Page 211 of Soul So Dark
My stomach turns at his cold nonchalance and I have to tamp down the panic screaming for attention.
“What’d she do?” Because with Bowen, it’s always someone else’s fault.
“I knocked her up,” he replies, catching me by surprise, “and I thought that’d be the end of it, that it would be me and her from then on. Butno,” he clips, “instead, she killed my baby, told me she was moving across the country, and fucked everything up like I knew she would. Just like every other selfish bitch.” His tone turns dark and insidious. “But at least I kept something to remember her by.”
A wave of goosebumps skitters over my back. “Like what?”
“A video,” his words drip with venom, “of me knocking her ass up.”
My heart is racing, pounding against my ribs like a jackhammer.Get a grip.
“Do you still have it?” I ask with as much excitement as I can muster. “Let’s see!”
“Yeah, I do,” Bowen chuckles, “along with a few other things.”
“Like what?”
“Something to remember her by. Send me your own video as a down payment and I’ll tell you.”
Oh, shit…
“I doubt my girl would be into that,” I scoff.
“Then don’t tell her.”
There’s more behind his tone, or lack thereof, so I dig. “Like, hide my phone?”
“Yeah, if she can’t see the screen, she’ll never know the difference.”
“Sounds like you’re an expert.”
“What can I say?” he snickers. “I get what I fucking want.”
I’m about to ask him to elaborate, but a knock on my door jolts me out of my intense concentration.
I let out an irritated grunt. “Shit, I have to go. I’ll think about it,” I say to pacify him for the time being.
“My offer still stands,” Bowen taunts insidiously before I log off.
“Come in,” I answer, removing my headset and returning to my bed to continue packing another duffel bag to take to Alex’s.
My clothes are largely irrelevant now since he created a carbon copy of them in his closet. Instead, I survey my gaming setup and try to decide what to pack with the books I already have, along with the photo album I took from Evie’s room.
My door opens and Austin steps inside. I’m not sure what to expect, but I relax when he tosses his sandy hair out of his eyes and flashes his familiar bright smile.
“What’s up?” I smile back.
“Jet-lagged, but it’sHalonight, so here I am.”
I just assumed Austin would blow it off like he usually does and only catch around three episodes per season, especially after the altercation with Alex at GalactiCon. It’s probably just as well he left town the day after for his NBA shmooze-fest.
Austin lifts his arm and I lean in to give him a hug. “Did you have a good trip?”
“It was promising.”
He doesn’t elaborate further, so I turn back to my packing. But his hand follows, and my muscles tense when he starts to gently massage the curve of my neck. I take a slow, deep breath, trying to stave off this new urge to flee. Normally, I would brush him off and go on without a second thought, but there’s something off-putting about Austin being so close to me this time.
“Am I bothering you?” he asks, almost with amusement.
