Page 25 of Nightmare

She’s so fucking beautiful in the light of day.

The sun came up a little while ago, lighting the right side of her pale face and allowing me to really see her for the first time since I was locked up. Phoenix sent me a picture of her to keep in my cell after I threatened to kill him on day five, but nothing will ever be as good as the real thing. She looks like a dark, fallen angel sent just for me. Lying on her side with her head on my arm, her hands tucked under her chin to keep them warm, her long eyelash extensions fluttering every now and again as she breathes in and out through her nose.

Unable to help myself, I lift my hand up to her face and tuck her hair behind her ear, recounting the black and purple piercings there. She got another one while I was in jail—another little black ring on the top part of her outer ear, making it ten piercings total just here—but that’s the only thing that’s different about her body. She doesn’t have any new ink or anything else I don’t know about. I know because I’ve been searching. For the last hour, maybe more, I’ve been lying here with my girl in my arms and investigating every inch of her body, dying for her to wake up because I fucking miss her already.

I sigh and move my hand down to hers, watching her face while I lift it up to my mouth and kiss my name tattooed on the inside of her wrist. She finally stirs after what feels like years, and I grin as she cracks one eye open to look over at me.

“Fucking hell,” she croaks out, clearing her throat as she tries to lift her head, turning it slowly to take in our surroundings. “I don’t miss this part. Being with you. I forgot how much it hurts waking up in strange places with a fucked up back.”

“I’ll fix it,” I say eagerly, sitting up to massage it for her, rubbing the life back into her sore muscles. “I’ll fix everything, Vi. I’m gonna make it all better. You’ll see.”

Instead of responding, she lies flat on her stomach and rests her cheek on her folded hands, simply enjoying the attention I’m giving her.

“You still love me when you’re sober?”

She opens one eye again and scrunches her face up, hesitating as if she has to think about it. “I don’t think I’m sober yet,” she finally says. “Ask me later.”

“I’m asking now.”

She sighs and lifts herself up on her forearms, meeting my gaze over her shoulder. “I do love you. But I don’t know if I can…” she trails off, studying me for my reaction. “What if we’re only together on Joker Night? I can meet you right here every year and—” She stops talking altogether then, frowning at the glare on my face. “What?”

“You're joking, right?”

She grins like the evil little brat she is, and I lunge for her, chasing her when she squeals and jumps up to run away from me. Again. But I don’t let her get very far this time, catching her after just a few seconds and lifting her up by her waist.

“Don’t carry me.”

“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want with you.” I spin her around, hauling her ass up and wrapping her legs around my waist. “And you’ll like it.”

She growls and tilts my face up by my jaw, but I can tell she’s trying not to smile. “Fine,” she says, acting as if she’s not as happy about this as I am. “But can you at least try to be a better person so I don’t have to defend you to my parents every time you fuck up?”

“Fine.”

“You’ll stop acting like a psycho and trying to kill anyone who looks at me?”

“No,” I answer. “But I promise I won’t get caught again.”

She rolls her eyes and wraps her arms around my neck, hiding her big grin on my shoulder while I walk her back toward the main road.

“Want me to take you for breakfast at Lucky’s?”

“Is that even a question?”

I chuckle and set her down on her feet next to Phoenix’s car. He let me drive here last night and I still have the keys in my pocket. I unlock it and open the back door, searching the mess in here to grab myself a t-shirt to wear. I don’t want Violet wearing his shit, but she’s shivering her little ass off, and I’m not about to let her freeze to death. I reluctantly pass her the cleanest hoodie I can find, and she throws it on, shaking her head at me with a snort when she catches the way my teeth mesh together.

“I’ll buy you a new one from that store opposite the diner.”

“Of course you will,” she jokes, pulling the hem down to her thighs.

I leave Phoenix’s keys on the front tire for him, and then the two of us start walking along the side of the road hand in hand.

“Where’s my car?” I ask, because neither it or the keys were at the apartment when I went there to snoop through her stuff yesterday.

“Andie’s house.”

“You drove it while I was gone?”

“At least once every two days.”

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