Page 132 of Anathema Codex

This was nothing more than me proving to both of them that out of the three of us, I’m the one that has the balls to do what needs to be done.

He’ll probably have a hissy fit when he opens his present, but all he said was that he wanted to see her again.

He never mentionedhow.

I just hope he’s got the house cleaned up by the time I get home otherwise he’s gonna have more than just a window to reimburse me for.

Taking a deep breath, I take my hand off the box and place it on the steering wheel.

Twenty years?

I’ve spent twenty years with someone?

With an eye roll, I wonder if he thinks it means more than it actually does.

Honestly, I just don’t feel like breaking any one new in and he knows what I like even when I don’t.

Playing houseboy by cleaning up the place, making sure I’ve always got a hot meal, and some tight holes to fuck is plenty for me.

Of course, if he manages to find anymore ‘children’ of mine, he’s gonna wish he left them wherever the fuck they were.

But I think there’s a lesson to be learned in all of this.

It just so happens to be that no matter what happens, no one will ever be able to top what I can do to—or for—someone.

And the sub-lesson is to let sleeping dogs lie. Some monsters are better left resting than being fucked with.

That’s when things tend to get messy.

And messy is where I always fucking shine.

With a smirk, I rest my head back against the seat, take another drag of my smoke, and press down on the gas pedal.

God, I’m fucking amazing.

SEVENTEEN

A Promise Kept

ICHABOD

I sit up with a start when I hear a car door open and close outside. I should know better than to run to the window with hope in my heart, but I really don’t think that Lakyn would have left and returned again with empty hands.

I don’t want to be with Bea anymore—not in the way I did when I was a kid, I just want to sit and talk with her for a few hours. See how she’s been, ask her about any adventures she’s been on, and then ask Lakyn if she can stay the night.

I used to love curling up with Bea on cold nights out in the street when we were younger. There would be times that Zoe would kick me out of the house for one reason or another, so I’d find an alley to sleep in and somehow, Bea always found me.

I never did follow her home like she wanted me to, though. I never felt like I was clean enough or even good enough to walk through her damn doors, and now I’m wishing harder than I ever have before that she’ll walk through mine.

I run my hands over my face as I finally force myself off the couch and walk over to the window. Peeking through the curtains, I sigh heavily when I realize it was just one of the neighbors and that Lakyn isn’t back yet.

Now I’m wondering if he’ll ever come back again. I know that I went too far with what I said to him and smashing his stuff up, and I know he hasn’t forgiven me for that yet, but I hope he understands.

I would imagine that if he cared about anyone other than himself, he’d react the same way that I did, though I know that would never happen.

He’s far too calm and collected to show when something is bothering him which is why it scared the shit out of me when he retreated to his room and stayed there after he came back the first time.

I half expected him to kill me.

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