Page 67 of Breaking You Open

“I’ll be working, in case you didn’t hear. I won’t have time to keep an eye on you.”

“What if I bring a gun?”

Louis scoffs. “Not a fucking chance.”

“But you told me I should learn to defend myself. Tonight can be a test of sorts.”

“I’ve barely taught you anything. Not for lack of trying.”

My cheeks burn. Every time he’s tried to show me some self-defense moves, I’ve interrupted it by getting horny. But how can he blame me? Feeling his hard body against mine, his rough hands grabbing my wrists, his hot breath in my ear giving me instructions…It never fails to get me in the mood. More often than not, Louis ends up getting sick of my heated looks, wrestles me down on the couch, and tears my pants off.

“You haven’t complained,” I mutter, but Louis just glares at me, so I unfold my crossed arms and put my hands into a prayer gesture. “Please? Pretty please? I’ll be good. I won’t run off and get drunk with some asshole. Promise.”

Louis closes his eyes for what feels like minutes. I tilt back and forth on my heels, feeling giddy with the prospect of him saying yes. I don’t want to go just for fun; I’m also hoping to catch a glimpse of Lilith. She hasn’t messaged me back in weeks, and she hasn’t shown up to class either. Maybe she’s caught the flu that’s been going around lately.

“Fine,” Louis grumbles, glancing away.

I jump into the air. “Yes!”

“But you’re not going to wear some skimpy outfit, like those shorts of yours.”

I grin at him. “No?” I know he loves those shorts, but they’re hardly practical; I’d freeze my ass off in this weather.

“Just hurry up and get ready. We need to be there by seven. Fucker gave me barely any time to prepare.”

I jump up and wrap my arms around him in a tight hug. “Thank you, Louis. Thank you so much.”

He untangles himself from my embrace to wrap his arms around me, and his hand strokes the back of my head. “Happy now?”

“Yes. So happy.”

He sighs and keeps stroking my head, and even though we’re short on time, he doesn’t seem to want to let go.

“Then that’s all that matters,” he says, so quietly I’m not sure I heard him right.

Ravi is already there when we arrive, and he pulls me into a hug, a cigarette in the corner of his mouth.

“Haven’t seen too much of you two lately,” he says. “Been cooped up in that apartment, have you?” he adds with a wink.

I don’t reply, too busy staring at the house towering up ahead.

“Pretty cool, eh?” Ravi says.

Cool? Yeah, you could say that. Apparently, Mumphrey Hill is a code phrase for a massive abandoned mansion nestled by a mountainside. The walls are covered in graffiti, and makeshift neon lights are flaring in all kinds of colors in the ruins of the downstairs living room.

The cracked driveway is already filling up with bikes and cars while dark techno blasts from the speakers inside the house. The music is so loud I swear the ground is shaking with the bass.

Now that I’m here, I’m kind of regretting my decision to go. The more people arrive, the more nervous I get. The party Lilith took me to was a lot smaller than this. At least this place is less claustrophobic, but it still makes my heart race and my palms sweat.

Louis gestures to the house. “I thought you wanted to party. Go ahead.”

“Uh, yeah.” I tear myself away from Louis’s side and make my way into the house.

Cases of beer are lined up against a half wall. I definitely don’t want to get as drunk as I got last time I partied, but one beer won’t hurt, right? I need something to get me through this. My heart feels as if it’s going to crack my ribs open.

As I cross the dance floor, I spot a girl with long black hair, dancing like a demon possessed.

I hold up a hand. “Lilith!”

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