Page 3 of Arrow to my Heart

Alexi is methodical mayhem. He wants order in his life, but at the same time, he craves the destruction of his enemies in the most brutal of ways. We are alike in that sense.

Making my way down to the kitchen, I find myself so caught up in my own thoughts that I accidentally bump into a figure.Whoever is up at two in the morning is insane.

Blonde hair and striking blue eyes whip in my direction, and I freeze.

“Sorry,” I mumble. My brain seems to stop when I see her because it takes a second for her words to register.

“Havoc? Anyone in there?”

I close my eyes and shake my head before opening them again. I can smell the scent of her shampoo and it takes me back to so many good memories I never want to let go of.

“Yeah, sorry. I was just…distracted.”

She studies me for a minute. “You should work on un-distracting yourself.”

Laney tries to walk past me but before she can, I grab her by the elbow and turn her to face me. She tenses even as I feel goosebumps rise under my touch.

“I can’t help that you’re a constant distraction.” I smirk.

Her lips begin to curl into a smile, but it fades as quickly as it came. With her closer and my mind focused, I notice her face is puffy and the whites of her eyes are pink.

I did that.

Letting go of her arm, I take a step back as those pesky emotions start to flood my chest. They’re like a torrent,threatening to drown me on dry land. Laney must see I’m on the edge of a breakdown because her hand reaches out to touch my arm. For the first time, chipped polish surrounds the edges of her nails.

I did that.

“Havoc?”

Our eyes connect, and I swear I can’t breathe. If I inhale her one more time I’m going to snap and pull her to me no matter her protests. I will chain her to me for eternity if it means never feeling this emptiness in my chest without her. But I can’t do that. I won’t.

“Can…” My voice breaks off, and I have to clear my throat. “Can we talk for a minute?”

She looks hesitant, her eyes flitting back to the stairs before landing on me again. That’s when I see a chocolate bar hidden in her pocket.

“Does E need a snack?”

She laughs, a real laugh that has my insides feeling less like they might explode and more like they are floating.

“She might kill Alexi by the time she gets to see him. I found a chocolate bar in the back of the pantry, but she keeps asking for pizza.”

For just a moment, we aren’t two shattered works of art spilled out across the floor. We’re just us.

“I just need some time…and space,” she says so quietly. But the words are like an explosion in my ears. I crowd her, grabbing her by the hair. A stunned gasp leaves her beautiful full lips as I lean in to claim them.

She doesn’t fight or push me away, so I deepen the kiss until she nearly falls over backward by the sheer force of it. When I do eventually break the kiss, she’s breathing just as heavily as I am.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I say. “When you’re ready, I’ll be here.”

Then, I walk away. If I don’t, I’ll strip her bare and remind her exactly who she belongs to, and that might just damage what little we still have left. I can’t afford to mess this up.

When Arrow wakes up, I will do whatever I need to in order to keep them both. But for now, she wants space, so I’ll respect that.

Even if it kills me on the inside.

Chapter 3

“Come on, it’s not that spicy,” Havoc says to Laney across the table as she chugs milk like her life depends on it.

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