Page 54 of Monster
Essa
Present
“Welcometo the land of the living, baby doll.”
What the fuck?I jerk my head to the left where the voice comes from and Vincent smiles at me.
Vincent.
Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I shake my head profusely. This must be another fucking nightmare—one of the ones I have almost every night. One where my brain is playing the worst fucking tricks on me. That’s what this is, right?
“Still here, baby. Shaking your head is not going to change that,” Vincent barks out and it startles me. I stop shaking my head to peer at him again.
How the fuck is he al—
“You’re wondering how I’m alive, huh?” He chuckles and chills work their way across my body.How the hell did he know what I was thinking? This must be a dream. He’s merely my subconscious.
“Well, you see, baby. You didn’t shoot me anywhere fatal and Leo, my boss, happened to find me in time. So, here I am, very much alive.”
I’m so confused right now and absolutely nothing makes sense. Where am I? Where is Dominik? Why are we in a car right now?
“We’re on our way home, that’s where we are and why you’re in a car. And Dominik is gone.” I bring my gaze to Vincent and even though it’s dark as fuck outside, the lights from the dash illuminate his face, though the green lights make him appear even more sinister than usual and I shiver at the fear slithering across my skin.
What the fuck is he gonna do to me now he has me again—especially since the last time I saw him, I tried to kill him. So many thoughts cloud my mind and they all jumble and swirl together, confusing me even more.It’s all too much.
My head pounds against my skull and my eyelids feel heavy because of it. I resist the urge to close them in fear of what Vincent could do to me but all of a sudden, a hand as hot as fire grips my thigh gently and it soothes me enough to send me into the abyss.
* * *
When I wake,I immediately realize I’m back in my old bed, as if I never left. In fact, the room looks exactly the same. Like, seriously.Exactly the same.
A sense of Deja vu comes over me and I shudder as I sit up slowly, my eyes roaming over everything around me. I take in the high ceilings, the giant bed, the walls colored the brightest shade of white, the giant ass glass wall that gives me a perfect view of the tall, dense trees right outside, all of it. And it’s all too burdensome. Too many memories come flooding back and I don’t fucking want them.
I wanted to forget it all. I wanted to forget everything. To never have to see this place again or to even think of my past at all. That’s what Dom was there for—to give me a new life. To help me start over and now it’s all gone and I’m back to square one. I’m back to a life of pain, when only yesterday, I had a whole new fucking life.
A life without pain. A life without my horrid past and painful memories. A life where I could be, or at least try to be, someone else.
Now, here I am. Back in hell—with the actual fucking devil.
A truly evil monster who is probably going to fucking kill me at some point for what I did. I did what I thought I had to in order to escape, to finally be free. But now, as I sit in this fucking room filled with the essence of my old life, I realize I never could have escaped him.
Even if he was truly dead, he would never leave me. He haunted my nightmares every fucking night and he invaded my thoughts every fucking day.
There is no escaping Vincent Lee Anthony.
He ismyfucking monster.
But why did I miss him so much?
My thoughts are interrupted by the doorknob twisting and creaking quietly as my door is slowly pushed open.I’ve been awake for all of five minutes and I’m already referring it to my door—I’ve completely lost my fucking mind.
I keep my gaze fixed on the door, fear and trepidation seeping into my bones. I have no idea who I’m going to be dealing with—Vincent or his monster. I’ve only seen his monster a time or two and I have a feeling even then, Vincent was holding back. But now? Now I don’t think he cares anymore.
I fucking ruined him.
“Baby dollllll,” Vincent sings as he steps into the room, an evil smirk playing on his lips, his dimples popping.
