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I shrug, not really sure how to put it into words. "He's being… haunted? He's possessed? I don't know the right term for it." I snap my finger. "The Exorcist. You know that movie?"
Samuel takes a step back, fear in his eyes. "What about it?"
"Malik is that little girl. His eyes turn white, his voice changes, he grows superhuman strength. There is a demon in him." My eyes water as I think about his face earlier. Hate and fear commingling into one terrifying emotion. "He's scared. Like, really scared. Whatever is taking him over is taking over everything. Malik is losing himself."
I can hear the phone crack in Samuel's hand.
"I need to call the priest." He stomps off, heading down the hall. A moment later, the door to his office slams shut.
I stare at the front door, willing Malik to walk through with his dark eyes. I don’t want the white ones. I want the real Malik to walk through the door. Even if for just a moment.
It's almost as if I conjure him home. I can sense him before I hear him or see him. My chest quakes and my body trembles. Need and fear heat between my legs. I swallow down the whimper in my throat as the door swings open, the heavy wood slamming against the wall. I stand off my stool, wanting to run from him and run to him at the same time.
He stands in the doorway, his dark uniform shirt rumpled and wet. His chest heaves beneath his shirt, with his hands clenched into fists at his sides. I can barely see his eyes, with his hair curled in front of his face.
The smell of wet pine slides down the hall and into my senses, along with the strong scent of cigarette smoke, and my fake heart thumps in my chest.He’s home.
But one step in the door and I immediately know it's not Malik.
I can sense it.
He storms in, leaving the door opened in its wake. His leather boots stomp through the hall, leaving wet marks on the dark floors. His gaze is on me, not that I can see it, but I can feel the combined heat and ice in his gaze spearing me. I'm suctioned in place. I can barely move.
"Malik," I gasp. "What happened? Where have you been?"
He steps into my space, and my back lay flush against the rigid island. "Malik?"
His hair brushes away from his eyes. One eye stays black, and the other is white. Paper white and pitch-black glaring down at me, and I swallow the lump in my throat, so lost and alone, but also found. It doesn't make sense. I'm starting to feel so at home when it comes to him, yet I want to tear him into pieces for how cruel he is.
"You," he growls. "You were locked away."
"I got out." I stare up at him, my neck cranked back in an uncomfortable position. My spine aches, my healing scratches stretched into discomfort, the scabs screaming in pain.
But right now, it doesn’t matter. He’s here. It’s just us, here, together again.
What's happening to me? To us? To him?
He pushes against me, his finger sliding beneath my chin. He tilts my head up until I can't tilt it anymore. His eyes clash into mine, and a chill runs through my body at the two different colors. The two different souls living in one body.
“Vera, what is going on?” My mom’s heels clack on the floor as she grows closer, and I know her tone is one of disgust. Of our closeness. Of our intimacy.
I hear a door open, and the heavy footsteps of Samuel walking down the hall echo into my ears.
"Malik? Malik! Where have you been? I've been looking all over town! Why weren’t you answering your phone?"
He doesn't flinch, doesn't look away from me. Doesn't remove his hand. He keeps his eyes on me, and I stay pinned in his gaze, in the trance we're lost in.
Our own dark world.
"Malik! Answer me, goddammit! And get your hands off your sister."
He smiles, his sharp teeth glistening at me. "She didn't seem to mind the other night when I was buried between her thighs."
My eyes widen, and I can hear my mom gasp.
Malik is ripped away from me as his dad spins him around by his shoulder. He grips his arms, shaking him a bit with his reddened face and furious expression. "You what? What the fuck did you do?" he roars. His hand goes back, and he backhands Malik across the face.
Malik doesn't move. Isn't fazed in the slightest.
