Page 108 of Haunted Prey

“You.”

It was the first time I caught him off guard. “You have all those sessions with me.”

“But you haven’t told me everything. Not yet. So, start at the beginning. What you can remember. If you are able. If it doesn’t cause you too much stress.”

His expression softened. “I’ll do my best.” He shifted his body to face me. His gaze dropped as he took a deep breath.

“I don’t remember my parents. It was always just me and my sister in foster care from a very young age. For a brief time, we were taken in by a couple who seemed like they might finally give us a good life. They were kind, caring people. It felt like we might actually be happy.

"But then a drunk driver killed them, and we were thrown back into the system. After that, I was picked up by a man and his wife who owned a local store. They had their own problems, though, and I didn’t last long with them. Eventually, my sister and I were reunited. We were nine when Martel took us."

He paused, his hands flexing before he continued, voice lower. " We were their property up till the age of fifteen for mysister and then seventeen for me. Martel had high hopes for me. But after my sister… was gone, I spiralled. I became too unstable for them to control. They had always been afraid of what I might do, but when I shut down completely and withdrew into myself, they realized the damage was too great to fix. They sent me back into the system for another year."

His jaw tightened, and he let out a shaky breath. "When they tried to sell me, I slashed up my face. They kicked me out after that. Somehow, I held it together just enough to appear functional. I found an apprenticeship with a master mechanic, but the thoughts never left me. My sister, the demon—both of them were always there in my head. All I could think about was how I would get revenge for us. The rest of my life was a blur: just working, planning, and waiting."

He glanced away, his voice thickening with emotion. "Then I made my move. I found out where Roman Martel lived, and I let the demon take over. I let the rage sink so deep, I didn’t even care if I ever came back from it. All I wanted was to kill them. To make them pay."

His eyes closed, pain etched across his face. "I walked away that night feeling numb. Dead. I don’t even remember burning the statue or why I did it. Maybe I just needed to see something else destroyed. I walked until I couldn’t anymore. Some kid and his dog found me sitting on a park bench, drenched in blood. The cops came soon after."

He shifted uncomfortably. "They took me into custody first on the west side. Then I was sent to Alaska for a while, to an institution for the criminally insane instead of prison. Eventually, I ended up at St. Agnes. I thought I’d rot there. That I’d close myself off completely until I died."

His gaze lifted to meet mine, his eyes softening. "And then I saw the most beautiful light break through the darkness. Shetook hold of me in a way no one else ever could. She consumed my thoughts, my dreams, and brought me back to the surface.

"A monster took over for a time, and I almost lost myself. But she pulled me back again, and I clung to her. I didn’t want to let go, no matter how hard it was." His voice cracked. "And every single day, I regret the ways I’ve hurt her."

My pain deepened as I finished typing his words and saved them. I shut the laptop and took his hand. His large hand encased mine. He pulled me closer and I placed the laptop on my other side so I could sink down and lay my head on his lap.

I closed my eyes and felt his hand brushing against my hair. I might have dozed off for a second when I emptied my mind and just let this moment sink in. I thought I heard soft words spoken, so quiet it might have just been in my head.

I’m sorry, Evee.

It was quiet for a time, even in my mind. For a moment I could believe we were there. The place we’d dreamed about. And nothing could hurt us again. I could feel the breeze, hear the waves…

A door swinging open made me wake with a start. I glanced over and was shocked to see Dom coming through the door of the church carrying Lena’s chair, followed by Leslie carrying Lena.

I sat up. “What are you—”

“She got jealous you got to go outside and she didn’t,” Leslie said as he waited for Dom to set her chair up.

“That’s not why,” Lena argued as Lez set her down in her chair. “I just didn’t feel like being downstairs.”

“Well, the princess gets what she wants, see? Would you like some champagne too while you're out? A foot massage?”

“Ugh, shut up,” she snapped as he put her feet up and wheeled her around behind a bush out of the line of sight of the road.

“No gratitude.” He clicked his tongue. “After everything we do, right, Dom?”

Dom shrugged.

“You don’t do anything but be a pain in the ass,” Lena hissed.

“Man, you're starting to sound like Cass. How’d that go by the way?” he said, turning to me. “Did she fill you in on all the gritty, fucked up details?”

What little warmth I started to absorb left me. Emery put his arm around me protectively. He must have fixed Lez an intimidating glare because Lez didn’t press any further. I gripped Emery’s arm in reassurance before gently pulling away to sit on his other side and closer to Lena.

“This place is pretty creepy but kind of beautiful too,” she said, peering past the gate to the graveyard. She turned back to me. “Andrea took me out again to make calls. People were getting suspicious, so I had to double down. Told them we went on a trip up north to a friend’s cabin and didn't get a good signal. Marcus sounded bummed out but didn’t argue, save to tell me I was going to miss classes. I told him to let teachers know. Jamie is just glad we are doing something to help you. My sister got a little pissy but I shut her down quickly. Safe to say though we can’t stay here forever.”

“I know.”

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