Page 33 of Eye Candy

Or was he hiding it from me for a different reason? Honestly, I’d spent countless nights thinking of all of the possibilities.

My questions must’ve snapped him back to reality, because his hand dropped from my chin, and he took a fast step back, putting space between us. All he could do was shake his head at me and turn to leave.

“No,” I begged, slow to get off the bed. “Don’t go. Stay. Have some cake with me. You can sit with your back against mine. I won’t look. I promise. Please—”

Nothing I said could get him to turn around and come back to me. He headed straight for the door, and once it was open, he stopped, turning his mask back to me. All he did was lift a finger to the carved mouth of the mask, telling me to shush. And then he left, and I was alone once more, now with a piece of cake for company.

Thinking of Fang led me down a rabbit hole that day. Amongst arguing with Kieran that I was going to have Fang make me something—though I didn’t know what yet—my mind couldn’t shut off.

My Devil. The way Fang had touched me so gently had brought certain memories into the forefront of my mind. Maybe that was why I couldn’t get the sharp-toothed man out of my head. He reminded me, in a way, of him.

I didn’t tell my dad or Tessa about my meeting with Fang, nor did I tell them about the prescription I’d picked up earlier. I decided on taking the first pill the next morning; taking it earlyin the morning would be easier for me than taking it at night, when I might be with company.

I didn’t tell them because I knew what they’d say. They wouldn’t want me using Fang’s services… nor would they appreciate the things he’d said to me. Of course, what he’d said would be our little secret, just like the fact that I hadn’t been turned off by any of it.

Fang was strange, yes, definitely dangerous, but I was almost compelled to be lured in by him.

I couldn’t get Fang out of my head the rest of the day. Even when I lay in bed at night, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. He was a little creepy with those silver teeth, but at the same time, I was a fish on the line—on his line—and he’d only started to lure me in.

I couldn’t wait to see him again. He was new, exciting, and even though most of what he’d said to me should’ve put me off, I was anything but turned off. When I closed my eyes that night, for the first time in a while, I wasn’t thinking about my Devil. No, I was thinking about Fang.

Sleep took hold of me sooner or later, and I drifted off, my sleep a dreamless black one. That was, until my phone buzzed and lit up the space around my nightstand, bringing me out of whatever dreamless sleep had taken hold of me. I rolled to my side, reached for my phone, thinking it was Kelly messaging me; she didn’t keep the hours of a sane person. That much hadn’t changed while I was kidnapped.

My eyes had to blink a few times when I saw a message from a restricted number. A picture message, so I couldn’t even see what it was. What in the world…

I unhooked my phone from the charger, rolling onto my back as I clicked on it. My phone opened the message, and I laythere for a few moments, trying to piece together where I’d seen the background in the picture before.

And then it hit me.

I sat up, the sheets falling down from their position around my chest. My heart skipped a beat.That’s the alleyway to Fang’s place.It was dark; the picture was taken at night, but after brightening my phone, I was able to see the camera and the door to the building halfway down the alley.

What? Who the hell sent this?

The number was restricted, so I couldn’t see who’d sent it. I was about to delete the message when another came through—and this one had words. Just words.

Forgotten me already?

If my heart skipped a beat before, it damn near kickstarted now, like I was in the middle of running a marathon and not sitting in bed. My fingers hovered over the keyboard on the screen. I didn’t know if I should answer the message or not.

Was it him? Was it my Devil? No. It couldn’t be. If it was, why would he wait so long to talk to me? Honestly, I’d been waiting for him this entire time, and I’d started to think he’d forgotten all about me.

Once I got myself under control, I tried to message the number back, but the message failed since it was restricted. Damn it. Duh. If my brain wasn’t so groggy due to being half-asleep, I wouldn’t have even tried.

So, I sat there, staring at my phone, waiting for another message—because surely there had to be more. That couldn’t be it. There had to be more he wanted to say. A minute passed, then another. The more minutes that passed, the more downtrodden I got.

He wasn’t going to message me again.

But right then was when he did, and my phone buzzed with a new message:What do you think everyone will say when they find out you’re lying to them?

His words cut to the bone, reminiscent of what Fang had said. Fang had basically accused me of lying, too. How ironic that they’d say the same thing. I mean, what were the odds? I stared daggers at my phone screen, wishing I could message him back.

It had to be him, then. My Devil. The only other person who’d be able to know for sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I was lying to everyone—at least about one thing.

Another message appeared:We both know lying is wrong. I never thought you were a liar, Laina, but maybe you lie only because you’re afraid of the truth. And what is the truth?A picture of a devil’s mask came next, a close up, so it only showed half the mask. Like some kind of twisted selfie.

My instinct was right, then. My Devil was still around. He hadn’t abandoned me. He was just watching me from afar, waiting to see what I’d do and what I’d say. How badly I wished I could write him back, tell him all of the things I’d been afraid to say before.

He was right. I was afraid of the truth. Wasn’t that a bitter pill to swallow?

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