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The darkness.
“How long are you gonna be gone?” Kon grunts, interrupting my thoughts.
Licking my lips, I tilt my head to the side and smile. “As long as Daddy Dearest will have me.” Isaac’s eyes narrow to thin slits and his mouth parts as if he’s about to disagree.
So, I throw him a wink, knowing he won’t do shit with Eve home, and settle deeper into the leather chair.
He glares at me for another second before cutting his hand through the air in frustration, and storms out of the house, letting the screen slam shut behind him.
With a shaky hand, I pull out a cigarette and slide it between my lips as I tune back into my phone call. My lighter stutters for a second before igniting the tip, and I pause. I’ve practically been chain smoking since I got here, and it’s on the last dregs of juice.
Taking a deep drag, I let my head fall back.
Better this than drinking.
Kon is still sputtering in disbelief, making me chuckle. He had no idea where I fucked off to yesterday afternoon, just that I had an emergency. He’s a chill boss, doesn’t ask much of us beyond doing our job well, but he’s also my friend. More like a father, actually.
Besides Chase, Konstantin is the only person who gave a shit what happened to me all those years ago when I left Divinity. He picked me up and took me in, literally. I owe him everything.
Including the truth.
“You’re with that fucker?” he hisses. “What the fuck, Pyro?”
I smirk at the nickname. Not many people in Divinity know me by that name, but everyone at Deliverance does.
“Well,” I mutter, taking another hit. “He’s not here right now.”
He grunts. “But why there?” Pausing, he clicks his tongue in understanding. “Is she alright?”
I swallow back the words that want to fly free at his question. The fury and dire need to lash out. To burn shit. To quench the ache in my throat that’s begging for a drink.
I choke it all down the same way I’ve choked down my emotions since I got here. The memories this house brings back threatens to send me down another spiral. But I promised myself three years ago I wouldn't do that again.
It’s nearly impossible to ignore the ghosts lingering in the house, the memories of Jane and Eve laughing and playing. The way Isaac seemed to thrive as a father to a kid who was actually good, and not troubled like me. The way Eve and I seemed to connect on a soul-level, not just as friends, or step siblings, or lovers, but as something else entirely.
I’ve tried to ignore everything and I have to. I don’t have a choice anymore. The memories I once held close to my heart are now tainted.
Tainted with the vision of Isaac kissing her last night in the kitchen. His hands on her body like they had any right to be there. His mouth on her skin, his cock nestled against her perfect, thick ass.
My jaw grinds so hard my teeth throb.
The sound of her coming for him last night.
“Roman?” Kon murmurs. “You there, man?”
Sighing, I rake my fingernails over the arms of Isaac’s chair, relishing in the long streaks I leave behind. I blow out a stream of smoke and pinch the cigarette between my fingers.
“I’m here.”
I watch as the golden-orange ember sizzles and sparks against the brown leather, eliciting the strong scent of smoke and chemicals.
Relief fills me at the sight. It’s like a visual representation of my soul.
“Look,” I murmur, pushing up out of the chair before I light the whole thing on fire, letting it burn to ash along with this godforsaken house. “I’ll be back for my clients tomorrow. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
“I know,” he sighs. “I knew you wouldn’t flake unless it was bad.”
It is bad. I don’t say that, though.
