Page 35 of Shadow

He bristled at my words, knowing I was speaking about the night Adam took Sirena and raped her in the woods. I’d had a hell of a time locating her then, or even knowing shit was going down. I’d smoked some weed prior, and it was something I constantly blamed myself for. Had I not, then she may not have been hurt. On the flip side, had she not been hurt, my little monster may not have come out to play. It was a slippery slope, and I tried not to overthink it.

“Stitches is going. I’m staying behind with Sin.”

“Then I’ll watch Sirena,” I said immediately. “You haven’t worked that out just yet.”

“Not happening.” He started walking again.

I moved to match his pace. “Is she going out with Ashes? She doesn’t like the dark.”

“She doesn’t seem to mind it so much when we’re with her,” Church said. “She’s way better than she used to be.”

That I did know.

“What did we discuss on the patio the night Stitches lost his shit on Shadow?” I asked.

Church stopped in his tracks and turned to face me, his eyes narrowed again.

“She doesn’t want you. She wantshim.” He spat the words out like they were bitter and unpleasant on his tongue.

“She wants me. She’s fucking had me,” I answered back.

His eyes flashed at my words, and he took a step closer to me. He knew what we’d been through in the facility after she was locked in the cement coffin with me in old man Morse’s mausoleum.

“I’m not the enemy, Dante,” I continued softly. “You fucking know I’m not. You know she matters to me.”

His nostrils flared as he stared me down.

“I will take care of her while you’re with Sin. While Ashes and Stitches are burning. Let me take care of her.”

He licked his lips for a moment. “No Bryce.

“Shadow is my new roommate.”

He let out a snort and started walking again.

“You fucking know it’s inevitable. Stop fighting fucking fate,” I said, catching up to him. “I’veseenit!”

“Just because the fucking voices in your head keep spouting off bullshit, doesn’t mean it’s fate. It’s means you’re here at Chapel Crest with the rest of us fucked up monsters. It means you’re just as crazy as we are. That’s it. You get lucky sometimes. So do I. Tomorrow, it’s going to snow. See? I can fucking do it too.”

“You know it’s not like that for me. You know I’m the real fucking deal.” I grabbed his arm to stop him from walking. He glared at me, but I didn’t give a shit. “Do you want me to predict something for you right now?”

“Thought it didn’t work like that.”

“It fucking doesn’t, but I do know things. Do you want to know them too?”

He continued to glare at me. When he didn’t protest, I plowed on.

“A one-night mistake sealed in silence and shame. Now stuck in a bond with only one to blame. He rues every word, she curses the bed, where passion once flared, now bitterness spread. No kindness between them, just duty and pain, their sacrifice made, and now they’re insane. They can't stand the sight, yet live with the cost, two hearts grown colder for the one they lost.”

Church’s hands shot out, and he shoved me against the science building.

“Motherfucker,” he snarled.

I broke his hands off me. “Motherfucker yourself. I know they fucked, Dante. You fucking know they did too. What do you think is going to happen when all the ugly little truths come pouring out? Nothing is fucking OK.”

His Adam’s apple visibly bobbed as he stared back at me. Finally, he raked his fingers through his blond hair before tugging it and cursing. He paced wildly in front of me.

“You already knew,” I murmured, seeing him straddling Cady in my firefly’s bedroom. “She told you.”

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