Page 46 of Roses and Skulls

I lie there, still, waiting to see if he leaves but he doesn’t. When it feels like what must be an hour, I offer up a small, faint snore. Even then, he doesn’t budge. I peek over the blanket and see he’s sitting tall in front of the window, looking down at the lake.

“Go to sleep, Billie Rose. I said I’m not going anywhere.”

I shove the covers down and stomp over to the bathroom.

“The door stays open,” he says calmly.

My feet pause mid step. “Look, I don’t know what kind of impression Elijah gave you but I’m fine. He just likes to make trouble for me. You know this.”

He turns to face me, tipping his head. “Do you think he is making trouble for you now?”

I roll my eyes. “Um, yeah.” I point to him. “He asked you to sit and watch me sleep. Don’t you think that’s kind of creepy?”

Instantly, I regret my words. Jesus, I’m a terrible person. My uncle is the farthest thing from creepy there is. And Raffe just told me about what happened to him and my mom at the religious half-way house they were sent to.

William stands up indignantly. He storms across the room and pushes me up against the wall, holding me still with one arm while he bites the cuff of his shirt at the wrist. He tugs it down his arm with his teeth, exposing scar after scar. “I see you, Billie Rose. You can’t hide from me.”

My eyes fall closed.

“Do you know why Elijah picked up on it?”

I shake my head a fraction.

“He walked in on me, while I was in the bathroom. Elijah had to see his father purposely hurting himself.”

William drops his hand away from my shoulder. “He saw the signs with you.”

My head falls. “I thought you said he didn’t tell you.”

“He didn’t. I saw the look on his face when he asked me to keep an eye on you tonight. It’s the same one I saw the day he walked in on me. I’m sure he would have rather not come to me, but he knew if Dirk caught him up here, it would only make things worse.”

“How could things get any worse?” I ask sadly.

William sighs. “It’s only going to get better from here on out.”

He takes my hand and leads me back to the bed. “Lie down and close your eyes.”

I do as he asks, feeling the bed dip as he sits down beside me. Then he starts to sing, quietly. Relief washes over me. For the first time since the accident, I don’t feel like I have to carry everything. William knows. He knows.

When I pictured my parents finding out, I thought it would be because I had gone too far, cut too deep, or I would get an infection. Not because Elijah would come back into my life and stir things up.

Elijah and his perfect fucking face.

And his warm autumn eyes.

With his sweet candy…

I drift away. Far from the physical world. Dreaming of sitting around a fire, a warm body snuggling me tight. The fire pops, and I raise my eyes, seeing it reflect off the lake. I’m happy, my heart light. If only this was real.

Chapter Nine

Elijah

My old man is taking the night watch. Not like I couldn’t have done it, but I think the day was long enough. I didn’t want Dirk finding me there and blowing his stack. But don’t for one minute think I’m scared of the asshole. Not even close. I like fucking with the man to be honest. It doesn’t take much to get him riled up.

Dad thinks I’ve spotted something going on with Billie Rose because of my experience with him and his self-harm but trust me that’s not how I figured it out. He’s giving me too much credit. It was the night I had my hand shoved down her pants. My knuckles brushed over her thigh briefly and I felt the raised lines.

And then I saw her looking back and forth before she ducked into the bathroom yesterday. She looked guilty as sin. So, I followed her and sure enough, I found a blade after she left.

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