Giving him a curt nod, I swivel on my heel and walk out the door.
Chapter 18
Myssa
Ihead straight to the living room when I reach my apartment, exhausted I plop down on the couch, pondering what role I play in all this. What’s gonna be the next move? I need is a game plan for not if, but when Jasper and I meet again. He’s been quiet, and I’ve watched enough horror flicks to know that’s not a good thing.
The strange thing in all this is I feel eerily calm. Sure, it’s a little frightening, but my soul is peaceful. Closing my eyes, I see flashes of Zayne as he invades my mind. How the strands of his dark hair fell just over one eye. When his fingertips traced against mine, the urge to have them touch me everywhere overwhelmed me.
I have never felt this strongly about someone I just met. I mean, if this whole story is real, could he be my soulmate? I’d love to believe that he was looking at me in the same way I was looking at him. But was he really? If I’m being honest with myself, probably not. Maybe he looks at me as just a person he needs to save, and he pities me. An Original who has come into her own under fucked-up circumstances who can possibly help in some way with the war in Aetheriem.
Meanwhile, I’m over here drooling like a dog salivating over a steak. I groan as I notice the time on the clock. Feeling defeated, I slowly make my way to the bedroom. I rummage through my drawers and settle on a tank top and some sweats. Not bothering with my nightly routine, I crawl under the blankets and throw on my Spotify playlist. Staying awake isn’t even an option at this point—today was just too much.
As the first notes to Gary Numan’s “Intruder” starts to play, I close my eyes, feeling the melody take me under.
It doesn’t take long before the stench of decay hits my nose and an arrogant, deep chuckle echoes around the room. The sound makes my stomach turn, and my thoughts come back to my earlier conversation with Z and Knox, reminding me that I don’t know how to defeat him, or how to protect myself—protect my soul.
My eyes fly open and I jump up.
“Did you miss me, Myssa?” he seethes.
His large strides bring him towards me in a flash. All I can see out of the corner of my eye is his hooded figure, close enough to feel his breath against my skin. Frozen in place, I try to conceal my trembling hands as I ball them into fists. Adrenaline surges through me, as the heat of his body radiates against my back. I feel his fingers slide across my waist and settling on my stomach, making my skin crawl.
I concentrate on steadying my breaths so he doesn’t feel the tremble between each intake, I hear him whisper hauntingly. Each syllable is drawn out against the curve of my neck.
“Because I… missed…you…” I feel his tongue slides up the side of my neck to the base of my ear. Bile rises from my stomach at the grotesque gesture.
“Don’t fucking touch me, Jasper,” I growl.
His grip on my stomach tightens, his nails digging into my skin. I stiffen with a quick gasp.
“Oh, now don’t be like that.” He pouts as he buries his face in my hair, inhaling deeply.
“Did you just fucking sniff me, you whack job?”
He snickers again.
My fear quickly dissipates, and anger rolls to the surface. This asshole is not taking my soul, no fucking chance. Every second he has his hands on me, the fire rages within me.
Im stuck between flight or fight. As much as I’d love to fight him, I don’t know how. So, I close my eyes, trying to concentrate on getting myself out of this. I try to visualize my room, hoping I can manifest myself back to my bed.
He must sense what I’m doing, because his fingers claw deeper into me, and I wince from the pain.
“Don’t you get it yet? You can’t escape me, little soul. In the end, you will be mine.”
Ignoring Jasper's words, I try to concentrate harder, and Zayne’s beautiful hazel eyes flash in my mind. His possessiveness in our conversation earlier, the tick of his jaw when we were talking about what Jasper did to me.
The thought of him, his lips on mine, his fingertips softly caressing my skin, and his eyes captivating me, warms me to my core. I let the thoughts consume me, and an overwhelming feeling of weightlessness takes over. Jasper starts to shout, but I can’t understand what he is saying as his voice trails off, and the feeling of his grasp starts to dissipate.
Gasping for air, I sit up, turning on the light, and I assess my body. The small bruises and cuts on my stomach are already forming as a reminder of just how easily Jasper can get to me. Grabbing my pillow, I hold it over my face and slam back down on the bed. Emotions hit me all at once. The anger and fear of my encounter with Jasper. The guilt that he has Nik, and the realization that this is my new norm, bring the rage to theforefront. I scream so loud that I don’t even think the pillow is enough to stifle the noise as my tears start to soak the pillowcase.
I don’t know how long I lay there, letting all these emotions pour out of me with each tear, but I finally remove the pillow from my face. I drag my arm across the nightstand to grab my phone and check the time.
5 A.M flashes on the screen, and I grunt in frustration over another restless night and head for the shower. I let the hot water scorch my body, ridding me of any residue that might still linger from Jasper. Once done, I grab a towel and dry myself off. Sitting on the side of my bed, I reach over and grab my phone, contemplating texting Zayne.
But what would I even say?Hi, Z, had a run in with Jasper tonight, and apparently, he’s into licking faces and sniffing hair? Oh, and he says I’m his in the end. I do have good news, though—thinking about all the ways I want you to touch me helped me to pull myself out of his grasp and woke me up.
I roll my eyes with a groan. Yeah, I think I’ll keep this incident to myself.
