Page 130 of Cruel Legacy

I turn my head. Our faces are close, and for a moment it’s like we’re the only two people in this room. That’s a dangerous feeling to have around him, because he’s here and his buddies are never far behind. I haven’t forgotten the shit they’ve done to me, and after this showdown with Eloise, it’ll be even more important for me to watch my back. But I can’t help teasing him, “Now if you had won, I’d have to answer that question, truthfully. But since you didn’t…” I turn back to my food.

“Finn, I demand to know what’s going on.”

I make the mistake of looking over at Eloise, and damn near ruin my appetite. Holden and Pax have joined the little party at my table, along with a few more of Eloise’s followers.

“Trouble?” Pax asks, as he glares down at me. “What am I asking? It’s her. There’s always trouble. His attention settles on the knife I’m wielding. “And why the hell is she using your blade like it’s a run-of-the-mill steak knife?”

I hate this jerk. Always implying I’m the problem. Who asked him to come over here? Uh, no fucking body.

Finn tells him, “We made a bet, and it appears the odds werenotin my favor.”

“How did you lose a bet to her?” The way Pax poses the questions says it all. He’s insinuating I cheated. I’m about to knock his ass down a peg, too. I exaggerate my wink, cocking my finger like a pistol at dumb and dumber and say, “Easy come. Easy blow.”

Finn throws his head back and laughs. The warm, carefree sound rolls through me like a gentle wave. Definitely dangerous if we weren’t on the opposite side of things.

“Touchè, Pet. Touchè”. He walks backwards toward his table with a smile on his face and I blow him a little kiss, to take the sting out of him having to leave his knife behind.

Eloise immediately runs after him. Holden scratches his neck, studying me like I’m a problem he’d like to dissect and solve, before moving away, and Pax, well fuck that asshole. I don’t know what he’s doing because I’ve given him my back. Risky, I know, since all signs point to him wanting to stab me in it.

Chapter56

Holden

Something happened between Finn and Thea, and whatever it was, was different from the usual trysts he has with girls on campus.

None of them have ever walked away with his knife and afterwards he’s never looked at them with the same hunger he still has on his face.

This thing barely scratched his itch. I hate that I don’t know why he can’t stop thinking about her. I can’t either.

That’s why I’m hovering in the space between our rooms again. I want to see her. No, that’s not right. Ineedto see her. I’ve been dosing her and crawling into bed with her almost every night.

When I lay down next to her, my body relaxes and I’m able to sleep, and I can’t explain why. It’s not like she’s always in a peaceful sleep.

She tosses and turns a lot and fights in her sleep, but it doesn’t bother me. It’s like her little cries soothe me. I wish I could see what she’s dreaming about. Who’s in her head upsetting her. Then I’d like to go find them and make them hurt.

They don’t deserve to take up space in her head and dreams. They don’t deserve her fight. The only one who should ever bring her pain and torment is me.

I’m already stripped down. No need to pretend I’m not going to do exactly what I’m about to do. I waste no time jabbing the needle into her neck. There’s really no way to be slow about it, then slide under the covers.

I’ve stopped caring about her waking up and seeing me before the drugs take effect. She won’t remember me as more than a dream, anyway.

“How was your day, Rey?” I always ask her about her day, then tell her about mine. In these moments, I can be completely honest with Thea about my thoughts and feelings, and she doesn’t judge me. She can’t because she’s unconscious.

I tell the guys a lot, but there are still some things I hold back. Things that most people would find abnormal. I don’t need the judgement. I don’t need the concern or pity. I just want to be, me.

“My day started off great, you know, after a quick sun salutation and coffee. I got an, A on my English paper. Of course, Dr. Murray still found things to critique. The last two pages are all inked up, but I decided not to make a big fuss about the six point deduction. It’s a matter of opinion if my conclusion was an accurate summation of the body of the paper.”

I slip my hand around her, pulling her head to my chest and massage the back of her neck. She likes when I do that.

“Then you know what happened at lunch. What was Eloise even upset about? She hates that Finn is so into knives and she’s always telling him to stop wearing his beanies. But today, all of a sudden, she’s mad about him letting someone hold his stuff? I heard her accuse you of giving Finn drugs. Maybe she’s the one on drugs. It would explain the mood swings.”

I look down at her. “For the record, I’m opposed to drug use. This little sleeping aide doesn’t quite count, because we need this so we can be together, but anything else, you’re not allowed to touch anything other than alcohol and I guess pain relievers if holistic means don’t work. Everything else is off limits.”

She snuggles against me, and I take that as her agreeing. “I talked to my dad, and he said he’s worried about me. As a first year prospect, now is the time when fathers should be ready to entertain the idea of matching me with their daughters, and nobody’s made any overtures. It seems I don’t fake normal as convincingly as I thought I was doing.”

She mumbles something in her sleep that sounds a lot like,fuck normal.

“Thanks, Rey. It means a lot to me that you said that.”

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