Page 75 of Bleed for Me

I shook my head, a smile pulling at my lips. “You shouldn’t be. I loveyou.”

His steps faltered, his head whipping toward me. We never said it out loud, but I figured he knew already. “What did you just say?” He searched my eyes for a moment in surprise, like he didn’t think he heard me correctly.

I shrugged. “I love you, Seven. Thought you knew that.” My hands slipped into the pockets of my sweats, the soft material brushing along my fingers.

I wasn’t afraid to admit my feelings. Life was too short to pretend there was nothing there. He’s had my back for as long as I’d known him. He knew everything about me, stood by my side, and didn’t typically judge me. It was really all I could ask for.

“Don’t play with me like that,” he growled. “That’s fucked up.”

I sighed, shaking my head. “Why would I do that?” I asked once we reached his door.

“Because. If youlovedme, you wouldn’t be pining after some bitch like a dog in heat.” He turned and entered his room, slamming the door behind me.

Whatever.

Fuck him then.

I made my way to my room and gathered all the papers I’d printed from the lab, stacking them together neatly. Anger settled deep into my stomach. I told him I loved him, and he accused me of lying, then slammed the door in my face. I wasn’t about to chase him around. If he didn’t want to see me, that was on him.

If the roles were reversed, he’d be crying like a bitch about it.

Slipping back out into the hall, I made my way to Rosalie’s room and crept inside. She was seated on her bed, tears streaming down her face. She jerked her gaze to mine, shock registering in her blue eyes. She quickly swiped the evidence of her crying away and leveled me with a glare.

“Get out,” she snapped.

That wasn’t happening. Not after her little suicide attempt. Jordan spent last night with her, now it was my turn.

“I brought you something.” I grinned, ignoring her.

I sat down beside her, and she visibly shifted on the bed to avoid touching me. She blamed me for what Seven did. Which I couldn’t blame her for; he’d made it sound like we orchestrated it together. Her gaze darted to the papers in my hands, curiosity flashing across her face.

“I don’t want anything from you.”

I snorted at that, noticing the coloring book on the floor. She had no problem accepting that gift, though, as long as she didn’t know who it had come from.

“Stop being a bitch.” I sat the papers beside me on the bed and turned toward her.

“I hate you. Get the fuck out of my room.”

My teeth sank into my lower lip, annoyance crackling inside me. As if sensing the change in my demeanor, she drew her legs to her chest, placing her back against the wall. A flicker of uncertainty flashed across her face, like she couldn’t predict what I’d do next. Just how I liked it.

She didn’t get to tell me she hated me. Shedidn’t. Shecouldn’t. Not when I felt the opposite for her. Not when she let me touch her. Not when she looked at me when she thought I didn’t notice. She was playing a dangerous game.

I crawled toward her on the bed, and she shrank in on herself, her nails digging into the outer layers of her arms. She was scared of me. Just like I wanted.

“You don’t hate me.” I breathed, reaching forward. I wrapped my hand around her dainty little throat, her pulse fluttering violently against my fingers. How easy it would be to snap her neck. How fucking thrilling it would be to watch her eyes turn lifeless. I’d be the last thing she’d see. The last thing she’dfeel. Because if I decided to kill her, my cock would be buried deep inside her cunt while her life flickered out of existence.

I’d been nice to her. Too nice. She didn’t appreciate it. Didn’t appreciateme.

My head tilted to the side, my eyes searching hers for any detection of a lie. But there was nothing. Maybe she truly did loathe me. That wouldn’t suffice. She was mine. There was no way around it. If she hated me, I’d have to make her feel the opposite. If that didn’t work, then she’d need to die. Poof. Ashes to fucking ashes.

“If I did?” she asked, slicing through the morbid thoughts that had taken over my mind.

“Then you’d be just like everyone else.”Irrelevant.

Rosalie was the most interesting thing that had graced the halls of Brookhaven since I’d arrived here. It would suck if she ended up being just like all of the other girls. My connection to her was deep, but it was still at the point where it was surface level. I didn’t know much about her as of right now. If I kept her at a distance, it might prevent me from getting overly attached. I was more mature than I had been with Kaydence.

A current of guilt snaked through me at the mention of the girl I’d killed. She didn’t deserve that. I freaked her out and she panicked. It wasn’t like she’d flat out rejected me. I had no business following her into the woods and then getting offended by her reaction. Maybe this placehaddone me some good, because I’d improved drastically since then.

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