Page 37 of Boys Who Taint

I do what he asks—despite the red glow on my face, and the cutesy pj’s I’m wearing, and half my face being hidden underneath the pillow.

Grey: I love seeing you blush, gorgeous

Me: For someone who’s never had a girlfriend, you sure know what to say

Grey: I just know what to say to the right person. And that’s you

Now my heart is really melting.

Me: I can’t wait to see you tomorrow

Grey: Same. But you need sleep, and I’m keeping you awake. So sleep tight, and we’ll chat again tomorrow xoxo

I placemy phone on my bedside table and breathe out a sigh before I close my eyes. I’m so grateful Grey appeared in my lifewhen I needed someone like him. He brings up my spirits like no one else can, with the flick of his fingers.

He’s sweet and thoughtful, and such a gentleman, that it’s hard for me not to fall head over heels. When I talk to him, I can just forget all about the terror that’s been taking over my life.

Or more specifically … Levi Torres and those dirty fucking hands of his.

I still can’t believe he actually trapped me in some classroom just to have his way with me.

And for what? He doesn’t even like me. He made that very clear.

So then why was it still so goddamn hard for me to push back?

I turn around in bed, trying to keep the thoughts from swirling in my mind, but it’s tough when all I can think about are those devilish fingers rolling around my most sensitive area.

He did that on purpose. He wants me to know how much he despises me, how much he can control every aspect of my life.

First, he kills my sister, doesn’t even deny that he did, and then he has the gall to mess with me like that?

I’m biting my lip so hard I taste blood.

“Goddamn him and those goddamn calloused fingers of his,” I mutter to myself. “He’s just a fucking bully, that’s all. Nothing more, nothing less. He’s not your friend. He never was, just like he said. It was all a game to him from the start. So don’t let him mess with you, Aspen.”

I sigh out loud and roll around again.

Whatever his reasons, I can’t repel him if I don’t have the energy, so I’d better sleep despite the thoughts still churning in my mind.

If I close my eyes, maybe it’ll be easier. If not, at least I’ll have rested. Even if only for a while … until the memories seep right back in.

The funeral is bleak. Mavis would’ve hated all of these flowers. Hated them because they’re not black. Hated them because she would’ve preferred skulls and inverted crosses to adorn her casket instead.

She was a rebel. A lover of all things dark and unholy.

Someone who would raise her middle fingers, stick out her tongue, and go out with a bang.

I stare at her casket as it’s slowly being lowered into the ground, wondering if she’s gonna break out of there any second now.

Silas grabs a handful of petals from the basket and throws them haphazardly into the hole in the ground, his nostrils flaring. He probably expected her to go out with a bang. We all did.

Xavier is next, and he throws the bundle of petals onto the casket without even looking at it. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because he’s breaking down in front of us.

The moment he’s done, I catch him and hug him tight.

“Mavis …” He cries in my arms.

My other half sister, Melody, goes next, and she scatters the petals one by one like it’s a giant art piece she wants to lay down.

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