Page 75 of Priest and his Anarchist

“I don’t know,” she answers, and I angle my head to the side, trying to widen my eyes.

Fuck. I shouldn’t have drunk so much. Fucking Luna.

“Did you miss me?” Her memories sting far more than they ever have, but I’m not willing to touch on why.

In a fit of laughter, my legs give way as the wall catches my fall. Drawing my legs up, I rest one arm on my knee, widening them further for her. Deep mauve-painted nails crawl through the darkness.

“Well did you?” The familiarity of her voice is both ends of a curse.

My tongue dampens my bottom lip to hide my smirk. “I don’t know, Darling…did I?”

Something vibrates against my thigh, pulling me out of my head, and my agitation has me rolling my eyes as I fish it out of my pocket. The bright light from my screen burns my retinas when I slide to answer.

“What?”

“We’re in the Watch Tower.”

“You’re early.” My teeth clench. That’s twice in one night I’m unable to hide my agitation.

“Technicalities are not my thing, dearest brother. See you soon.”

With the lights out, I’m back in the confinement of my nightmares, the kind I crave. My thumb finds her burgundy lips before it slides down the middle toward her chin in a perfect river of spilled blood. “I’ll be back.”

“No you won’t…” She shakes her head slowly, retreating into the shadows of the room.

Writings on the farthest wall catch my eye. They are the last ones she drew when she was in here. It feels like a lifetime ago now.

If you want to feel pain, love him.

I’m sorry for what I’ve done, but more importantly for what I’m going to do.

Never be enough.

Pushing up from the carpet, I stumble backward, clutching the bottle of whiskey between my fingers and making my way back through the hallway. As soon as the door’s closed, Evie’s face sobers me up faster than snorting a line of coke.

She crosses her arms in front of herself in the same way she’s always done whenever she’s about to judge some shit. “Well, if I didn’t know you better, I’d say that you look a little on edge.”

“Good. Perfect for you to finally push me over it.” I glare up at her, shoving my shoes back on.

Her green eyes come to mine. Evie is all long legs, sassy attitude, and manners I’m not sure anyone this day and age uses. We don’t associate with many people outside of the EKC, but Evie and her father definitely started the exception to the rule. It became obvious the moment she and Halen first met.

But there is also that one time…

“You and I both know that I would have pushed you over a long time ago if I really wanted to.” She’s in front of me now, reaching up to grip me by the chin and forcing my eyes down to hers. When we were in tenth grade, a list of names went around Riverside Prep about the hottest girl in school.

Evie was number one. Until Stella grew an attitude that had all the boys thinking they could be the one to change her.

Evie was chestnut hair, dark skin, and bright eyes. She has the kind of smile that could cure anything. She’s also one of theonly people walking this earth who even comes close to knowing a smidge of the kind of darkness I carry inside of myself.

How she found out was an accident, but when she kept it to herself, that proved her loyalty.

“How much have you had to drink?” Her eyes narrow, before she lifts the hand holding the almost empty bottle.

I don’t pull from her, not bothered by the way she’s always handled me. “Not enough.”

Her hand falls to her side and the two worry lines I’m well acquainted with form between her brows. “Priest…”

I reach for the door handle, desperate to get away from her before she does what she’s good at, penetrating the other side of my brain. The side that she’s always wanted.

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