“Well I might not be back until morning,” I murmur as I spin around to face him, duffel in hand.
His brows shoot up.
“Don’t even start,” I sigh, rolling my eyes as I turn away and tread across the room to my dresser. I feel the weight of his stare on me as I start pulling open the drawers, packing a change of clothes into the bag.
“I’m happy for you, Chey,” he declares. “Seriously, go get some.”
“Yeah, well we’ll see,” I sigh, glancing back at him over my shoulder. “Chances are always fifty-fifty that I freak out when I get touched.”
Javi frowns, brows drawing in. “You know, sometimes I wish I could bring that asshole back from the dead just so I could kill him all over again,” he mutters wryly.
“I know,” I sigh. “And I love you for that, Javi. I really do.” Resting my bag on top of the dresser, I spin around to face him fully, staring into his eyes as I lean back against it. “But I’ll never not be glad that he’s gone. I hate that you have to live with his death on your conscience, but I’ll always be grateful that you slayed my monster.”
The corner of his mouth lifts infinitesimally. “And you slayed mine,” he replies, tipping his head.
“That’s why we’ll be best friends forever,” I say with a wink, spinning back around to resume packing.
I should probably feel some tinge of regret for killing my best friend’s mom. I keep waiting for guilt or remorse to set in, but thus far, all I feel is relief. Delilah Cruz was not a good person. She wasn’t even anokayperson. That bitch was evil, and she deserved what she got. Given that she had a hand in my trauma, I’m glad I was the one to deliver the fatal blow.
There’s peace in reaping justice.
“Ugh, why don’t I have any cute underwear?” I mutter as I pick through my top drawer.
Javi snorts another laugh. “Doubt he’ll give a shit about your underwear, Chey.”
I cut him a glare over my shoulder.
“What?” he chuckles, shrugging. “I’m just sayin’. Take it from me, guys don’t give a shit about what their girl’s underwear looks like, they just want to get it off as quickly as possible.”
I make a scoffing sound in my throat, selecting a relatively new pair of black bikini briefs and a matching bralette to stuff into my overnight bag.
“Hey, that’s an idea,” Javi muses. “Go commando, bet he’ll love it.”
“Ugh,” I groan, snatching up a pair of socks from my drawer and turning to lob them across the room at him. “You’re the worst, you know that?”
He chuckles as he swats the socks out of the air.
“Let’s see if we even get that far,” I grumble.
“So, do we need to have the talk about the birds and the bees, or…?” Javi jokes, waggling his brows.
I toss another pair of socks in his direction, a giggle slipping from my throat. “Shut up. Youknowwhat I mean.”
His smile slowly fades.
“Sometimes when we’re in the middle of things, my brain just gets mixed up,” I admit, tucking my hair behind my ears as my gaze flutters to the floor. “Sometimes I forget it’s Iver for a second and nothim.”
“It’snothim, and it’llneverbe him,” Javi growls as he pushes off from the doorframe, his jovial demeanor shifting on a dime as he eats up the distance between us in long strides. “Never again. He’s gone, Chey. He has no power over you anymore. Every day that you’re not living your life for you, you’re giving him that power, but he doesn’t deserve it.” He reaches out, setting a firm hand on my shoulder. “He’s taken enough, and it’s time for you to take it back.”
The sting of tears prickles behind my eyes as I stare back at him, jerking a nod.
Javier Cruz is my rock. He’s always been there for me, and even when my whole world changed and I tried to push him away, he wouldn’t let me. He was the only one who refused to leave my side; who refused to allow me to suffer alone. I knowhe’s always harbored a sense of guilt over what happened that night, but he shouldn’t. He’s not responsible. If it weren’t for him, the monster who assaulted me would still be walking this earth, and I’d be six feet under.
Javi has done his best over the years to try to glue me back together, but cracks still remained. I’d accepted that they’d always be there until Iver swooped in and started to mend them. The more he heals me, the harder I fall for the golden-haired Adonis that fate blessed me with. He’s given me everything I need to finally take my power back, and tonight…
Well, that’s exactly what I plan to do.
Rain pounds against the back window of the Westfield packhouse as the ending credits of Survivor roll on the TV screen, accompanied by a scroll of footage revealing each player’s vote at tribal council.
