Page 96 of Bad Demon

He was breathing hard. “How can you think that?”

“It’s not your fault. I know what a good guy you are. But I own you, and that has twisted everything between us. Everything.”

“You don’t own shit, Fern,” he rumbled. “Everything I’ve done with you—for you—was because I wanted to.”

He was delusional.

“By the power of Lucifer, the lords of perdition, and the fires of Hell, I release you, Relic. Your soul is your own; your mind and heart belong to you alone.”

Several beats of silence followed.

“Fern,” he said huskily.

“Thank you, Relic, for all you’ve done for me.”

“Fern—”

“You have no idea what it meant to me.”

“Fern,” he barked louder.

“Have a good life.” I disconnected quickly, blocked his number, and slumped back on my bed.

How was I going to survive this? Gods, the pain of it surpassed anything else I’d endured in my life.

How would I live without him?

ChapterTwenty-Five

FERN

“You can’t stayin bed all week.” Sutton plopped on the bed beside me.

“It hasn’t been a week.”

“Girl, it’s been five days. Time to get up, get out of that smelly shirt, and get in the shower.”

It was one of Relic’s shirts. I didn’t want to take it off. And, yes, it was gross that I’d gone five days without a shower, but I didn’t want to wash him off either.

“What’s the point? What am I going to do? I can’t go to my apartment or my store. I can’t do anything. I’m trapped here.”

“We can go downstairs, order takeout, and watch a movie.”

“I guess,” I said, mainly because I was learning that Sutton was sweet, but she was also stubborn.

“Excellent.” She gave me a little shove. “Now, get in the shower.”

“Fine.” I pushed back the covers and got up.

I avoided the mirror when I undressed in the bathroom. I hadn’t looked, and I still wasn’t ready to see the new scars on my body, not yet. I quickly showered and dressed, and when I got downstairs. Sutton and several other members of the coven were there, eating popcorn, chatting, laughing, and waiting to start the movie.

“She’s alive!” Sutton patted the couch beside her. “Come sit. You’ll feel better when you lose yourself in ninety minutes of cheesy dialogue and fast cars.”

That sounded kind of perfect. Anything to get out of my own head and ease this crushing weight on my chest. The movie started, and I shut down my mind and let myself get lost in it.

I was startled awake when a door slammed. I looked around; besides Sutton, the living room was empty. She was beside me and looked as half asleep and confused as me. We both turned to Phoebe as she all but ran toward me.

“You didn’t answer your phone!” She jumped on the couch between us.

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