Page 94 of Malice

His expression hardens, and when he exhales, his breath is visible and as black as midnight. I’m terrified, but I refuse to let him see that. I came here to finally face my fears and that’s what I’m going to do.

“I’m everything you need, Hudson, you just couldn’t see it. But I can show you. We can be together. Here. You never have to go back.”

“You truly are insane, aren’t you? Even now. I suppose the brain doesn’t heal after death. I guess you don’t understand that you really are dead, Chester. You took your own life selfishly trying to steal mine.” Reaching out, I grab his chin right back.“But you miscalculated. I didn’t die then and I’m not going to now. I’m going to live and I’m going to love and you’re going to be a miserable pile of wasted life, rotting away in a hell of your own making.”

“That’s whereyou’rewrong. You shouldn’t have come here, Hudson. You underestimate my strength.” His hand shifts to my throat, and as he squeezes, he lifts my feet off the floor. “It would take nothing for me to snap your neck.”

“Except that my body is back at the house. You can’t hurt me here.”

Chester chuckles, but it’s a weird gurgling sound. “Stupid human. You have no idea what you’re doing. Guess you should’ve gotten more information from that troublesome man in your home. I was planning to kill him first so we could continue our romance, but you’ll do fine. In fact, you made it easier for me. You’ll never see your house or that man again.”

He opens his mouth like he’s going to yawn, but his jaw unhinges, revealing a black hole with fire swirling where his throat should be. Shit.

His grip loosens and I manage to break free and scramble into the darkness before realizing there’s nowhere to really go. It’s like running through deep water, heavy and difficult to move, and everywhere I look, Chester is there.

Panic spreads through me, but before it takes hold, I steady myself. I’m not running from this anymore. I came here so I could finally stop running.

With my shoulders set, I turn around and face the monster. I have no idea how to fight him off, so I do the only thing that makes sense and follow my instinct. I pull my arm back and level him with a punch to the jaw, landing it as hard as I can.

It works!

Chester stumbles backward, eyes wide with shock. That’s my opportunity to lunge. I put all my weight behind it, and throw myself at him, taking us both to the ground.

“This time, you won’t catch me off guard.” I pummel his face with blind rage, letting almost two years of fear and frustration and anger flow through me.

He tries to fight back, clawing at my fists, but those self-defense classes I took come in clutch. I lock my legs around his waist and flip us over so that I’m on my back and he’s on top of me, his back to my chest.

Then I wrap my arm around his neck and squeeze with all my might. He claws at my arm, coughing and struggling, which only boosts my confidence. When he weakens in my arms, I release him and push him off, only to resume beating his face in. He doesn’t bleed or even show a bruise, but I feel the damage happening. I sense his weakening spirit.

I wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze, strangling him the way he strangled me. He gazes up at me with panicked jet-black eyes.

“Aster is going to drag you back where you belong,” I whisper, my words driven by some unknown force. “And then he’s going to come back to me, and I’m going to love him. I’m going to keep him, Chester. He gets to have my love and attention, not you. He gets to make love to me.” I lift his head and pound it on the floor, just like he did to me. “And you? You get to exist in a prison of your own design. You did this to yourself, and you’re not going to hurt me anymore. Not ever again, Chester, or whatever the fuck you are now.”

Chester opens his mouth and lets out an ungodly shriek I can feel in my bones. While unnerving, the rage and grief in the sound brings a smile to my face. I’m hurting him. I’m taking back my power.

“This is the last time I’m ever going to see you. Do you hear me? I won’t let you interrupt my life anymore.”

I climb off him, kicking his limp legs as he writhes on the ground before me. I don’t know how I know, but something tells me this is the time Aster needs to act.

That’s when it hits me that I have no idea how to get back to him. Fuck. I know I don’t have much time. Chester will regain his strength, and then what?

Closing my eyes, I focus on Aster and Otto. I blow out a breath, holding his face in my thoughts and whispering his name.

“Aster. If you can hear me, I need you.”

I gasp when I feel a sharp tug on my ankle. Chester has crawled across the floor and has me in his grasp, but he looks less human and more like the blob I saw in the attic.

“Aster.” I squeeze my eyes. “I want to come home. I want to come back to Aster.”

I fall back suddenly, bracing myself for pain, but instead, I’m in the soft embrace of my love.

My love.

“I’ve got you, gorgeous.”

Peeling my eyes open, I blink a few times and focus on Aster. “I’m back?”

He smiles. “You’re back.” Brushing my hair from my forehead, he says, “You scared the shit out of me. You shouldn’t have done that without me.”

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