Page 25 of Anathema Codex

When the line clicks, I reach for the phone so quickly that I drop it against the ground.

“Fuck,” I grumble as I scramble to pick it up. I tap the speaker button and put it to my ear, intent on finding out who’s been tormenting me this entire time. “Hello?” I ask into the phone.

The clearing of a throat, a sigh, and some breathing is what greets me.

“Hello?” I ask again. “I know you’re there because a) you picked up, and b) I can hear you breathing. So, who the fuck is this?”

My question is answered by the line clicking dead.

So, I decide to do what any rational person in my situation would do. I pull up my call log, jab the call button next to the number again and begin the game of patience all over again.

Eventually, they’ll have to tell me who the fuck they are and I’m willing to sit on this bench for however long it takes.

EIGHTEEN

Vibrations Aren’t Always Fun

THE AGITATOR

The phone won’t stop buzzing, but I’ve got it shoved between my legs to keep the sound muffled. Eventually he’ll have to give up, stop calling, and get back on the road.

What the fuck am I thinking?

Of course he won’t give up. If he has even the slightest idea that it’s irritating me, he’ll keep doing it. He’s Lakyn’s spawn after all, and he has the same awe-inspiring and irritating self-confidence. I could see it in the smirk in his photo, and I’ve read it in every text… and now I’ve heard it in his voice.

He’s a kid, but somehow his voice sent the same thrill down my back as Lakyn’s. There’s just something about that nonchalant, confident tone that makes me think twice about what I’m doing.

Hearing him was why I answered the call though. I just wanted to know what he sounded like, to add it to the steadily building idea I have of him in my head. He’s so much like his father, but more innocent in some ways. Still too naïve about the world, and about the monster that fathered him. Yet, there’s no denying the paternity now.

Everything lines up, like little dominos in a row, and I’ve already knocked over the first one. Whether or not he’ll ultimately be able to stand against Lakyn is still in question.

At least he’s on his way here, not fast enough for my liking, because Ohio isn’t close at all… but he’s coming.

I hear movement in the other room and reach between my thighs to press the power button and decline the call.

The way my phone keeps vibrating from every call Aftyn makes is kind of entertaining, but I don’t need anyone asking who the hell is calling me back to back. Everyone is allowed to have secrets, and this is one I plan on keeping until the grand reveal.

I’m not sure if my actions are some kind of vengeance, petty jealousy over his enigmatic nature, or just me seeking something fun in the never-ending void my life has become. Post-Lakyn Meyer no one is the same, and I’m definitely changed. For better or worse.

Well, let’s be honest, it’s definitely for the worse.

Barely a few seconds pass between calls, and this time I just let it vibrate. My voicemail is nothing but the automated repeat of my number, and eventually he’ll get bored and move on. Just like Lakyn always does.

I do wish I’d been able to find out more about the mother though. Who was she? How the hell did she survive an evening with the man behind that heartbreaker grin and those perfectly blue eyes?

From what I understand, getting picked up by Lakyn Meyer is one of the last things a long list of women have done. Apart from the screaming and bleeding. So… why her? What was so special about this random bitch that she not only deserved to live, but was allowed to carry his seed to term?

Because now it’s out there, walking around, driving ever closer to Arizona, and looking so much like its father that I found the resemblance eerie.

A noise in the next room makes me reach down and decline the call again, ending the vibration—but it almost instantly starts up again.

This little asshole is definitely Lakyn’s kid, and while I appreciate his sudden urge to communicate, I don’t feel like fucking up my life quite yet.

Sneaking the phone into my hands, I tap out a quick text:We’ll talk soon. Shouldn’t you be on your way? Daddy’s waiting.

Locking the phone, I hold down the power button to turn it off. I like the little back and forth we’ve had, but I’m going to draw lines with Aftyn that I was never able to with Lakyn. We’ll communicate on my terms, on my timeline, and no childish behavior is going to make me change my mind.

NINETEEN

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