Page 12 of Sinners' Appetite
“Come here,” she says, kicking her shoe off and reaching for me with a sympathetic look in her eyes.
I step closer to her and wrap my arms around her neck, sobbing so hard that I’m barely able to take a breath.
“Breathe, Nikki.” Sammi steps back and takes my head into her hands before grabbing my hand and leading me into my living room.
“I want to sleep,” I whimper as we take a seat on the couch.
“You should call your doctor tomorrow. Maybe they can switch you to a different pain medication, or give you something to help you sleep. Just for a while, until your mind can rest a little.”
“His eyes… they were so fucked up! He didn’t have any color in them. Just black. His eyes were fuckingblack, Sammi.”
Sammi squeezes my hand. “I can’t even begin to imagine how you feel right now. Keep talking about it. Tell me everything, if you feel like it’ll help.”
So, I continue. “I think he wanted me dead. Or close to it, anyway.”
Sammi doesn’t say a word, just shakes her head and waits for me to say something else.
“My dreams… he buried me alive in my dreams. Nobody could find me. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t scream…” Pausing for a moment, I take a deep breath before continuing. “It was so dark. Every single part of my body hurt, and I could feel everything. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“What part did you wake up at?” she asks, still holding my hand tightly.
“I was trying to claw my way out. The dirt was so tight against my body though. I couldn’t move an inch.”
She nods her head then starts to open the bag of gummy worms, handing one to me.
Surprisingly, the taste brings me more comfort than I was expecting. For the next few minutes, we don’t say a word to each other. We just sit here, eating candy in peace.
“Remember when I used to play with your hair in class when we were in college?” she finally asks, breaking the silence.
“Professor James fucking hated you doing that.” I laugh, recalling hundreds of times when he would give Sammi shit for being distracted. He eventually made us sit on opposite sides of the classroom.
Just like old times, Sammi reaches for my hair, running her fingers through slowly. For the first time since this morning, I finally close my eyes. Next thing I know, my head slumps forward and Sammi places a blanket over her lap for me, guiding my head down to it.
“Shit.” I whisper as I lift my head and look around me. I thought my head was still resting on Sammi’s lap, but I’m surprised to find a pillow resting under my head instead.
I can hear people talking in the kitchen. I assume it’s Sammi and Jeremy, so I slowly stand and head off in that direction. When I walk around the corner, I’m met with Sammi, Jeremy—and Malachi.
They all look over to me and I fake a smile, caught completely off guard. The last thing on my mind should be dick, but holy shit—Malachi is even hotter than I thought he was at the club. Jesus Christ.
I offered to go have coffee with this guy and here I am, barely able to hold myself together in front of him. Wait—why is he in my kitchen?
“You’re up!” Sammi exclaims cheerfully, a comforting smile on her face.
“How long did I sleep?” I ask, noticing the sun setting through the window behind Sammi.
“Three hours. I had to get Jeremy to come over and help me move your head without waking you. Oh—and Malachi brought you some comfort food.”
I can’t help but smile at the gesture, though it’s so hard to look him in the eyes. They’re so blue, it gives me fucking chills. I step closer to the table and sit down in the chair beside Sammi, reaching for the basket that Malachi brought for me. It’s filled with an orgasmic amount of gummy snacks and chocolate bars. White chocolate, specifically.
“I had to ask Jeremy about what to buy. I knew better than to guess,” Malachi says, his eyes shimmering under the light above the table.
“This is amazing…thank you so much,” I manage to say while my heart pounds nervously through my chest.
Is this because of the pain meds too? I’m clearly horny as fuck, and I definitely shouldn’t be, given the circumstances.
It’s the pain meds.
It has to be.
