Page 68 of Possession

“Declan.” Paige’s voice shook, in panic or fear, I wasn’t sure.

Clark’s jaw pulsed twice before he smiled and tightened his hold on her arm pulling her closer to him. “Don’t worry, I didn’t hurt your whore,” he said before dropping his hold.

I watched as her eyes, those beautiful blue eyes emptied into clear tears, his words splitting her open and everything in my peripheral vision blurred.

“What the fuck did you just say?”

“I said I didn’t hurt her.” His brow furrowed, but his smile never fell.

“Cool down, Dex.” Liam’s voice reverberated in my head. He sounded as if he was in a tunnel behind me, but all I could do was focus on Clark.

His lips moved but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. Paige’s eyes widened farther as she moved to take a step toward me, but Clark held out his arm, holding her back.

My hands curled into fists. He was taller than me, but what he had in height, I had in bulk. “Let her go.” The command in my voice was coated in shadowed rage, but his smile only grew.

Trash.

Worthless Trash.

She’s a whore.

Whore.

Clark’s mouth continued to move, and the voices in my head mixed with his words making it hard for me to hear. I swallowed and clenched my jaw as he raised to his full height. I tried not to show my confusion, the murmurings in my brain started to roar as they fed off my adrenaline. I should’ve backed off. The tornado of fury in my head was wreaking havoc on what was real and what wasn’t. His arm holding her back was the only piece of reality I needed.

I closed the distance between us and grabbed his forearm twisting it with all my strength. His features contorted as I spoke to Paige, “Go to Liam.”

“Declan?”

“Go, he can’t hold you anymore.” I turned, looked Clark in the eyes, and spoke in a tight whisper. “You don’t own her, and you never did.” I shoved him backward as I released my grip on his arm.

Paige quickly moved behind me, and just as I was about turn to check on her, Clark shoved me with more power than I thought him capable. I stumbled back and almost lost my footing.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish.” I cracked my knuckles.

“Come on, Dex, you don’t need this guy’s shit.” Liam placed his hand on my shoulder from behind but I shrugged it off.

Clark’s jaw set into a smug line as he inched closer to me. My spine stiffened and everything around me started to fade. His lips moved, and at first no sound emanated from them… it was like I was on a phone and the line was cutting in and out.

He spoke softly, his breath sour and polluting the space between us. “Useless… whore… sinful… on her back just like she liked to be fucked.”

The demons in my head were violently hungry, bleeding red into my vision as my hand drove into Clark’s sternum. I shoved him just enough, enough to push him back, but the air around me was toxic, filled with his black words, and without thinking I punched him square in the jaw. The pain rippled up my arm, the blood pooled on his lip, and the voices smothered me until everything went silent and dark.

The bones around my eyes hurt, my hand throbbed and my mouth tasted like metal. It was too quiet, and when I opened my eyes, the glaring white walls burned my retinas.

“Declan?” Paige’s voice was uneasy.

I turned my head to the sound of it and groaned as the pain behind my temples pulsed. I sat up, taking in everything around me under the bright light.

“You took a hit, little brother, and blacked out. We’re in the ER.” Liam came into view, everything was distorted and curved as if I was looking through a fish bowl.

“I don’t remember.” The heat of Paige’s hand covered mine, and as I turned to look at her, everything began to come into focus. Her cheeks were stained with tears, but she wasn’t crying. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen. “Are you okay?” I asked.

I tried to swing my legs over the side of the hospital bed, but she stopped me, holding her other hand on my thigh. “Don’t get up, I’m fine. I was just worried about you.” Paige’s eyes flicked to Liam and her eyes narrowed.

“What happened? The last thing I remember was hitting Clark.”

Liam stepped closer and lowered his voice. “You went ape shit, Dex. I’ve never seen you lose control like that.” He slid his eyes to Paige and then back to me. “I had to pull you off of him, Chandler called the cops. You weren’t in your right mind, you kept trying to get at him, you wouldn’t listen… wouldn’t look at me, so I… I knocked you on your ass.”

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