Page 129 of Like Grim Death: Part One
A flicker of surprise crosses her features, her lips parting slightly. Is she surprised I know, or is it because I’m mad? I can’t tell. But as Maverick laughs again and I glance at all the eggs steaming on their plates, I shake my head, stepping back.
Whatever. Fuck this.
“Don’t be a judgmental hypocrite,” I snarl, then turn on my heel and head toward the back deck. I charge down the hallway, hearing someone snort, followed by more laughter.
I push open the screen door and step outside on the covered porch, the October chill drifting through the space. Crossing my arms as the frustration in my body fades and I actually take in my surroundings, I’m glad I got dressed before I ventured around the house.
It’s kind of unnerving, having Cain, Atlas, Ezra, Lucifer,andMaverick staring at me, silence ringing around the deck, only the sounds of trees drifting in the breeze breaking up the quiet.
I stand perfectly still, except for the way my throat rolls as I swallow, my gaze coming to Mavy. He’s sitting on a couch by himself, Rain on his chest, the baby’s head wavering as he works his neck muscles, trying to peer up at his uncle. Mav’s tattooed fingers are gently pressed into Rain’s sides, keeping hold of him.
But his pale eyes are piercing on mine.
I’m vaguely aware the rest of the brothers are together in chairs around a black table, bottles of water and coffee mugs in hand, a good distance from my boyfriend. It’s like there’s tension between them, and I hate the way it makes me feel slightly better. Like maybe Mavisstill mad at Atlas and not just me over last night.
“Breakfast,” I manage to say, my voice cracking as I keep my arms crossed and my eyes on Mav’s while Rain’s head comes crashing down on his chest. “It’s ready.”
Mavy doesn’t even blink. He just keeps staring at me, his wide lips pressed together, jaw clenched.
Seconds pass. Maybe minutes.
The wave of annoyance crashes down on me.“Thank you,maybe?” I snap.“I’ll be in to eat soon?”I throw up one hand before I curl both into fists at my side, my cheeks growing warm with every Unsainted eye on me. “Or you could even try,good fucking morning, Ella?”
Someone laughs. I think it’s Ezra, but I don’t dare look, my heart beating a mile a minute inside my chest. I hate the way I never feel like I fit in. I hate all the things I’m doing behind everyone’s back toearnmy place here, and no one can see me. No one seems to be able to guess it. They’re all blind to the shit I’m doing tobelong.The shit I’m holding onto in order to keep everyone safe,includingRain.
My boyfriend’s gaze narrows.
Fuck you.I mouth it but I don’t say it out loud. Then I turn, intending to go upstairs to our guest room and hide out until we can leave. Or maybe I’ll just pack my stuff and go home myself.
But just as I reach for the handle on the screen door, Mavy speaks. “No, no. Where do you think you’re going?”
His quiet, patronizing tone pisses me off more. I wrap my fingers around the handle, wanting to disappear. “Fuck you,” I snarl it out loud this time.
No one laughs now. But as I yank open the door, I hear Mavy say, “Ella. You’re not walking away from me. Come here.”
Ha.I lift up my middle finger and stride inside, letting the door slam closed behind me.
There’s onlyoneperson I haven’t seen this morning who didn’t either act like I don’t exist at all or treat me like shit. Fuck Atlas’s warning. Fuck all of them.
Fuck everything.
Rain dances along the windowpanes.I sit with my knees to my chest on the bed, wishing for Monday. Watching the forked lightning brighten the sky purple, I think of how she’d hold me in a storm when we were younger. Our home was built well on the outside. But anytime the thunder shook the floor, my body would tremble.
Monday though, she’s never scared.And at our home, when storms came, she took me up to the middle floor, the secret room no one ever seemed to see but us. It was almost like the weather was calm outside when we went there.
I close my eyes, grateful I cannot hear the people down below. They are quiet, but I know they are there. There is no escape, the one with demon eyes said. He warned me not to try. He said it would hurt worse if I did.
His brothers are here, I think. I don’t know why, but they have not left yet.
I think of the knife he plunged into me nine days ago and my throat feels tight.
There is no escape.
Russia, where I grew up, is too far, but leaving this street… somehow, it feels even more impossible.I tried to run from there more than a few times, to get back to the girl I dream of.
Not Monday. Monday wasafter.Monday is now, even though we’re in very different places.
My stomach tenses as I think of theothergirl. Blonde hair, blue eyes, golden skin with blue veins.
