Page 103 of The Cute Psycho

Sasha had applied a band-aid over the gash above her temple.

"Does it hurt?" I ask as I graze my hand over the gauze. She shakes her head slightly, letting out a big yawn.

"I feel tired," she whispers, looking worn out.

"Rest," I say, caressing her forehead, "I'll watch over you."

"Can you..." She trails off, and I swear I detect a blush creep up her cheeks. "Can you," she clears her throat, "get in bed with me?"

"You want me to get in bed with you?" A smile spreads over my face. "It must be my magnetic charisma that charms even the convalescent," I barely finish the phrase as her hands swat me.

"Fine, then don't." She pouts at me, moving to turn with her back to me.

"No, no," I call out, quickly shedding my clothes and getting into bed with her. "You're not getting rid of me, Hell Girl," I say as I move closer to her.

Her lips pull up into a smile as she swings an arm over my midriff, placing her head on my shoulder and giving me a quick kiss.

"Did you find what you wanted today?" she asks.

Putting my arm around her back, I tug her into me, resting my chin on top of her head.

"I don't know," I admit truthfully.

Certainly, I'd found outsomething.But it had only confused me more. I'll need more time to put all the pieces together to get the full picture.

"One thing is for sure. These people are more powerful than I previously gave them credit for. At least now I know the truth about why Vanya and I were taken when we were little."

"Your condition," Sisi adds, and I nod.

"If only I could remember what happened in those years... I'd have more insight into how these people operate, because it's clear that they perform experiments on people."

"Do you..." She starts, grimacing, "Do you think they did that to you too?"

"If they did, I don't remember. Maybe it was too horrific and I just blocked it all out," I joke, but Sisi doesn't find it funny.

"Don't..." She raises her head to look me in the eye. "It's not funny that they might have..." She trails off as she traces the raised ridges on my stomach.

"God," she whispers, getting into a sitting position and spreading her hands over my chest. "This is why you have so many tattoos, isn't it?" She whips her head up, her gaze accusatory. "My God, there are so many..." She shakes her head as she keeps on bumping into scar after scar.

Long, jagged lines that feel like surgeon's sutures mar my entire torso. Before I covered them in ink, I'd looked like a Frankensteinian monster, body parts sewn together to give the appearance of something human, when intrinsically it was anything but. I still remember the glances of pity that would nevertheless transform to horror as people turned away from me in disgust.

Freak.

Misha's appellation might have been appropriate, since I wasn't just wrong on the inside. I was wrong on the outside, too.

I bring my hand over hers, stopping her.

"You're too smart for your own good, Hell Girl," I say, staring intently at her.

I don't want her to know that part of my life, just like I don't want her to look at me differently. I've always known what I am, but the prospect of her truly knowing too is unusually distressing.

And how she's managed to connect what she saw in that factory to the scars on my body is beyond me.

"It's true, isn't it?" she continues, her features filled with worry.

"Might be." I shrug. "I don't remember."

It's technically true, but for the first time, I find myself uncomfortable in my own skin. No one's ever seen or touched my scars besidesVanya. But seeing that she's just a figment of my imagination, I don't think she counts.

---