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Chase mentally face-palms himself.
But then Aliana smiles—and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, like the clouds moving away from the sun after days of gray, overcast skies. Her eyes sparkle with something akin to warmth.
“I… Thank you, Em. For the present.”
I fuckingpreen. “I read that women love chocolates and flowers.” I begin to bounce on the balls of my feet in excitement. “But that’s not your only present.”
“Oh god. Please, no,” she says, her eyes widening.
Obviously, she’s pretending to be terrified. I know she secretly loves my gifts. She smiled, didn’t she?
“Silly girl. Don’t you know I’ll give you everything your heart desires?” I stare at her, and this time, I don’t bother to hide all of the adoration I feel for her. I want her to see just how much I’ve come to care for her, crave her, need her. Dare I say, love her. “I meant what I said before. I’m determined to fight for you, Aliana, and prove to you I’m a monster worth caring about.” I reach for her hand, and a tiny thrill shoots through me when she doesn’t pull away. “Come on. Part…what is it now? Seven? Yes! Part seven of my master plan to win you over is underway.”
23
ALIANA
I didn’t havethe heart to tell the Empty Man that his “gift” makes me want to dry-heave. The pungent stench of decay and mold threatens to overwhelm my senses. He just looked sohappy, and I couldn’t ruin that for him.
So I allow the crazy monster to grip my hand and lead me out of the room.
I know I should probably be cautious, especially considering our sordid past, but I know Em will never hurt me now. He’s brash, a little eccentric, and most definitely insane, but I believed him when he said that he changed.
An innate voice in the back of my head repeatedly whispers,Give him a chance. One chance.
I shush that voice and remind her thatshewasn’t the one who was almost stabbed by the sexy ghost monster.
Still, I don’t pull away as Em guides me to a theater—I’ve learned that’s what each individual room is called—we haven’t yet explored. It’s smaller than the one we left Creep in and is missing the majority of its seats.
In the center of the room, in front of a huge white screen covered in claw marks, is a collection of pillows, blankets, and unlit candles.
“TA-DA!” Em gestures towards the setup with dramatic jazz hands.
A strange fluttery sensation—reminiscent of hyperactive puppies—explodes in my chest.
“What is all this?” I ask, venturing a tentative step closer.
The blankets appear to be clean, if a little musty, and I don’t see any bugs or mold…
“We’re having a candlelit picnic,” Em declares happily. He drags me towards the blanket and gestures for me to take a seat.
I do so, albeit timidly, and he plops down opposite me.
“Now, I don’t have any matches, so the candles will be unlit…but…” He holds up what appears to be a tiny box. I recognize it as something humans would store their money in. “I have a picnic basket-ish.”
He looks so fucking pleased with himself that a tiny smile curls up my lips unbidden.
“This is actually really sweet, Em.” Heat slithers its way up my cheeks.
Am I actually…blushing?
What the fuck?
“I used some of the food we brought to make dinner,” Em continues excitedly. He holds out a bowl of ravioli and anotherof corn. “We didn’t have any bread for me to make a sandwich like atruepicnic, but…”
With an excited yelp, he rips apart one piece of sticky ravioli. Red sauce stains his fingers like blood. Then, he grabs a tiny bit of corn, shoves it inside the now opened ravioli, and attempts to stick the two halves back together.
“I call it a pasta corn sandwich!” He holds his creation out to me, his eyes glimmering with joy.
