pull my bike to the curb and park it, eager to show Ash what I’ve created.Lost in his own thoughts, I notice Ash repeatedly checking his phone, searching for any word from Cali.The growing concern on his face, his thick brows pinching together, tells me what I already dread—still nothing.

“She’ll call, brother,” I assure him, though I can hear the uncertainty in my own voice as we make our way down the icy steps, hands stuffed deep in our pockets to guard against the chill.

“Yeah, but why hasn’t she yet?”Worry clouds his expression, and I can only shrug, feeling a sense of helplessness creep in.

“I’ve got no fucking idea, but we’re heading over there after this, so just try to relax.”I nod to my left, urging him to follow as we step onto the underground platform, the thick echo of voices bouncing off the cement walls.

---