Page 34 of Bleed for Me

My chest rose and fell rapidly as I pushed myself upright, my legs moving to straddle him. I wrenched the bear out of his hand, cradling it against me with relief. If something happened to Daisy’s stuffed animal—who she named Beary—I’d never be able to live with myself. Images invaded my mind, ones of her holding this same animal by the arm while she walked around the house.

Seven peered up at me, his eyes still holding a level of surprise in them, like he hadn’t expected me to fight so hard for a mere stuffed animal. I moved to get off of him, but his hands snapped out, gripping my hips in a tight embrace as he held me in place.

My heart was still beating rapidly, but still managed to increase in rhythm. “Seven,” I hissed, already done with his stupid games.

In one swift movement, he was rolling me, placing me on my back while he hovered above. His eyes hardened, a feather forming along the edge of his sharp jaw. “Stay the fuck away from Archer,” he ordered, his hot breath fanning against the side of my face. “Or the bear will be the least of your worries.”

“Fine.”

Staying away from him was probably in my best interest anyways. Seven just gave me another reason to do so. If I needed to be more firm with Archer to protect not only my relationship, but Beary, too, then it was exactly what I’d do. Things shouldn’t have escalated the way they did in group therapy today. It had been so easy to get lost in his touch, and that alone was terrifying.

Seven pushed off me, rising to his feet. He shot me one last scathing glare before heading for the door and slipping out of the room. I sucked in a sharp breath, not bothering to get up from the floor immediately.

After a few moments of staring up at the ceiling, I scrambled to my feet. My heart was still in my throat and my legs shook with every step. Panic seared through my chest, opening my eyes to an entirely new door of horrors. I shifted back on my bed, not caring that my coloring book was now on the floor with the box of crayons. Heat spread through my limbs, moving to the back of my eyes and for the first time in days, I allowed my tears to fall.

TEN

JORDAN

My muscles strained, sweat trickling down my skin as I worked my body, subjecting my limbs to a variety of lateral pull-downs. The muscles in my neck and shoulders tensed with every movement, my breaths coming out ragged.

“No.”She’d said, a look of defiance crossing her face.

How big and bad would she be if I had her at my fucking mercy? My lips curled into a snarl, picturing all the ways I could teach her a goddamn lesson about defiance. No one told meno. Not unless they wanted to pay for it.

I eased off the machine, my chest heaving up and down from the workout. My mind flashed back to Valentine, causing rage to fill every crevice of my being. He wasn’t always such a goody-two-shoes. We were even close at one point. All of that changed the night I murdered his parents—not that I blamed him entirely, but the night he walked out, I’d needed him in that moment more than I’d ever needed anyone. He turned his fucking back on me. For that, he was dead to me. Just like he said I was dead to him.

I crossed the gym, moving toward the basin and retrieved a washcloth, dampening it and dabbing it across my face and aching limbs.

Rosalie needs to pay.

Valentine needs to pay.

They all need to fucking pay.

“How do I make them pay?” I whispered, my head throbbing as the voices started merging together. I braced my hands on the sink and bowed my head, my arms trembling from exertion, adrenaline, and exhaustion.

Fuck Rosalie bloody. Just like you did to Lucille.

My head whipped from side to side.No.“Archer.” I breathed out. “He wants her.” I could see the appeal. She was stunning, but that was where my attraction for her ended. I wouldn’t lose sleep over her dying, buthewould.

If you fucked her first, it would make her less appealing to him.Maniacal laughter rang out, bouncing around my skull as the words from the nameless voice flooded through my mind. My jaw tightened. It wasn’t wrong.

My head spun as I turned for the exit, the voices beginning to quiet right when I needed them most, but they told me what they wanted. I just wasn’t sure if I was willing to do it or not.

I made my way to my room and started sifting through my closet for a change of clothes. After gathering them, I made my way to the bathroom and jumped in the shower. Tilting my head back, the hot water ran down the hard planes of my stomach.

Fuck her bloody.

A groan erupted from my throat at the mere thought of burying myself deep inside her. In my head, she screamed, begged me to stop, scratched at my skin, but it was no use. It had been a while since I fucked, and my balls were aching for release. I’d already fucked a handful of the girls that were less crazy here—I didn’t go back for seconds. That wasn’t me.

After cleaning myself, I dropped my things off in my room and made a beeline for art therapy, slipping into the seat nearest to the door. I grabbed one of the art kits, pulling it in front of me. I didn’t bother waiting for Mrs. Marlene and immediately started smudging. When she finally entered—late as hell at that—I didn’t bother looking up or listening as she droned on and on. If she couldn’t even bother to be punctual, then she could forget about my acknowledgement or respect in general. Fuck that stupid bitch.

My fingers were a mess of gray smudge by the time I’d finished and then I moved on to painting, grabbing a clean sheet of paper and a brush. I dipped it in the water before stroking it in the red paint and swiped it against the page.Blood. It was the color of blood. My heart started racing. I might not have been interested in drinking blood like Seven was, but I could still admire the way it looked.

I had no image in mind as I moved the brush along the white canvas. My thoughts eased into nothing with each brush. Red splatter coated the page in various places, and I dipped my paintbrush back in the water before sliding it in the dark blue paint and repeated the motion.

By the time I was finished, my masterpiece consisted of red, black, blue, and purple. The paint merged together, giving it almost a marble effect. My chest felt ten times lighter than it had. Rising, I took my art and vacated the room.

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