Page 83 of Pretty Poisoned

"Yeah," I tell him. "I'm okay."

"Good," he says. "I'm so glad to hear that."

Luca leans in and whispers in my ear, "Black licorice, you need to stop hurting his feelings." He laughs and kisses me on the neck.

Ignoring him, I go back to eating my breakfast.

But I'm aware that Declan doesn't eat. He sips his coffee and watches me the entire time.

Afterward, while we're outside waiting for the bus, Declan comes up behind me. Even though I feel him standing there before he reaches out, lightly brushing my neck with his fingertips, I still jump.

"Why do you do that?" he asks. "Hmm?"

"You surprised me," I lie.

Pressing his body against my back, he lightly places one hand over my throat and wraps the other arm around the front of me. I don't breathe.

"What do I have to do to make you happy, Teagan?" he asks. "Hmm? Tell me, and I'll do it. Because for some reason, you can't even stand to sleep next to me—"

"That's not true, I—"

"Don't," he says. "Don't lie. You can't even stand to sleep next to me, but I'd kill for you…just to have you look at me the way you look at him. If you need me to be a fucking psychopath, I already am one. If you want me to show you, I will."

I swallow hard. "I don't know what you mean."

"You knowexactlywhat I mean. Let me in, Teagan." I feel his lips against my earlobe, and I stop breathing. "Tell me what to do. Do I need to force you to your knees in the woods and face fuck you into submission? Is that the only thing that works? Or did you like it when I beat your little ass raw? If you want it again, you can ask for it; I'll do it. Just tell me what to do."

The bus pulls up, stopping in front of us, and I turn to face him. "I don't…"

"What?" he asks. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to die…"

I wait a few seconds, and then, when he only stares back at me, confused, silent, I turn and move toward the bus, pulling my suitcase behind me. Once onboard, I retreat to the bathroom,locking the door behind me, and then I lean over the sink and cry for the second time in my adult life, and I don't even know what I'm crying for.

The bus has been moving for a while when I finally emerge. River and Hazel are sleeping—or trying to sleep at least—in the bed. I walk back into the main cabin, and Luca pulls me into his lap.

I don't see Declan.

Rhett and Luca argue about college basketball, and while I'm grateful he's distracted and doesn't notice I'm upset, I still can't relax.

Eventually, I get up and head to the upper level. It's easy to find Declan lying on a bed facing the wall with a book open in front of him. If he knows I'm there—and I can't imagine that he doesn't—he doesn't react.

I climb onto the bed and lie beside him, my chest to his back, and wrap my arm around him.

"I liked sleeping next to you."

"You left," he says.

"I'm afraid of you," I tell him.

"I can see that."

It's like he's waiting for something else, and I'm not sure what I can give him.

"I don't understand you. That's the truth."

He turns and faces me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into his chest. "Well, I'm like you, Teagan. I was born like this. There's nothing else to understand."

---