Page 44 of Anathema Codex

And that was before I left her conscience in a dirty rest area bathroom stall.

She should have known better.

I told her over and over again that I wasn’t interested in Dexter. I’ve never even been remotely curious about switching teams, yet she persisted.

‘Just give him a chance, Aftyn! Even if you don’t want to fuck him, be nice to him once in a while! He really is a great guy!’

I know how shit works, though.

You spend too much time being nice to the wrong person and they always stab you in the back. That’s why I’ve always preferred Wills—at least she stabs me in the front.

Damn near fifteen minutes alone with my thoughts, I glance up and smile slightly when I see a sign for Albuquerque. I think that’s where that church is that she wanted to check out, so I do the one thing I can’t stand.

I swallow my fucking pride and point it out.

“Hey,” I say, reaching over and giving her thigh a nudge. She immediately smacks my hand away and shoots a dirty look at me, but I do my best to maintain my composure while I have her attention and nod toward the sign.

Albuquerque, I-40 W.

“Wanna check it out?” I ask her.

“What I want,” she begins, her tone already dripping with venom, “is to fucking get this over with so I can ditch your ass when we get back home.”

I let out a heavy sigh as I roll my eyes at the road in front of me and press down on the gas pedal.

Whatever the fuck Lakyn turns out to be like, he can’t be worse than this.

TWENTY-EIGHT

The Masks We Wear

DAPHNE

Completely dysfunctional.

That's how I describe Aftyn, Willa, and their relationship. I'm not sure how these two met, but clearly they should have kept on going. The fact that they circle each other like a pair of wolves vying for the alpha spot in a pack of two just proves it. Constantly snapping and biting at each other, but neither of them willing to actually go for the throat and make a fucking move.

Instead, they turned their proverbial teeth on the couple back in the forest, which was apparently not as fun as it looked.

Willa's been furious since she got back in the car, and then she completely lost it on the highway when Aftyn blasted the radio. It was meant to piss her off, but I think it worked better than Aftyn expected. I hadn't seen her lose her shit like that yet, but it's nice to know she has it in her—and I've been learning so many things about them since I decided to get back in their car.

Aftyn has daddy issues. Mommy is gone.

And Willa is a hell of a lot more volatile than she looks. It was her bloody ring I found by the guy stabbed into oblivion, and the way she went after Aftyn when he wouldn't pull over to let her drive was the kind of snap, crackle, crazy that I just wouldn't expect from the pretty, petite blonde. She really seems more like the start-a-mean-rumor type than the stab-you-a-hundred-times type, but that's one thing that makes life worth living. Finding those people who are so much more than they seem.

I still don't like her, and she's definitely a conniving little snake, but I can respect another girl who uses her looks to trick everyone around her into thinking she's harmless.

Still, their silence is irritating. I want them to argue again, or get into an actual fight, not just silent treatment each other as we continue on through New Mexico past whatever giant ball o' twine Aftyn offered to show her. I get that they're on their way to meet Aftyn's real dad, but they could have flown a hell of a lot faster. One thing is clear, these two should have never been crammed in a car together for an extended road trip.

Although, I can't help but stifle a laugh as I think about the sheer probability of three killers ending up in the same car together. Them through whatever strange twist of fate bound them, and me by sheer chance.

What are the odds?

The more I think about it, the more funny it becomes. I know they're both annoyed by my presence at this point because I'm crowding their little pissing contest by just existing in the backseat, but I'm actually curious how they'd react if they knew my secret.

"Fucking finally," Aftyn mutters, and I look out the window to see a sign welcoming us to Arizona. Willa sits up straight in the front seat, and I lean over to look at the map on Aftyn's phone. We're actually getting close, and that means I don't have much time left to have some fun with them.

"Hey, Willa?" I unzip my backpack, digging inside it carefully as I hear her heavy sigh.

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