Page 71 of Boys Who Taint

She grimaces. “You admitted it.”

“I did what I had to do.”

“Really? Killing my sister?” Her voice fluctuates in tone as her emotions become more and more unhinged. “That’s what you had to do? Just like you just had to stick your fingers where they didn’t belong?”

I lean in even closer until I can feel her inching back from the mere idea of touching me. “And you liked every second of that, admit it.”

SMACK!

Her hand lands on my cheek, and it only registers after my skin begins to burn.

“Fuck you, Levi.”

I grip her throat and shove her against the door, leaning in to whisper into her ear, “You’d love that, wouldn’t you? Me, fucking you up, showing you how bad you could be for me. You think you know what it’s like to hate? You know nothing.”

I squeeze hard enough to cut off the blood to her brain until she begins to scratch at my fingers.

“I have never, ever, hated anything more with violent passion than laying eyes on you. You think I played with you because I want you? No, I want you to despise me, Aspen. I want you to quake with fear when you hear my fucking voice.” My tongue dips out to lick the rim of her ear. “But I can show you every inch of this villain’s greed, little Firefly.” I swipe my index finger along her slit, reminding it who it truly belongs to. “I could easily squash you like a bug. All you have to do is keep getting in my fucking way.”

She punches me in the stomach, but I feel nothing.

Nothing hurts anymore.

When a strangled whimper leaves her mouth, I release her from my grip, and she coughs as I step away.

“You … fucking… monster,” she says between breaths.

Good. Just like that, Aspen. Hate me. You can do it. Hate me with everything you have so it won’t kill you too.

“Be careful, Firefly.” I put my goggles back on. “Don’t taunt the monster. Regrets always come too late.” Then I jump into the pool so that I don’t have to hear her fucking scream.

Aspen

I stormthrough Spine Ridge University’s aged wooden hallways, whisking by the giant paintings with haste, the tapping of my own shoes on the floor turning me more insane with every passing second.

If Levi fucking Torres won’t even listen to me, then I’ll take matters into my own hands.

I march out the huge doors and onto the pavement, briefly waving back at friends having a chat near the fountain, before I head straight to the Phantom Society house.

The ghastly look of this place spikes my adrenaline. It’s like an old-school Victorian castle, but I still knock on the door a few times and wait until someone finally opens up.

“Yes?” Talon says, casually running his fingers over his short, curly black hair.

“I need to speak to Apollo.” I push past him before he can stop me.

“What the—wait a sec!” he yells as I run up one of the many old wooden stairs, briefly peeking into the big hall with the huge glass dome in the ceiling, where people are setting up tables and chairs. Strange.

I storm through the dark hallways lined with paintings, passing by all the statues and rooms until I find the one that belongs to Apollo. It’s obvious because his name is plastered in gold from left to right like he owns the goddamn door too.

I rattle the doorknob, but of course it’s locked.

I slam my fist onto the door. “Open up, Apollo! I know you’re in there!”

It takes too long for the door to finally open, and I’m nearly prepared to punch the face showing up, when I realize it’s actually a woman.

What the—

“It’s a girl,” the woman says, giggling. “Did you want to make it a foursome?”

---