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You.
You.
You.
Because I’m the one who broke her.
And I’m the one who has to repent.
“Eve,” I choke, my eyes squeezing shut to force back the next thing that happened in this doorway.
To force his black eyes out. Eyes that bled through my skin, finding my weaknesses and latching on like leeches as he stormed toward me, every inch the righteous fury he wields.
I knock again, but she doesn’t respond and the ugly thing inside me riots like a battering ram against my chest, shoving me forward.
“Goldie, I’m coming in,” I call, swallowing thickly.
The door opens with a creak, revealing an empty room bathed in bright light. I step through, my gaze looking for any sign of her. The bathroom door is closed and the sound of the shower trickles through the old wood.
With a sigh, I rake my hands through my hair, indecision warring inside me. I should leave. Should go right back to Mammoth like Kon told me to. I should pretend this house and everyone inside of it doesn’t exist. It would be better for me.
I probably wouldn’t be so fucking stressed all the time. So worried about her, about him and what he might do. I wouldn’t exist on pins and needles, constantly on edge, waiting for the next time he wraps her in his arms and touches her like he has any right to.
I probably wouldn’t be so fucking tired.
But I know I’m not going anywhere. I tried once. Four years ago, I left. I put almost a hundred miles between us and I still couldn’t let her go. I still couldn’t forget her. Forget him. Forget every memory I tried to drink away.
Even at the bottom of countless bottles, I still couldn't find peace.
Maybe I never will.
Sinners are supposed to burn in eternal fire, after all. Or so my father’s always preached. I smirk as I wrap my fingers around my lighter.
Bet he had no idea I’d love the flames so much.
With a breath full of bone-deep exhaustion, I make my way toward Eve’s bed. I haven’t slept in over twenty hours and I’m running on fumes.
Last night was unexpected and fucked up, to say the least. Nothing went like I’d planned—not that I was really planning anything, but I certainly didn’t expect to spend the night in a Mammoth hospital with a minor.
My boot crunches against something, and the sound of it grinding into the wooden planks makes me freeze. My brows furrow as I lift my foot to see what I accidentally ruined, again.
A choked breath gets caught in my lungs at the sight of the tiny white grain. My eyes blur, the room spins and I have to catch myself on the edge of her bed.
No.
I think I say it outloud but my ears are ringing.
My mouth goes dry and I shake my head, trying to clear the visions pressing in on the edges of my consciousness. I drop down to a crouch and roll my finger over the rice granule. Just one. It could be anything.
She could have tracked it in from somewhere else in the house—probably the kitchen.
Not anywhere else. Definitely not anywhere else.
Right?
“Get it together, Payne,” I mutter, flicking the grain from my fingers. I watch it land a few feet away and roll over the wooden planks before falling between them. “Fuck.”
Before I know what I’m doing, I’m on my hands and knees, searching for proof.
