Page 9 of Bloody Valentine

“Vivvy Valentine. Though, admittedly, I have never hated my name so much until arriving here.”

Her classmate looked sympathetic to her cause, coddling ‘Vivvy’ like an infant. How could she take such a classic and beautiful name and sully it by making it equivalent to something some intelligible child called a stuffed animal?

I cracked my neck, unbuttoning the top of my shirt to try to cool off the visceral response my body was experiencing from this girl.

What the fuck was wrong with me?

I must be excited for the kill and to deflower this pretty virgin.

The Divine sacrificed so many ‘virgins’ before, but not a real one, not in a long time. We had to resort to those who only used toys or sucked a dick or two. Everyone was such a whore nowadays, and purity of the body was less common than white deer in the forests.

But just like the finest hunters, I would claim the ultimate prey as my own. This pure white deer would bleed so beautifully forme. By the time she made it to the altar, she would already be begging for death.

Quickly, I made a call to the priest at the chapel. I gave him exclusive orders to keep everyone out.

“Tell them it is a mold issue,” I said, my tone clear that there was no other option.

And I knew he would follow my command. I wanted to make sure I would have time to play with her, break her body, and torment her spirit. She would be ready to give us her life on Valentine’s Day.

On that night, the clock would chime at the stroke of midnight, and my Little Virgin would be gone. I rubbed a hollow spot on my chest. It was so rare to have a true challenge, and I didn’t want to waste any more time.

Standing from my desk chair, I straightened my clothing, left my office, and returned to the classroom.

“Class.” The students all turned to me when I emerged. “The assignment for today is to tell me a story within your art. Speak to me about your life. Let me see the demons you’ve faced in your past.”

I walked back over to Vivian, parting her new friend from her side by placing myself between them. To the credit of the woman beside her, she stayed close. Maybe this woman would be next on my list, surely a fighter all the same.

With one hand, I pulled the paintbrush dripping in red out of Vivian’s grip and drew a curved line on my palm. The female looked at me with caution in her bright eyes. She didn’t back away, but there was fear there. I waited for a moment, staring at my mark, and then went back to Vivian.

“For now, Little Virgin, you have to forget the past and simply learn one thing.”

She narrowed her eyes, waiting for me to continue.

“Don’t forget—” I leaned down to her eye level and pressed my marked hand against my mouth. “Tosmile.”

I pulled my hand from my lips slowly. That fear increased in her eyes as she swallowed. The classroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. There was a whiteboard nailed to the back wall of my class, which was never used but kept for the aesthetic of a classroom vibe against the feel of the old castle we worked in.

Right now, I could see my reflection, a large, bloody red smile coating my lips, the red paint dripping down the corners of my mouth and onto the white of my shirt.

My prey didn’t realize what stood before her—I was her past…present, and what she had left of her future.

Chapter four

“Who does he fucking think he is? I swear to every god of all religions that I will make him pay for being a creep to me! I need to drop his class. Geez-us, I can’t do this.”

My new friend Teagan sympathetically smiled as we walked to the next class together. That seemed to be her go-to reaction, which, admittedly, in her situation, I would do the same.

How else are you supposed to react when you become friends with a woman who randomly popped up at your university thathas this weird, secretive fucking vibe and then gets eye fucked and harassed by the hot art professor…

“I honestly don’t know. He is usually quiet. He just does his paintings in the back or hides out in his office. That class was just drawing dick pics in a blob of random portraits before today.” Teagan stated so calmly as we took our seats, waiting for the professor to show.

I scoffed at that news, trying to focus on the one class I wanted to learn so badly. This was my fucking chance to become what I desired the most. I could be a journalist. I could be the one to find out others’ stories and tell the world exactly how they wanted it to be told.

I wouldn’t be one of the assholes that warped someone’s lives for their own narrative. That wasn’t me. I needed to do this…for my fucking ancestor that lost her life for this damn fucked up university.

Your future is written in the history, Little Vivvy.

I blinked and looked at Teagan, my head jolting up like she electrocuted me.

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