Page 50 of Die For Me

“I’m not laughing at that, Jessica. I’m laughing because I’ve got something I can use against him.”

She sighed. “Well, that’s not all.”

I perked up again.

“She saw him after Hana left him. She said he drunkenly called her and begged her to go to him. He fucking did it to heragain, all while he carved Hana’s name onto himself.”

Holy shit. This was good. Now I just needed to confirm if this was true; I needed to find Michael’s scars and then present it all to Hana.

The question was, would Hana think this was too disturbing to still love him? Or would she forgive him, as she always forgave me? It was my favorite quality about Hana, how she was so empathetic and kind. It worked in my favor many times. But now Hana’s kindness may get in the way—it may even work against me.

Hana

I don’t know what came over me when I asked Jack and Michael to have sex with each other. It was absurd to even think about; I knew there was no way in hell they would do it. I was getting greedy. But having them both at the same time was exhilarating, and I wanted more.

Having either of them, atanytime, was exhilarating lately. It almost felt like we were sneaking around when Jack and I would take a hot shower together, or when Michael and I would have a quick fuck against the giant glass window in his room.

Only five days into living at Michael’s apartment together and I almost thought we were all going to get along just perfectly. Jack had a lot of meetings during the day, leaving Michael and I alone together, and Jack and I would stay up until the wee hours of the morning while Michael slept. It seemed like everything was going to work out just fine, until I woke up to yelling in the living room. It was dark outside, so it must have been early morning—why would they both be up without me at this time?

I crept my way into the hall and heard scuffling and murmured voices downstairs. As I poked my head around the corner, I saw Jack holding Michael’s arm behind his back and Michael trying to shove Jack off him. They weretryingto be quiet as they shifted their weights, Jack’s grip loosening fromMichael’s arm, until they both backed into the fridge behind them.

“What the fuck is going on?” I yelled.

They suddenly broke free from each other, shock spreading across their faces. I quickly stepped down the stairs.

“Jack?” I turned to him expectantly, waiting for an answer.

“He’s fucking crazy, Hana. He’s made up some ridiculous story,” Michael started, out of breath.

“It’s not ridiculous, Hana. Look at his skin to see what I’m talking about,” Jack chimed in.

My eyes were bulging out of my head. “What the fuck do you mean?” I asked Jack, walking closer to them to prevent another fight.

“Look—look right there on his bicep. On his left arm.” Jack pointed.

Michael crossed his arms, looking at Jack with narrowed eyes and a scowl on his face. “You’re fucking out of your mind,” Michael hissed at Jack.

Now my curiosity was piqued.

“Why not just show me your arm, Michael?” I asked gently as I walked closer to him.

Michael watched me with hesitant eyes. Hewashiding something. He had never given me that look before. I waited as he scratched his beard and looked to the floor.

“Before he tells you this ridiculous story, Han, I’ll tell you what really happened,” he explained, his voice quiet as he looked up at me.

Jack snorted. “Yeah, let’s hear your version.”

I whipped my head to look at Jack. “Please. Let him talk, Jack,” I snapped and then turned back to Michael.

My stomach dropped as Michael lifted his left arm and revealed scars that started from his elbow and ended almostto his armpit. I walked closer and realized those scars spelled something…my name. I looked up at him with wide eyes.

“I told you I went mad while you were gone, Hana.” His eyes were sullen and almost black in the faint kitchen light.

I ran my fingers over my name on his arm. How had I not noticed before? They were slightly raised and pale red, almost white.

“How did you know about this, Jack?” My voice was barely audible as I removed my fingers from Michael. I looked over at Jack when he didn’t respond.

He crossed his arms before he spoke. “Jessica spoke to his ex-girlfriend, Jackie.”

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