Page 21 of Paper Thin Love

“Because I need to survive here, and I’m one leg down.”

“You’re crazy.” I inch back. My lips still tingle.Is that normal?

“Says the girl who kissed me back.” He laughs.

“You…you confused me,” I reply, trying to cling to my shredded modesty.

Eyes lock onto my swollen lips.“But then I made you see so clearly, didn’t I? Tell me you didn’t feel exactly what you craved.”

His eyes take on a winning glow.“Has anyone ever made you feel like that, Mila?”

“Disgusted?” I challenge him.

He snorts,“I’m guessing not. I made you feel, didn’t I?”

My lips press into a thin line, but it’s blurred and easily erased.“What is it you want?”

“I need you to tell me things I don’t know, Mila.” His voice drops to a dangerously low level, as if his very statement is a threat.

It feels like a noose has been knotted around my neck. I can’t escape. If I try to move, my neck will snap.

“Well, here’s something you should know! You’re insane and need therapy.” I blurt out. I start to smirk but then think wiser. How many times can you pester a deranged king until he snaps?

Dash snickers as if I’m his partner in crime.“Do you always speak so freely? I don’t think you do. I think this is the first time. I can see it on your face after you snap. Shock, then satisfaction, closely followed by fear. People who are used to speaking don’t show their fear like you do, Mila.” He runs his tongue over his teeth,“I think I ripped you open, and now you’re spilling out into the palms of my hands. I can help you. There’s no need to sew yourself shut again.” He raises a brow as if it were a handshake sealing my fate.

“Breathe, Mila.” He orders me.

I didn’t realize I wasn’t. My breath rushes out in relief.

Mila. He says my name so differently than anyone else has. It makes my lips part and my heart shudder, which explains my actions because my brain is suffering from a lack of oxygen.

“Do you always answer your own questions?” I retort, my eyes sizing him up as he leans on his crutch. He doesn’t make it look like a walking aid; it’s more like a scepter he can swing.

He shrugs.“Sometimes. Other times, I like to see how people will respond.”

“So why not let me respond?”

“You’re not ready to be honest with yourself yet, so I’ll just be honest with you and reply with the truth.”

My inhale is sharp, like he sucker-punched me. He’s so calculating, yet his answers are the truth. I’ve been hiding, surviving for so long. My replies are often words that would just please others so they’d leave me alone.“You make it sound like a dissection rather than a conversation.”

He tilts his head, showing off his sharp jawline, as if impressed.“Isn’t it? This isn’t a normal school. You and me,” he nudges his head in my direction,“we’re not raised to talk freely. We’re predators, and conversations reveal weaknesses, Mila.”

“I’m…I’m not a predator.”

“Yes, you are. If you weren’t, you never would have survived in our world this long.”

My next inhale makes me feel…stronger. His words help me somehow. I’m eating from a hand that is tainting me, but it’s delicious.

I’m not sure I can stop.

“Not every monster has teeth,” he states, revealing a gleaming white smile that holds an unsettling beauty.“Some camouflage themselves, hiding effortlessly and blending in so seamlessly you can barely detect them. Is that you, Mila?” Sweat drips down my back.“Hiding, biding your time till it’s the most opportune time to strike?”

Our eyes clash.“You sound paranoid.”

His eyes roll slowly as his grin grows from ear to wicked ear.“You see, darling, that’s why you shouldn’t reply yet. Honesty is the best policy. You and I are going to be friends.” He states with such assurance you’d think we had been friends since birth. He rolls his lip in, his eyes finding my mouth again.

My world goes black as I close my eyes. I know of the Kings—everyone does—and I know they are utterly insane. No one messes with the Kings, and I can see why now. They aren’t men; they are devils twisting and contorting words into lullabies that lead you right into their arms.

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