Page 18 of Into The Darkness

“This has to be a sick joke and is just pen.” Tears welled in my eyes, and I yanked the plastic off, grabbed a wash cloth with some water and soap, then rubbed to wipe it away.

Walsh had quite a few tattoos, and I had helped bandage and clean most of them, so when blood trickled out, my initial thoughts were confirmed.

“Nooooo,” I screamed, and it reverberated into the walls.

Dropping to the ground, I hugged my knees. I was embarrassed, ashamed, and sad. How did I let myself get so drunk that I passed out?

I looked back at the mirror with my eyes full of unshed tears and examined the small tattoo.

“What does an O mean?”

Banging on the bathroom door, Maddy said, “What is going on? Are you okay? Open the door, Ember.”

“It’s open,” I muttered, not sure if I was able to get off the bathroom floor.

The door opened, and a groggy Maddy dropped to her feet and wrapped me in a hug. For the first time, I was comforted by her hug, and rocked in her arms between sobs.

“What happened?” she said when I wiped away a few rogue tears and my sobs had turned into sniffles.

I turned around and pulled my ear back. She leaned in close so she could see what I was pointing at.

“Is-is that a tattoo?”

“Yeah. I have no idea when I got it or how. Do you know what happened last night?” I felt so violated.

Maddy leaned her head against the wall, matching my position, and tucked her hands underneath her thighs.

“This is all my fault,” she said in a cracked voice, as if she was about to let her own tears fall.

“Please don’t cry,” I begged. “There aren’t enough towels around here to dry both our tears,” I joked, and she leaned her head against my shoulder.

“We were on the dance floor together, and then you started to walk away from us. Beatrice went home with one of the guys she was dancing with, but I was hanging out with you.” My shoulder got damp from her tears. “I was distracted by this guy, and you started to act all weird. You were so curious and insistent that you knew someone at the party, you kept going closer. Finally, some dude pulled you off the dance floor and it looked like you guys were hitting it off. I thought everything was fine, and he insisted on taking you home.”

“Can you describe him?” She shook her head as she lifted her head off my shoulder.

“No. It was so dark, and he had a mask on.” She frowned. “We should call the cops.”

“No!” I blurted, knowing exactly what would happen if I called the police. My dad, Carlo, and Walsh would somehow figure out I was in trouble, and I would be pulled from school.

I lied to my dad—for the first time in my entire life. The disappointment alone would kill me, aside from the fact my super powerful badass father would likely make me pay for this for the rest of my life. This wasn’t the type of mess-up I could fix by putting a Band-Aid on it, this was life shattering.

The thought of my dad caging me inside my house sent a shiver of absolute disgrace and utter sadness through me. Now that I had a taste of freedom, regardless of how disgusting last night felt, I couldn’t go back to living at my dad’s house with only the haunting memories of my dead mother.

“We do not need to involve anyone right now. My brother is crazy, overprotective, and . . . I just can’t do that.” Plus, I wasn’t even supposed to be out last night.

Maddy only nodded.

“I am so sorry. I didn’t know you were going to get branded.” I nodded, wanting this conversation to be finished.

“I wonder what O means, though?” I asked, once again looking at the floor-length mirror next to us to see the tattoo clearer.

“Yeah, I have no idea.” I gave Maddy a reassuring pat on the shoulders.

“It’s okay, though. It is so small, no one will see it.” Honestly, it was so small I could cover it up with makeup after it healed if I needed to. I would never step foot in that fucking house again.

Maddy stood and reached out for my hands. I took them, and she lifted me up.

“Fuck those assholes,” she said, giving me an apologetic smile.

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