Page 36 of Unholy

“What are you going to do? Kill me?” Tim taunts, not knowing that he shouldn’t.

“Call her something else, and I will. I will fucking gut you right here on the street and get away with it.”

“I doubt that.”

“Let’s find out then, shall we?”

“Tristan, let’s just go,” I tell him, trying to pull his arm away from Tim. It’s no use.

“I’m not done yet,” he snarls at me. He presses the knife into Tim’s cheek until he cries out in pain, and blood leaks down his face. I gasp as Tristan pulls back and wipes the flat edge of the blade across Tim’s lips.

“I warned you. Don’t make me warn you again.”

“I’m calling the cops,” he snivels.

“Good. Good for you,” Tristan taunts him a little more before stepping back and shoving his knife back into the sheath. He turns to me, grabs my hand, and starts walking once more. I don’t know what to say to him, so I say nothing. We keep walking, but neither of us says a word. I hear sirens, and my insides drop. Did he really call the police on him? Why wouldn’t he?

“Stop overthinking it.”

“How can I? You cut him, Tristan!”

“He’s lucky that’s all I did,” he responds calmly.

“What else would you have done?”

“Just what I told him I would if he said another word.”

“You’re not a murderer.” Now he laughs. And it’s not a normal laugh. It’s sick, dark, and depraved.

“Keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night.” I don’t know what else to say to him.

We walk back to the warehouse, and he opens the door, ushering me inside, but I don’t move. I stand in the doorway, unsure what to do.

“You scared of me, Little Nun?” he asks, turning to face me now.

“What was that back there?”

“That was me standing up for my girl. No one gets to call you a whore, Ash.”

“But … he was just being a jerk.”

“A jerk who won’t call you a whore anymore.”

“But what if-” He cuts me off.

“What if, what if, what the fuck if!” He roars, raising two fingers to his head. He repeatedly taps himself in the head with the tips as he eyes me. “You’re driving me insane! Do you want a man, Ash? Or you want a pussy because right now it’s hard to fucking tell.”

“Tristan, I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Nothing’s going to happen. Just calm the fuck down, Ash. You’re too uptight. Little fuckers like him just like to show off, and they hate when someone like me knocks their ass back down a little.”

“I don’t know,” I say softly. Tristan huffs and storms inside as I follow slowly behind him. He’s across the room, lighting a cigarette before dropping into the chair.

“Why don’t you strip for me.”

“What?”

“Strip. For. Me.”

---