Page 22 of Heart of a Killer

10

Brieanna

Waking up today sucks. The orderlies haven’t even announced it’s time to rise and shine. I’m turning over, twisting in the sheet, trying to find a comfortable position that doesn’t hurt my hands. They ache, and I’m reminded of what happened last night every time I move. The banging on the keys, memories of Amanda, and seeing Skylar in the arms of Leland. My swollen eyes strain to open from all the crying, depleted of moisture like the desert pleading for rain. My flat pillow is wet, sending chills across my cheek, and my throat stings with each swallow.

“Ahh, fuck it. I’m up,” I say to no one but myself.

I’ll go to the bathroom and fix myself up a bit. The staff members can’t get mad if they find me cleaning up for the day. Grabbing my toiletries, I head down the hall to the communal bathroom.

My feet slap against the cold tiles, and the sound echoes off the walls. Selecting one of the shower stalls, I turn on the hot water and hold my hand out, waiting for it to warm up. Once it’s warm, I strip down and step into the stream. My body shivers with the rush of the heat over my skin, like being renewed. I’ll be a new person again. Tilting my head back with my eyes closed, a moan escapes my lips. I’m lost in the sensation of tingling on my scalp, while running the soap through my hair as the flow runs over my chest.

“Mornings always start off better with a good moan.”

A man’s deep husky voice reverberates off the walls. Looking to where it’s coming from, I see Leland bared to the world. He walks up to the stall beside me and turns on the shower, making the pipes groan.

As he is focused on his task, I stare at every dip and curve of his muscles. Scanning and cataloging the scars on his face, back, the random faint white marks and butterflies covering his arm, my mouth salivates at the sight of him. If I weren’t still pissed at Skylar, I would jump his bones right now, but it’s the principle. How can I be mad at her if I do the same?

Leland penetrates me with his eyes and lifts one of his eyebrows.

“Like what you see, Brie?”

Laughter escapes me before I answer him. “You know I always appreciate a good view.”

He smirks and continues to add soap to his hair. I watch as the veins and muscles in his arms become more prominent with every move. Shaking my head, I go back to my own task of getting cleaned up before the orderlies come to rush us out for breakfast.

We finish cleaning and dressing at the same time. My stomach twists as the guilt creeps in; if I weren’t on a mission to get back at Skylar, I’d have given in to him and his seduction.

* * *

I don’t waitby Skylar’s door this morning. I’m being petty, I know, but it also makes my chest lift, anticipating her disappointment, hoping that she notices my absence. I’ll know if my action gets the proper reaction when she comes in for breakfast.

Leland and I stand in line waiting for our morning meal when the orderlies finally yell for the others to wake. The crowd of patients starts to build behind us as the others join and the doors open.

Even being first in line, I don’t grab Skylar an extra Pop-Tart. Embers of resentment creep over my skin; I want to hurt her back somehow to ease the smolder I’m feeling.

“So, have fun last night?” I snip with a bit of snark in my voice as we take our seats.

Leland is already stuffing his face with the slop that looks like runny brown soup, but that never seems to bother him.

“Uh-huh,” he hums with a mouth full of oatmeal.

“You know I saw you guys, right?”

He swallows his food, and I watch as his Adam’s apple bobs before he shrugs. “Did you enjoy the show?”

My face heats. He’s so nonchalant about the whole thing, and my heart races as his gaze burns a hole right through me.

“Hey.” Skylar plops down beside us with a clink of her bowl against the metal table. “You didn’t wait for me this morning.”

Oh good, she noticed. I don’t say anything to her and continue to pick at my Pop-Tart. Slyly looking over at her, I watch for her reaction when I don’t share. I hope she can feel the cold shoulder I’m giving her. I’m expelling all the rage out of me and toward her, wanting it to entrap her. Can she pick up on it? She doesn’t say anything else and spoons her porridge around, not eating. My shoulders fall when I see her stoic expression. She hates the food here and won’t eat anything they make.

“So, um. How is everyone’s morning?” Skylar says awkwardly, trying to attempt a conversation. She usually doesn’t talk, but the silence must be getting to her. My lips twitch.

“Ahh, you know the usual,” Leland remarks. “Morning showers in our birthday suits.”

My eyes shoot up into his. They’re in slits, and his mouth is quirked up in the corner. He is giving me a look that says, ‘I know exactly what you are doing, and I’m about to fuck with you.’ Suddenly, I wish I’d never told him I saw them together last night. Then he wouldn’t have picked up on why I’m acting this way toward Skylar.

“Oh, really?” Skylar remarks, sounding a little shocked.

---