Page 267 of Chaos Kills

Vivian’s eyes tighten a tad. “Oz, I know you want to see the best in people.” She takes a step forward, seizing my next inhale. “You saw it in me. You agreed to always be at my side, didn’t you?”

I absentmindedly bob my head because I did.

And she promised to always take care of me.

“I’m following through with what I said. And I see a snake. I’m a female, too, Oz. The best way to get inside is?—”

“To keep lying your fucking ass inside,” Cairo leers, snatching my full attention to my right and easing some of my nerves with his presence. His dark brown eyes lock onto mine, and he jerks his head. “Go upstairs.”

“Wait.” Vivian’s body bumps into mine. The smell of roses and honey filling my nose and the nostalgia that fills my head shoves me back in time.

She was the first thing I thought about in the morning and the last thing before I fell asleep. Her declarations of how a better and happier future were on the horizon, filled my world with hope and excitement that I’ve never felt before.

“You know how much I care about you,” she implores, clasping onto my wrist and squeezing it tight. “You know, Oz. Please tell me that you do.”

“Vivian,” Cairo leers darkly. “I swear to fuck, I will rip your arm off your body in the middle of this party if you don’t let him go.”

“He’s gonna keep us apart,” she whimpers, the pad of her thumb rubbing a soft trail up and down my arm, causing violent goosebumps to prick up my skin. “He won’t let me be around you, and I need to be. You don’t know what it’s been like?—”

“Vivian.”

“I’ve tried to contact you, but they had me on a list at the prison you were staying at. I couldn’t contact you.”

“One more word out of you and you’re dead. I swear to God.”

“See what I’m dealing with,” she sobs, a tear hitting her cheek and falling aimlessly to the floor. “I can’t keep dealing with this. I’m so lonely.”

“Ozzy,” Cairo grinds out. “Upstairs.”

His hand appears between us, ripping her grip away, and I immediately take advantage of the reprieve.

It doesn’t take long for me to amble up the stairs and find a familiar bedroom that hasn’t been touched in forever.

It’s Rosalie’s.

Her loss is still felt across the board between us. It’s been years since she took her own life and used to pull my hair. She was the staple that made sure we stayed humble. Rosaliewas firm with me about not being so soft or people were going to walk all over me. That, over time, I’d lose my power and stand behind everyone, never taking a stand and always being a doormat.

She was right.

Except now, I have no problem killing someone for hurting one of mine.

The pink comforter on her bed is the same one that lay there before she died. Even the posters on the wall, the dollhouse in the corner that’s still missing the small chimney because I broke it off when she pissed me off one night and called me a bitch.

That fire is gone—unless provoked.

And even then…

My chest tightens as I continue to look around the room. So many good memories are lost. A plethora of watching Rosalie and Reeve fight or just tease each other.

They were close.

He loved her so much, and then his mother made him do awful things to her. I envy how happy-go-lucky he is through all his pain and darkness. How he was able to bottle it up and shove it to the side and not allow it to run him.

I didn’t adopt that.

Maybe because my sister, Ellie, was so much younger than me and we never had a history together that I could make memories with. When Rosalie committed suicide, the anguish was too great to bear, and that’s when I fell upon Vivian and her affection.

Affection.

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