Page 106 of Off the Rails

It served me to participate. But as soon as the home was shut down and I moved to another home, I stopped reading any of that shit.

God wasn’t helping me. All that praying landed me in the gutter regardless.

None of that explained how weird Rubin was when he saw me.

“Turn that shit off.” Blade hissed behind me, standing over the back of the couch and watching the live stream. “He’s a psycho and that’ll rot your brain.”

Shaking my head, I refused and kept my eyes on the screen. “Ignoring him won’t make it go away.”

On my computer screen, The Messenger approached the camera and held his hands out to the lens. “It isn’t too late for all of us to cleanse Valemont’s soul, to rip out the evil at its core.”

“How did he recognize you?” Blade asked as she pulled a bowl down from the kitchen cabinets, letting it slam shut. “Have you seen him since?”

Shaking my head, I met Blade’s green eyes across the living room. “No. God, no. I was glad to not have to deal with his zealousness.”

I looked at Butch, pressing his dark fur with the tips of my fingers. “I have no idea how he knew it was me.”

So much had changed since the group home. I’d aged almost a decade, changed my hair, my entire aesthetic.

All of us had changed so much.

Fuck, if Nash didn’t have the most distinct eyes I’d ever seen, I’d hardly believe that the Freaks were the same kids I knew back then.

They were tall now, muscular. Tattooed to nearly every inch of their bodies.

Blade nodded. “Me either. You okay?” Her eyes softened as she asked, sticking a spoon in a bowl of cereal before moving around the counter toward the living room. She planted her ass in the kitchen stool and watched me closely.

“Yeah, just off.”

“Still thinking about Jane?”

“Mm.” I bit the inside of my cheek.

Before we could talk more, heavy footsteps came up the stairs. Cyrus appeared, her face serious. “Dom is here. Mask up.”

60

TESS

As we all moved toward the stairs, leaving our apartment behind, Blade grumbled as she shoved her mask on. “My fucking cereal is gonna be soggy.”

Nash brought up the rear, her chest taped flat and no shirt over top. “I’ll make you a new one.” Clapping Blade’s back, Nash laughed.

But my eyes caught on her muscular frame. Without a mask of my own, there was no hiding how her body made me feel. The cascade of muscles up her arms still showed under her spiderweb and lightning tattoos.

Nash slipped on her porcelain mask and grabbed her mallet from the base of the steps.

“Why the masks? Didn’t we see Dom like three days ago?” I asked, feeling vulnerable with my face exposed.

Over her shoulder, Cyrus growled back at me as she unsheathed her machete. “It’s the principle.”

Blade’s voice was a terrifying rumble in my ear. “It’s our hunting ground. Violence won’t see us unmasked here. That’s a special privilege.”

I knew under the dark mask that she was smirking at me, letting me know that the rule I set during our Fright Nights was an exception — one made just for me.

We made our way out of Jungle Jolt and toward the main entrance of Feverpoint.

The sun was just beginning to set, a golden glow cast over the amusement park. It looked undeniably beautiful.