“What’s her story anyways?” He nodded back towards the hall, removing his finger from my mouth. “She looks sane, and pretty fucking chill, but when she opens her mouth?—”
“Dream is anything but sane,” I snapped. “But she’s the only person here worth a damn.” He watched me as I sat up in my bed, tucking my hair behind my ears. “Despite her stark, flawless appearance, her mind is completely fucked. From what I’ve heard, she wasn’t always crazy. It just happened one day, after witnessing something really traumatic. I’m guessing it had something to do with a guy named Felix. She tends to say his name a lot when she sleeps, and brings him up occasionally, without really saying anything.”
“Interesting.” Ziggy pondered what I had said.
“What?” I asked.
He shrugged. “We’ve all lived through some dark shit, Koven, but imagine how dark it’s got to be to really send someone over the edge and into an insanity so deep, there’s no coming back.” I didn’t like the way he grinned as he said it.
“Yeah, well, Dream will literally break at the smallest thing, so don’t fucking mess with her.” My words almost resembled a growl.
Ziggy’s brow flicked. “Wasn’t going to. I actually kind of like that little rabbit. It’s not everyday I get to meet someone crazier than myself. ” He reached out and grazed my tender temples. I tried to hold back how much it hurt, but I knew he could read me like a book. “She told me that pig hurt you.” His thumb brushed along the sores as those ocean eyes examined me.
I gently moved my head away. “I’m fine,” I lied.
Ziggy chuckled. “Sure you are. ‘Cause it’s completely normal to beat the shit out of yourself, right?” He winked.
Dick.
“I’m sure you’re just simmering in that dark, vast amount of pain you got, refusing to let anyone pull you out. You’d rather drown than reach out for a helping hand.” Ziggy shook his head as his blue hair danced. “You never did like being saved, did you?”
“No one can save me, Ziggy.”
“I can.” He leaned in closer. “ I can help make that pain go away. All of it. And replace it with something more…appetizing.” He bared his canines with a smile.
My heart beat.
What the—why…why do I feel…no. No!
It took nearly all my strength to push Ziggy away from me. Old, decrepit feelings clawed to the surface as they bubbled in my stomach, desperately reaching out for him. It was frighteninghow easily my body wanted to betray me, but I couldn’t have that. I had moved on and left him behind. And now, I just needed him to leave me alone.
“Pass,” I grunted. Ziggy’s smile fell, and I felt a flicker of pride. “You want to help? Then leave me the fuck alone. Give me back that key, and get the hell out of my room, Ziggy.”
Ziggy’s expression hardened as he refused to move. He just sat there, staring at me through the hanging strands of his midnight blue hair. An odd sense of fear, mixed with those dead emotions, slowly rose through my stomach and constricted my throat. I felt as if I was in some type of danger, sitting like prey, waiting to be attacked. And for some fucking reason, I liked it.
No, stop it! You hate him!
“Get out, Ziggy. Out!” My arm raised and I pointed to the door.
His jaw tightened. “I’m not fucking going anywhere.”
I slowly sat up and glared at him, challenging his temper. I needed him to leave, for both our sakes. “Get out. Get out, or I’ll fucking scream.”
Ziggy’s smile returned. “Is that so?”
Ziggy swiftly climbed onto my bed and pinned me down. I tried to fight him off, pushing and shoving him away, but it was no use. Ziggy was, and has always been, surprisingly strong as hell. He tightly straddled my torso and used his knees to pin me between his legs, then clasped one hand over my mouth while the other held my arms firmly against the mattress pad. I tried to wriggle free and fight him, groaning against his palm, but it came out as nothing more than muffled whispers. I felt an old familiar sense of anxiety and fear swelling in my chest as I lay there, defenseless.
Please, stop. Stop.
A tear rolled down my face, all my trauma blending into one single moment as Ziggy just remained there, smiling like thiswas all some sick fucking game to him. “Go on, scream.” He leaned down, his face pressed against mine, and whispered into my ear, “Scream. I fucking dare you.”
Silence.
“I’m waiting,” he teased. “Come on, Skittles, let’s hear that scream.” His breath brushed along my ear as a second tear rolled along my skin. He licked the trail of my tears and moaned. “I’m tasting…grape.”
Ziggy leaned back and stared down at me. His smile slowly fell, and I knew he was edging a tantrum.
“I don’t like this flavor, Koven.” Ziggy’s eyes lowered and landed on my neck. He slowly released my arms, and with the same hand, he began to glide his fingers along the raised tissue. The pain made me wince and flinch as more tears fell from my eyes. He watched me, continuing to feel the scar, knowing just how much his touch pained me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was reveling in his work. “It looks healed,” he whispered. He suddenly pressed his nail into the scar tissue and I gasped. Ziggy’s eyes flicked to my face, and I could tell my audible pain ignited something within him. “Ahh, there it is. I knew, just like you, this scar was thin and weak to my touch, easy to break with just the right amount of pressure.” He pressed his nail deeper into the scar tissue. “What would happen if I ripped that scar right open and finished the job I started? I could pin you down and watch as you bleed out between my legs. How does that sound, Skittles?” I didn’t reply. “I could end it all, right here, right now. All your pain and demons would disappear and you could return to death’s sweet embrace, only this time, I’d make sure you didn’t come back.” He leaned in close to my face, lifting his hand off my mouth as he pressed harder and harder with his nail. I could feel a trail of blood roll down my neck. Ziggy used his free hand to wipe it, looking closely at the color. “Your blood has always been such a beautiful shade of red.” He smeared theblood along the corners of my mouth, painting my face while he grinned. “There. Now, that’s a smile.” Ziggy looked at me and licked his fingers clean. “I always liked the way your pain tasted. Too bad it didn’t end that night.”