Page 39 of Tyrant

No. Impossible. I’ve never been attracted to a woman before. It’s just that Naya is so…broken.She’s what I’m going to end up as, right?

Naya takes my seat at the table, her left foot up on the chair. She hugs her leg, her left boob just casually resting over her knee. Not a care in the world.

“Believe me, he will,” Naya says. “He almost fucking killed me last night. Grabbed me by my hair and forced me to my knees. Threatened me. All because I told you his name.”

Naya is way too calm when she talks about violence. And Lia is back to staring into her coffee cup. Fuck them both. And fuck this place.

I rinse my vomit down the drain in the kitchen sink. I oddly feel better after throwing up. I’m not about to admit that.

“Sera, please don’t be pissy at us,” Lia says as I walk from the kitchen to my bedroom.

I shut the door and wave both middle fingers. I walk to my bed and pull the covers back, ready to take that twelve hour nap. Instead of collapsing to my bed, I suck in a breath and cover my mouth with my right hand.

Tucked under my covers is a teddy bear. A headless teddy bear. The head’s been ripped off and tossed aside. It’s two small, black eyes have been torn off and placed in front of the bear. A very clear message if you ask me.

The eyes… watching…

Or eyes ripped away…

It’s a threat.

My chest instantly tightens and I slowly step back from my bed. My head messes with me, telling me someone is standing behind me.

I turn and scream at the sight of a few hoodies hanging on the back of my door. A second later my door opens and Lia and Naya are rushing to catch me because I’m about to pass out again. As my legs give out, I look at Naya and manage to say one thing.

“I need Tyrant.”

It’slike someone has shot a missile at the apartment door the way it explodes open. Tyrant races toward me and I find myself standing up, still wobbly, reaching for him. His hands grab my sides and he picks me up like I have the weight of a feather.

My hands touch his shoulders. Flexed, muscle-laced shoulders. His grip is firm. Tight. Hard. Protective. He sits me down on the table.

“And you didn’t hear a fucking thing?” Tyrant growls at Lia.

“I was drinking at the party,” she whispers. “Then I came home and slept.”

“What about you?” he snaps at Naya.

“Calm the fuck down,” Naya says. “I wasn’t even here.”

Tyrant lunges for Naya, hand around her throat, driving her against the nearest wall. Slamming her hard, releasing his hold, leaving her falling to her knees, clutching her throat coughing. He grabs her by the hair and forces her to her feet.

“Tyrant! No!” I manage to choke out. “Don’t hurt her! She didn’t do anything wrong!”

With his left hand still full of Naya’s hair, Tyrant looks back at me. He’s like a wild beast. Untamed. He can’t be controlled.

Unless I can…

“I wasn’t here either, right?” I whisper. “I was with you. I was never in danger.”

Tyrant lets Naya go again and moves down the hallway toward my bedroom. I slide off the table.

“I’m so sorry,” I say to Naya.

“No problem,” she says, rubbing her throat.

I chase after Tyrant into my bedroom. There I shut the door.

“You can’t do that to her,” I say. “You can’t just grab people like that and hurt them.”

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