Page 15 of Between Dusk and Dawn

"Where is she?" Her small voice cracked from behind me as blood dripped from my hands. I shoved them in my pockets, trying to conceal them.

"She’s missing. I tried—" I cut myself off because something about the woman in front of me made me question everything. The way her eyes drooped, there had to be more than this situation that was driving her breakdown. They weren’t particularly close and had been using each other. Cagen used Madison to mold her as part of the group, and Madison used Cagen for her popularity.

"Madison." She fell to her knees, and I dropped, grabbing onto her hands. She caught sight of the blood.

"It was a mess out there," I said. It was neither a full truth nor a lie. For a small moment, I saw the broken person she was.

She examined her shaking hands before her eyes fluttered back up toward mine.

"I’m not like you," she cried. "I am not your ‘muse.’ Whatever happened—" She wasn’t making sense. "I didn’t…I still don't want to be involved in whatever world this is. Why did you drag Cagen into it?"

"She disappeared," I said, trying to believe my own lies.

She grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me close, and I let her because she needed this—she needed me. "I should have been here. I never should have left, but that…the fire…"

The fire? What fire was she talking about? The gunfire? Did she hear what happened and knew the truth?

"You aren't involved?—"

"No." She shook her head, threw me to the ground, then stared at her scarred hands. "You ruined everything that I was working for. She was my in."

She emitted a hum that came from deep within her chest. "No. No. No."

Ah, it was clicking. She was sad the plan she had contrived was crashing down around her.

"It’s all my fault." She felt guilty for leaving Cagen. Her emotions were so much more complex than I’d originally thought.

Pushing off the ground, I stood, trying to wipe away the crimson staining my hands.

"You will pay for this." She swallowed before glaring at me. "You fucking asshole. You ruined my entire life."

That’s my girl. The woman standing in front of me, the cool, hardened person I knew so well. The same demon that dwelled inside of me, breathed life into her. She was my dark queen, and I was her king. At this moment, I knew there was no one else but her.

"Come here, Muse," I whispered while closing the distance between us, but she shoved me away the moment I tried to wrap my hands around her.

"No." Her face was devoid of any emotion. She was standing in the glow of the small light on the back of the house, getting soaked, but I knew the look on her face. Something had snapped.

I grabbed her chin faster than she could pull away and dropped my face down to hers, ignoring her verbal and physical protests.

"One day, you’ll be mine," I growled into her mouth before pushing her away and stalking off toward the woods.

"Go find your missing girlfriend, Walsh Solis. You are a fucking piece of work." I paused momentarily and glanced behind me to see Madison standing underneath the light.

"You and I are one in the same, Madison Ryan—cut from the same cloth. When you’re finally ready to let the world know who you really are, I’ll be waiting." I took a step closer to her.

"It'll be a while then, Walsh Solis. Because there's one thing you're right about. I may pretend to be the good kid around others, but this is war for what you’ve done to me."

"Which was?" I asked, smirking.

"I worked so hard to be there for Cagen—to be a part of her group. Now I’ve lost everything."

"So it’s not Cagen that upsets you?" My eyes narrowed, waiting for her answer.

"No. Fuck," she cried. "I sound so fucking high school, I know. I just wanted to be a part of a group. I wanted the chance to hang out with people like you. I wanted to be someone you wouldn’t be embarrassed being in public with."

"It's not—" She grabbed my mouth, shutting me up.

"It absolutely is. We couldn’t be together because I’m not good for your aesthetic. I am…was…desperate to be with you. I wanted you to use me as the accessory on your arm. I felt like I was never pretty enough, or popular."

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