Page 4 of Madness & Mayhem

Hellcrest Heights is no longer a place I feel safe in.

“You should be fucking sorry, Lakyn.” Kyler narrows his eyes, his gaze traveling from the top of my hair, down my rumpled dress, to my thighs, which have cuts on them, slices against my skin with dried blood. His palm flattens over my thighs, his fingers clenching, squeezing my blemished skin.

There’s no way to cover them, no excuse up my sleeve.

I’ve made my bed. There’s no hiding from this.

“Who the fuck is he? Who the fuck is he, and what the fuck did he do?” he growls, his fingers pinching my skin. “I swear to fucking God, if you lie to me again, you’ll regret it, Lakyn.”

I stare at him a moment, my heart pounding in my chest as I stare into his ruthless eyes. I can’t lie to him. I can’t keep this secret anymore. It’s destroying us.

My lips pop open, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth as I get ready to tell him everything.

Since the beginning.

“Where is she?Where the fuck is she!”

The voice.

Chills run up my spine, and my eyes widen, my hand moving backward in an attempt to shimmy myself away from the door. Provide more distance, more of a barrier between us.

Because I’m terrified of the wrath I’m bound to encounter.

“Where the fuck did she go!”

He’s close.

He’s so fucking close.

The door suddenly flies open, banging against the wall directly next to Kyler.

Archer stands there, pale, the skull painted on his face half wiped from his skin. He looks haunted as he stares at me, his eyes a bit lost, but there’s also a rage there.

An absolute fury, and it’s directedat me.

He says nothing as he stands in the doorway, his chest heaving, his eyes spitting fire that could burn me alive.

“Archer,” I whimper. I readjust my shaky hand, losing my grip and slipping into the bowl sink. A shard of glass mirror cuts into my palm, but I barely notice among all the other cuts and wounds covering my hands.

He shakes his head at me as he storms up to me, getting right in my face. “What the fuck happened, Lakyn?”

I exhale a shaky breath, bringing my hands forward. I wipe them against my bare knees, smearing more blood across my skin.

“I… I…” I don’t know what to say, or where he wants me to start, or even what he intends for me to confess.

He steps into the bathroom, kicking the door shut behind him. Raising his hand, he points toward the door. “You realize there’s police out there right now, right? Picking up the body of my best friend. Have you seen V? She’s fucking hysterical, Lakyn,” he growls.

I glare up at him with watery, angered eyes, squeezing the blood between my fingers. “I didn’t kill him, Archer. Is that what you’re fucking accusing me of?”

His eyes narrow. “I know you didn’t kill Creed, Lakyn.”

His unspoken words are loud, painfully clear.

His head tilts to the side slowly. “Where’s Reign?”

I swallow, dread pooling in the pit of my stomach.

Tears slip past my cheeks, and I let out a groaning sob as I glance up at him.

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