Page 12 of Sour
My hand rose quickly as I gripped her scarred neck and began to gently squeeze. Koven grunted softly, her fingers clasping around my arm. “Ahh.” I leaned closer and inhaled as my blue hair brushed her face.
Fear.
That’s what she saw when she looked at me.
My mouth grazed her ear as I whispered to her, “You know I would never hurt you, Koven.” As I pulled away, I released her neck. “Not without you asking me to.”
Koven gasped, touching her scar and ignoring my words. “You shouldn’t be here, Ziggy.” Her voice was filled with pain. “You don’t belong here.”
I watched her closely, sensing something else stirring within her.
“Neither do you.”
Koven shook her head. “You don’t know shit about me, Ziggy.” Her words stung. “You need to leave. Do whatever the fuck you have to, just get the fuck out of here. I don’t want you here.”
A low growl vibrated in my chest. “You don’t mean that.” I roughly grabbed her chin. “You think I don’t know you? I’m the only one who knows therealyou. The one people would be terrified to catch even a glimpse of.” She tried to force my hand from her face, and I spotted the smiley face tattoo. It made me smile to see it, etched into her skin. Right where I left it.
“I’m not the same person I was when you left me there to die.” Her nails dug into my hand. “The Koven you knew died that day. Alone.”
I tried to hide how painful her last word felt.
“Oh Skittles,” I purred. “Death can’t erase your dark past.” I dropped her chin and grabbed her hand. She watched as I held my own up to show her our matching tattoos. “You might think the ink only reaches so far down into your flesh, but it goes deeper than that. Much deeper. This tattoo is just a glimpse of what we share. Our depraved souls are tied, forever bound together. They always have been. You really think dying for a few minutes just wipes your soul clean?” Koven ripped her handback, trying to hide the smiley face tattoo. “Oh no. You can try to hide it, the same way you are trying to hide yourself.” I stepped out into the hall as she tried to back away. We kept moving until her back slammed into the wall and I hovered over her. I raised my finger, peeling back my skin until more of my blood seeped down from it. Koven remained frozen as I glided my fingertip along the corners of her mouth, painting a bloody smile like a clown’s. “I see the real you, Koven, the one itching beneath your skin, begging to come out. And whether you want to admit it or not—” I painted along her eyes and circled my blood across the tip of her nose, reflecting the same clown makeup she wore that night. “That Kovencravesme. Just as I crave her.” Koven’s face went pale. “And that desperate kind of hunger never goes away.”
I stepped back with a smile and returned to my room.
“See you soon, Skittles.” I closed the door and drew a bloody smiley face on the glass. I waited until I heard the door lock and her footsteps echo as she exited the hall.
Sleep tight, Koven. I’ll take my fill another time.
“Ihear you had a pretty intense day yesterday, Koven. Care to tell me about it?”
I picked at my nails and refused to answer, merely listening as the clock in Dr. Sable’s office ticked the seconds away. God, I always hated fucking therapy.
“Koven?” Dr. Sable eyed me closely, those deep brown eyes studying me through her thick cat-eye glasses. It was hard to stay focused around her, my attraction only growing each time we spoke. Even if she did piss me off with her endless questions.
“I know you’ve never been a fan of really opening up and talking to me, but I assure you, I only want to help.” The psychiatrist’s perfect British accent always felt like some kind of bait laid out for me to nibble. She’d used it to reel me in real close until my emotions just poured from my hooked mouth. Worked every fucking time too. “Koven?” I rolled my eyes at the way my name sounded falling from her rosy lips.
God, why did hearing her say my name get me every time?
“I’m fine,” I snapped. “Everything was fine. I just felt…sick.” My body curled up into itself as I sat in the uncomfortable chair in her tiny office. I still remember the first time I stepped into this little room. How Dr. Sable made me feel safe. How she knew just how to fix everything wrong with me.
Dr. Sable smiled softly and removed her glasses. “I don’t suppose the sudden appearance of your stepbrother, Ziggy Slater, would have anything to do with this sudden illness?” She eyed me closely. “Does it?”
My cheeks burned as she watched my reaction closely. “No,” I grumbled through clenched teeth.
Yes.
Dr. Sable stood up and walked around her desk to the front of it. She placed her hands on either side of her and crossed her legs with a smile. “What did we say about lying?”
My eyes wandered a little before pulling away. “You’re one to speak.” I stood and walked over to her, gently tapping my finger under her chin. “After all this time sharing such intimate secrets and dark truths while being alone together.” She gasped faintly as I tilted her chin, my mouth inching closer to hers. “When were you going to tell me he was coming here? Was it before or after all hell broke loose?” Dr. Sable stared back at me. “Yeah, fuck lying.” I pulled away and sank back into the chair. “And fuck my stepbrother,” I mumbled quietly.
Dr. Sable cleared her throat and pushed away from her desk. She turned around and bent over it to grab something, but I was a bit distracted, eyeing her ass. “The reason you weren’t informed of Ziggy Slater’s admission”—she turned back around with a thick, open file—“is because I was concerned for you and your mental well being.” Her eyes raised to meet mine. “I know you two have a long and…interestinghistory. I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”
“I told you that was over.”
Dr. Sable shrugged, circling me while she spoke. “Unfortunately, your words don’t change the fact that any of it still happened. And whether you still feel the same way towards him now as you once did, I still have to consider his feelings.”
I scoffed a little too loudly. “Hisfeelings? Who gives a fuck about how Ziggy feels!” I grabbed her hand, stopping her. “I thought the only feelings you cared about were mine, Eydie?” I pulled her hand closer to my body, listening as her breathing picked up. “Or was that all just bullshit you spouted to get me to fuck you?”
