Page 22 of Revenant

Rue is the first person who has ever captured my attention. The only one my hands itch to map every inch of her body. The only one my mouth waters to taste. The only one who makes the world around me come alive.

It’s like I’ve been living in a dream world, and I’m only now waking up. She breathes life into me, and I refuse to go back to that dark existence.

The truth became impossible to ignore on the night of the party, when her life was placed in danger. It became even more apparent the next morning when she was taken. It was then that I realized I couldn’t live without her.

I refuse.

Rue doesn’t appear convinced by my declaration, which is fine. I fucked up, hesitated when she needed me, and I hurt her—the one thing I promised myself I would never do to a woman.

Not wanting to be like my parents, I decided it would be better to just live a life of solitude.

That is no longer possible.

Rue is my soul.

Without her, I would cease living.

I have no one to blame for the fuckup but myself. I don’t do emotions or feelings, so when they smacked me in the face, I didn’t know how to deal with them.

I almost destroyed my future before I had a chance to claim it.

The doubt in her teal eyes only solidifies my determination to claim her for my own. I might not know how to woo a woman—fuck, I barely know how to talk to one—but that doesn’t dull my determination to win her over.

When Rue’s eyes flick behind me, I cringe away from the bitch. “That’s just Crystal. She’s been assigned to show me around the institute.”

A grimace of distaste curls my lips, and I can’t stop myself from scooting closer to Rue and away from the walking STD—otherwise known as Crystal—that won’t go away.

It takes all my control not to tell the bitch to fuck off. The only reason I allowed the skank near me was because she had inside knowledge of the institute. I would’ve done anything to find Rue, even dust off my nonexistent flirtation skills.

Only I must have done too good of a job, because both girls shoot me dubious looks. Unfortunately, I don’t have my twin’s ability to schmooze. I don’t give a fuck about Crystal, but I’ve given Rue too many opportunities to doubt my intentions.

How do you convince a woman that you love her when you repeatedly fail to keep her safe?

Rue’s eyes remain shuttered, her posture stiff, and my chest tightens like a vise at the thought of living without her. At one time, I wanted that distance between us. Now, I fucking hate it and would do anything to take it back. My hesitation was my insecurity talking, but no longer.

I know what I want now.

Her.

“Funny…I wasn’t assigned anyone.” Rue’s cool tone is almost glacial, and I’ll take it as a win that she’s even talking to me.

Now that I have everything I ever wanted sitting right in front of me, I don’t even bother to look over my shoulder as I speak. “Fuck off, Crystal.”

“Excuse me?” Though I can practically feel the rage oozing from Crystal, I don’t bother glancing at her. She’s so unimportant in my life that I doubt I’ll even remember her name by the end of the week.

“Why don’t we go somewhere we can talk?” I murmur to Rue, cursing that I didn’t pay more attention to James when he offered to teach me how to flirt. He only has to look at a girl, and they fall over themselves to do whatever he wants.

I’m desperate to get Rue alone and check over every inch of her, needing to make sure she’s okay. Then, once I’m sure I’m not dreaming, I need to figure out our escape plan. From everything I’ve ferreted out from the gossip over the last few days, the sooner we leave, the better.

“You want to play with the freaks?” Crystal snarls, her face contorting in rage. “Then you can join the morphs.”

She whirls and stomps away with a huff, but I don’t take my eyes off Rue.

“Crystal isn’t a good person to have as an enemy,” the lithe girl seated across from Rue comments with a tiny smirk on her lips, but her bright green eyes are dead serious. She swirls her fork through her food, then takes a big bite, flashing her sharp teeth in warning. It’s all I can do not to flinch when they scrape against the fork, sounding like nails against a chalkboard.

“Really, Sue?” Dillon, the walking skeleton, does a full body shudder at the noise. “You know I hate when you do that.”

Sue just laughs, the tinkling sound at odds with the menacing smile she flashes.

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