Page 61 of Descent

Vincent

True to her word, Stephanie left the next day. It’s rare that someone can make it out of Salem with no strings attached. She obviously knows that and is running like hell in case they try to rescind that allowance. It pisses me the fuck off, that she would leave because of her own cowardice, when her niece is very much not okay.

You can’t convince me that she doesn’t know more is going on with Skyla. Despite her not outright bringing up the stalker, the way she spooks at the slightest sound or creeps around every corner like she’s waiting for someone to get her is obvious. If her aunt can’t see that, she’s either a fucking idiot or a selfish bitch.

In the following days, we all kept our regular routines– to class and back here. Asher has been driving her to and from, rendering that little gutter snake Wesley useless. I don’t like how he watches my Siren, how he lusts after her. It makes me want to carve his fucking eyes out.

Liam and Ronan have great excuses for being seen at the house often, Asher actually likes them. Not that I think anyone is watching the house too closely these days. According to Ronan,his brother’s interest with Skyla and Asher has waned as he focused in on what the other legacies can bring to the table.

Still, never hurts to be too cautious. I always park my car down the block and take alternating routes to get in the house just in case anyone does catch on. Though, after Wesley’s security overhaul, even I can admit that has proved to be more challenging.

When I approach the house, I notice that the garage door is open. Asher’s Maserati, that he drove this morning, is parked and empty. And the goddamn moron forgot to close the garage door. I’m gonna kill him.

I sprint across the driveway, ducking into the garage before hitting the button to close it. Kicking the door open, I storm through the house, finding him and Skyla laughing on the couch. I slip behind him, wrapping my arm around his throat and securing him in a headlock.

“Vincent! What the hell!” Skyla shouts, as Asher begins wailing on my arms, his oxygen quickly fading.

“Let him go! He can’t breathe!” she screams.

“Good,” I grit, as my eyes lock on his. “He left the garage door open! He put your life in danger,again. He’s wasted too many chances. He’s a liability.”

Asher’s face begins to turn blue, and Skyla’s screams are more frantic when two sets of hands pull on my shoulders, ripping me away from Asher. I hear him choke and gag for breath as Skyla soothingly rubs his back, shooting me a furious look.

I attempt to shrug Liam and Ronan off me, but they hold on tighter, pushing me against the wall as Skyla stands to confront me.

“I was supposed to shut the garage door. He asked me to do it since he had groceries in his hands, and I said sure. I must have forgotten. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry isn’t good enough, Siren! Don’t you see how dangerous this man could be? Not just with what he could do, but what he knows? Asher swears he is capable of protecting you, he should be double and triple checking that he can actually back that statement up.”

Skyla opens her mouth to argue when Asher nods.

“You’re right. I should have made sure. That was on me.”

“Fuck yes, it was!” I seethe, still not able to let go of this anger inside me.

I feel my entire body trembling, hate and anger boiling through my veins as I close my eyes, taking in shaky breaths and blowing them out. Nothing works, though. Nothing ever works.

Skyla frowns, looking at me seriously as she crosses the room, stopping just a few inches shy of me. Hesitantly, I watch as she carefully lifts her hands, cupping my face gently as she speaks.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

I feel my racing pulse slow just a bit. My blinding anger is pushed to the side for a moment as I stare at my beautiful siren.

“I’m trying to protect you.”

“I know, you always are, and you do it so well. Why are youthisangry, though?”

I don’t know how to respond, so I don’t. Instead, I lift my hands up to her wrists, carefully pulling them away from me before I head out the back door. Liam and Ronan finally let me go, and I slam the door shut behind me as I stomp off into their backyard.

Pulling a cigarette from my pocket, I light the end before tossing my lighter into my jeans, taking a long drag of that sweet nicotine as I stare off into the distance. Drag by drag, my cigarette slowly shrinks until I’m dropping the butt on the ground, stomping it out before tossing it into the trash can out here.

The door cracks open and I don’t have to turn to know who it is.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“Yeah,” I answer stiffly.

“Liar,” she says, coming around to meet my eyes.

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