Page 24 of They Call Me Wicked

I hear Ezra grunt before skin smacking tile reaches my ears and I know that Kai just hit the floor after pushing it too far. “I didn’t leave anything out. You told me not to,” Ezra says simply before the sound of something frying in a pan grows violently, like he just put something fresh in it.

“Nic, you bastard!” I round on him instantly, stomping towards him as anger burns a trail through my veins. Stopping directly next to him, I plant my hands on my hips and angle my head down to where he’s sitting. “If you’re insisting on fucking being here, the least you can do is try not to kill me. Like,literallythe least you can do!”

“I didn’t do it.” His smooth, accented voice is calm, each word precise and intentional. I tune in to his aura, trying to detect any sort of dishonesty, but I find none. He doesn’t even seem to be angry this morning, just…content.

“So, what? The box just magically made its way to the hall outside my room?” I ask dryly, but with no real conviction. My mind is stuck on the box. I didn’t detect a single bit of deceit from any of them and Gizmo and Snitch know better than to make messes outside of their areas. They wouldn’t move a random box outside my door anyways.

So, who did it?

My legs suddenly weaken, a flash of dizziness threatening to send me on my ass as every ounce of blood in my body runs cold. Gizmo and Snitch pick up on my mood switch, rushing to climb up my legs and grab at my face. I turn back towards the counter like I’m on autopilot, slowly making my way back to the box.

One step. Two.

Please don’t be what I think it is.

Three. Four. Five.

Not here. Not in my safe place.

Six. Seven. Eight.

Did I lock the doors last night? I always lock the doors.

Nine. Ten. Eleven.

My hands start shaking as I reach out towards the box.

Twelve.

My fingers brush over the rough paper surface of the cardboard, but this time I search harder. I graze across the sides then over the top, little bumps across the surface meet the nerve endings on my fingers as a chill rakes up my spine. I have to rotate the box once before it’s right side up, but then the message is clear.

“Wicked are the men who think they’re strong. Wicked, with me is where you belong.” I whisper the words, dread cascading over me at a rapid rate.

“Wicked, what’s in the box? What’s in the box?!” Kai does an exaggerated, crying bellow that’s met by a pregnant silence, causing him to clear his throat awkwardly. “What? Haven’t you ever seen Seven? You know, the movie with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman? And Brad’s allwhat’s in the boxas he’s crying, because it’s-”

“I’m blind, Kai.” I interject absently, my hands trembling as I feel over the braille sticking out of the cardboard, over and over.

“Oh. Yeah. Right.” He shuffles to my side and warmth radiates from his skin onto mine, calming the icy storm inside of me just slightly. I’m not alone. I’m not alone. “So, what’s in the box?”

I repeat the words inscribed on the top of it louder so they can all hear, and as soon as I’m done saying the last word, the air becomes a suffocating blanket of rage. It’s so thick, so tangible to my gift, that I struggle to draw a breath.

“¡Qué mierda!”A chair scrapes across the floor suddenly, and I jump in place before a large hand is placed on the box brushing against mine. Tingles expand outwards from the touch and trail up to my neck before I pull away, rubbing at the goosebumps that have spread over my arms.

“English, please.” Three auras press in around me at the kitchen island, as well as Gizmo and Snitch, who keep scrambling down to my legs and start running about as though stressed to the point of being frantic. I know my moods affect them, and with the way things are going, they’ve had to deal with a lot of sour ones lately.

“If someone is pulling a damn prank, now’s the time to speak up.” Nic’s accented voice is heavy with anger, shaking with the force of it, but for once, it isn’t directed at me. The threat behind it is real and I’m honestly relieved that he’s taking this seriously.

“Woah! I swear it wasn’t me. I would never do something like that!” Air whooshes past my ears as I sense Kai’s hands snap up in front of him, no doubt in an innocent surrender kind of way.

“He’s not lying. I feel his sincerity.” I step back slightly as Nic focuses on me, the strength of his gaze making my legs shake. He says nothing, and it’s a long awkward moment of squirming on my side of things before I feel his focus shift again.

“Not me,” Ezra states matter-of-factly, but I gasp when his aura seems to flicker for a moment.

“You just felt something! You were angry! And-and something else…” He grunts as I point at him, a large smile lighting up on my face.

I know, I know. Not the time, right? There are more important things to deal with. Like the fact that my stalker somehow snuck into my damn house in the middle of the night and left me agift. The thought alone forces the smile from my face and I once more step forward and place my hand on the box, feeling at the raised bumps as though I’m hoping they’d disappear or that I’m merely imagining things.

Nope. They’re still there, taunting me with their creepy and intrusive presence.

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