Page 12 of Bloom: Part 1

The air in the office turned cold in an instant, and a chill ran up my spine. “I don’t understand…” The possibility of this being some morbid joke didn’t escape my mind, but that look in his eyes… It was too painfully real, too raw. I wanted to reach out to touch him, comfort him. That was normal, wasn’t it?

Bloom’s gaze returned to me, but the darkness hadn’t receded. It was so stark I almost asked him to sit on my desk again and flirt with me. To do whatever made him smile. But his demons weren’t mine to fight. I already had my own shit to deal with.

“Don’t forget about me, Dr. Collier,” he said softly. “And FYI, I came here to see Dr. Simms. I have an appointment.”

Bloom slipped through the door and closed it behind him. Dr. Simms? He was seeing a psychiatrist at the hospital? If Bloom was serious about seeing him, Dr. Simms would know his background.

I could…

“You know that’s not ethical.” Thinking about it wouldn’t hurt anyone. It wasn’t as if I would go to him and ask to peek at what must be a long list of diagnoses.

Yeah, that would definitely not be ethical.

3

BLOOM

“Come on, you stupid fuck!” I hit the side of the slot machine and glared at the screen, which taunted me with its two cherries and a lemon. I was so close. Always so close but never quite winning. I was almost out of the allowance Crowe gave me weekly. Not that I didn’t know how to scrounge up money if I needed extra dollars. Still, it was a slap in the face to lose so much.

Maybe I should move on to another machine. The man next to me, who had been having a lucky night, collected his chips with a wide grin and winked at me. “It’s called luck, kid. You’re either born with it or not.”

Well, fuck me, then. I’d never had luck a day in my life. Maybe the day Crowe plucked me from the corpses of my parents, but that remained to be seen. After all the years it had taken me to become human again, I wasn’t sure it was worth it. But it could be tonight. All I needed was to win once. It didn’t even have to be much. Just enough to show me my luck could change.

If I won at the slots, maybe I also had a shot with Dr. Collier. I was running out of ideas to get that man to fall for me as hard as I had for him.

An older man walked up to the lucky machine. I bared my teeth and hissed at him.

He stumbled back, almost knocking over a woman behind him. “What in the world?”

“Beat it, bozo. That machine is mine.”

“I was there first.”

“You gonna fight me for it?” I slapped my long black cloak behind me to show him the knives strapped to my thighs.

“Fucking psycho,” he muttered.

I took a step toward him, and he ran like a bitch. I might not be lucky, but I still creeped people out enough for them to leave me the fuck alone. That could be counted as a win. But not the win I wanted tonight.

“Don’t let me down.” I patted the machine and slipped in my last hundred-dollar bill. It was now or never. The machine hummed and blinked, the screen displaying my credit. From the corner of my eyes, I saw the man whispering to security across the room. I ignored them, drew a breath, and hit Spin with more force than necessary.

I could feel it. This was my lucky break. This time I would win big. And the next time I ran into Dr. Collier, he would admit his feelings for me, he would make me his, and we would live happily ever after.

For the first time in my life, I believed in happily ever after. I couldn’t give up on that. I couldn’t give up on him.

The screen exploded into a frenzy of colors as fruits spun in a dizzying whirlwind before slowing down. I held my breath as two cherries fell into place, then…a lemon.

“No, no, no!” I struck the slot machine screen with a clenched fist. The echo of the metallic ring resonated through the casino.Heads turned, eyebrows rose. Maybe I should accept it. I was born a loser, had grown up a loser, and as much as Crowe had tried, he still couldn’t wash the stench of loser off me.

What a bad fucking night. I should have stayed at the clubhouse instead of sneaking into the casino. No gambling, Crowe had said. Man, the list of things he wouldn’t allow me to do was getting longer and more absurd. No drinking, no smoking, and no sex too. The man didn’t even allow me to watch porn. Like I was some little kid.

You heard what the psychiatrist said, Bloom. You’re susceptible to addiction because of how your childhood trauma has wired you. I’m just trying to protect you.

A heavy hand settled on my shoulder, making my skin scrawl. I spun around and yanked on the guard’s hand, twisting his fingers back with a sickening crunch. He let out a pained scream, dropping to his knees in agony. I rested my weight on my left leg to kick him in the face.

“Bloom! Let him go.”

Bay, who ran the casino, hurried toward me. I glared at him for ruining the one thing I was good at.

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