Page 19 of Bad for You

“One day, I’ll come back for you. I don’t know when. But I promise you will pay for everything you’ve done.”

Father Merry backs away on his elbows as she casually walks toward him. He doesn’t have a chance to flee before she kicks him in the ribs, winding him. She kicks him again and again, not holding back.

I see something change in her.

The shy, meek mouse is no more.

Valentina has found the killer within. Perhaps, that’s the reason we have bonded this way—because we are one and the same.

We both feel alive in the bloodshed.

The final kick to Father Merry’s face renders him unconscious.

She peers down at him, her pouty lip upturned. “Amen.”

She spits on him before turning to me, her eyes alight. She knows that we cannot kill him up here. Too many questions will be asked.

I doubt Father Merry will tell anyone what happened because Valentina has someone on her side for once—she has me. AndFather Merry knows that I will ensure everyone knows what a sick bastard he really is.

So he will lick his wounds in private.

Valentina takes one final look at the place she called home before descending the stairs. I follow, and when we’re in the hallway, I take her hand and lead her to my room.

It’s so quiet. Everyone is still asleep. It’s my favorite time. I don’t do people, so it’s in the silence in which I feel most at ease. Valentina’s hand is still in mine, and when I enter my dormitory, I head straight for my single bed.

The boys are sleeping soundly. Must be nice. I don’t know what it’s like to sleep without waking in a cold sweat, thanks to the soundtrack stuck on repeat of the screams of your parent burning alive waking you every goddamn night.

But I shake the memory from my mind because I have other pressing matters to deal with. The only source of light I have is the morning sun rising from behind the clouds, but it’s enough. I reach into the pillowcase and am relieved that he’s still here.

“Valentina, meet Cat. Cat, meet Valentina.” I offer the white kitten to Valentina, but she suddenly looks afraid. “What’s the matter?”

“I-I don’t know how to hold him. What if I hurt him?”

“You won’t.”

Before she can question herself further, I gently place the kitten into her hands and coax her to hold him. A gasp leaves her as she peers up at me with those piercing blue eyes.

“He’s so soft.”

From her reaction, I guess she’s never pet a cat before. I’m glad I was able to change that.

She strokes his fur, holding him close to her chest in a tight embrace. “I’m glad I saw you,” she confesses guiltily.

“I am too.”

She intrigued me from the moment I saw her because I wondered who the girl was, locked away in the attic like a princess in a tower. But Valentina is far from a damsel in distress.

She’s slayed her own dragons like the warrior princess she is.

“Can we keep him?”

“Of course we can. You can change his name if you like?”

She mulls over my comment before shaking her head. “I like Cat.”

I do too.

There’s nothing I want to take with me, so I bid farewell to a place that was never a home and only hope that wherever we’re going will be better than here.

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