Page 104 of Toxic Kiss

And the worst part?

Without even trying…she’s putting me back together too.

Every time she walks into a room, something in my chest locks into place, like a chord resolving after years of dissonance. We’re two ruined melodies that are noise on their own…yet somehow become a perfect song when we collide. I suddenly remember how the world is supposed to sound.

What the hell is wrong with us?

We’re a disaster.

Too broken to be healthy. Too damaged to stay away.

I’ve spent years convincing myself Haven is poison. But poison doesn’t feel like this. Poison doesn’t make the chaos inside my head go quiet.

She does, and that’s the problem.

Because if Haven is the only thing that steadies me…then letting her go again isn’t an option.

Not this time.

Not ever.

Even if loving her means destroying us both.

Taking a deep breath, my eyes flutter open. Morning light filters through the cracks of the blinds like razors across my face. Pain throbs in all my joints before I can even sit up.

Not the usual kind…the lingering ache I’ve trained myself to ignore. This is bone-deep, like every joint, no matter how small, is on fire, while a knife stabs them at the same time. My stomach coils into knots, and my muscles scream to join the party.

I try to sit up and fail miserably.

A groan of agony escapes my chest. Rolling my head to the side, I glance at the time. It’s late, and I need to get up for rehearsal. But every attempt at moving has me seizing and writhing in unbearable agony. What the fuck is this new level of hell?

Knock, knock, knock.

I keep silent. I can’t yell even if I want to, but I also don’t want anyone to see me like this.

Whoever it is knocks again, then barges in without my permission.

“Come on, you’re going to be late. We have a big day.”

Suddenly, Haven is there, pulling back the curtain. I groan and manage to curl up in a fetal position, covering my head. The pain is so unbearable that I’d swear I’ve been shot.

“Close…it…can’t,” I manage to say through the stabbing pain.

“Cy? What’s wrong?”

“Pain,” I answer through clenched teeth. “It’ll pass. Close the curtains.”

She does as I ask and crosses the room. Haven puts her palm against my forehead.

“You’re burning up.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You’re a fucking idiot if you think that.”

I smirk. “You say that like it’s new information.”

Haven pulls out her cell.