Page 27 of Never Die for a Sinner
Pale green eyes stare back at me, lifeless under heavy dark lashes. The soft skin that used to glow is now pale, fading away just like the life that once rested inside it.
“Ava.”
My voice is strained. My chest tight.
No. No. No. This is all wrong.
Why is she here?
I call out her name. I shake her small form, but she doesn’t acknowledge me. She doesn’t even blink.
The roar in my ears grows louder. My blood pumps harder.
I killed her. I fucking killed her.
“Murderer,” a soft voice whispers. “You’re a murderer.”
“I’m not—I didn’t mean to.”
“Murderer. Murderer. Murderer,” the voice sings, repeating the word over and over until the roar grows louder and I can’t help but cover my ears.
“Murderer, murderer, murderer.”
“Stop,” I growl.
Everything falls silent. The room around me vibrates. Or maybe that’s me.
I look down at the form in the bed and she’s just . . . gone.
And then the whispers are right behind me.
“MURDERER.”
The moment I sit upright in bed, I’m in my room.
Everything is dark, and the roar in my ears is gone. So are the whispers.
“Fuck.” I scrub a hand over my face and try to shake the nightmare off. I’m drenched in sweat and tangled in the sheets like a maniac.
I’m twenty-seven years old. Way too fucking old to be having nightmares like a child, but still, even as I collapse back to the sheets, I can’t wipe the image burned into the backs of my eyes.
It’s not real, right? Who cares? It’s not like dreaming this shit means anything.
It’s just my mind playing tricks on me because I haven’t been sleeping enough, but fuck . . . I fucking hate it.
I suck in a shallow breath, staring at the canopy above my head.
The vision of the girl with the lifeless eyes clings to the corners of my brain.
I shouldn’t . . .
Fuck it.
Quietly, I slide from the bed and exit my room. Across the hall, I silently twist the door handle and push the door open just enough to peek at the bed.
Still there.
I only allow myself a second, and the scent of citrus washes over me like an aphrodisiac.
