Page 214 of Soul So Dark
“Oh!I didn’t think you knew Colson back then.”
“I didn’t. He’s standing outside my truck right now.”
I stop breathing for a moment.
“I…um…like, right now?” I stammer. “What do you mean he’s standing outside your truck?”
“I work with him. You’re lucky I get service out here.”
Oh…my god. Another polar bear body guard?
My mind racing, I try to figure out what to say with this new information. “Has he told you any of this?”
“No.”
Shocker…
I don’t understand any of this, but if Colson’s standing outside his truck, then I don’t have much time.
“Sergei, this is very important. You knew Evie, so I need your help. I don’t know if she told you anything about Bowen or if you have any information that can help me, but I’m going to take Bowen down for what he did to her. I’m halfway there, but I can’t do it all on my own. I need to get Colson back here, but he won’t listen to me. I need him to come back and finish what he started. And then, maybe—”
Then his gruff voice interrupts me again.
“It’s done, little sister.”
???
When I finally walk into the apartment, I slowly make my way down the hall toward the blue glow emitting from the spare bedroom.
A smile pulls at my mouth when I see Alex sitting in his black leather chair, playingDark Soulsin nothing but a pair of black sweatpants. The blue neon lights cast a frosty luminescence over the room, distorting the colors of the Italian flag hanging on the opposite wall.
AJ’s setup.
If I’d have looked closer, I would’ve seen that it wasn’t the Italian flag after all, but rather an Italy National Football Team flag with my brother’s name scrawled in the corner in permanent marker along with Alex, Aiden, and Mason’s and the date commemorating their trip to see a game in Italy with Mason’s family.
This is probably what Alex looked like every time I played with him, except for when he was on camera wearing his Ghost mask. He sat just like he is now, listening to me tell him every detail of my life, from applying to internships to which bar on campus has the best fries. He knows everything.
Alex glances up with a smile as I let my bag slide off my shoulder onto the floor.
“Are you winning?” I ask, peering at the screen as I approach him.
“Javi’s kicking my ass right now,” he mutters.
I step in front of him and slide my knee over his, wrapping my arms around his neck and slowly sinking into his lap. Without a word, Alex sets his controller down on the desk and takes off his headset before enveloping me in his arms. I sit with him in silence for nearly a minute, focusing on my breathing while he runs his hand up and down my back.
“My monitors are broken,” I finally say, unsure of where to begin.
“Why are your monitors broken?” he asks in his usual soothing voice.
“I broke Austin’s nose and they were smashed when he fell on top of them.”
Alex pulls back, his expression unchanged, but his tone much more serious. “Did he hurt you?”
“Just my feelings. He came over forHalonight and freaked out when he saw me packing. Then he saw my ring. He said I was a disappointment, called you—” I shake my head, unable to even repeat it. “He said some horrible things. And then I punched him in the nose and left. Didn’t even get to watchHalo.”
“Damn,Angelína,” Alex looks me up and down, “remind me to never pissyouoff.”
“I always thought he was my friend, but one time he dropped the mask, and I can’t forget it. It’s like he’s always been—I don’t know,” I exhale, “a snake.”
