Page 49 of The Filth Kings II

“It’ll always be him.” I finished off my sentence.

“I know.” Syren stated lowly, a soft sob escaped her lips as we waited for Octavio, my savior and soulmate, to arrive.

Chapter23

Octavio

“Iwish Angel had the type of obsession that Rylie has for you,” Detavio murmured from behind me.

I turned to him and whispered for him to shut the fuck up. Detavio always said things at the wrong time. I put Rylie Rose in the tub and convinced her to take all of her medication that put her to sleep. For how long, I didn’t know, but the bags underneath her eyes meant that she hadn’t been to sleep since she left my house days ago. The lack of sleep had her locked in a maniac episode.

“Come on, Detavio. Let’s wait for Octavio in the living room,” Monster said from the door.

I thanked him silently then turned to look down at Rylie Rose. The same night that I kicked her out of my house, I dreamed about her. She was the girl that I rescued in the school restroom from getting bullied. We shared a moment. It was the moment when the bully’s walked out of the bathroom, we stared each other down like we understood each other although the world didn’t.

Rylie’s loud sobs still sounded off in my head from when I put her in the tub. Her cries sounded desperate, like a child being punished for love. When she trembled, I held on to her and gazed into her glassy eyes. Right now, her chest rose slowly as the red silk gown clung to her body tightly. She snored softly. Inside, I felt something I wasn’t expecting to. I took a step closer and dropped my head.

I tried to convince myself that she was dangerous and unhinged…there was no doubt in my mind that she was. The proof was evident in the way that she broke into my house. She had Yani so scared of her that Yani told me that she couldn’t see me anymore. Rylie Rose left notes along the way over the years to let me know that she was always near, watching me. She crossed every line without hesitation.

But now as I stood in front of her sleeping peacefully, the reservations that I had regarding Rylie Rose started to feel distant. Rylie kicked the blanket off and turned slightly to her side. Her rich caramel skin glowed under the light. Her red wild curls were all over the pillow case. Rylie was chaos disguised as beauty and she knew it. My eyes dragged down to where her silk gown rose up her thick thigh stopping at her hip. Her finger twitched occasionally; her face twisted in confusion every couple of minutes.

She just wants to be loved; maybe nobody ever showed her how, so she made her own language of what love was supposed to be. I dragged my hand down my jaw and pulled at my beard hairs. I tried to shake the weight in my chest, it wasn’t pity for Rylie, but it was understanding…the same understanding that we had for each other all of those years ago in the school restroom. That’s what Rylie was trying to get me to see and remember. She held on to that same understanding all of those years ago.

There was something magnetic beneath all the madness, I now understood why she looked at me like I was the answer to every question she’s ever had. I took a seat at the edge of the bed and continued to watch her.

“Maybe I’ve been afraid of you Rylie Rose, because part of me understands you more than I ever wanted to admit,” I whispered.

Detavio’s doctor showed up after thirty minutes of Syren giving us all the information that we needed regarding Impurity’s whereabouts. Syren ended up dying from internal bleeding. Monster didn’t trust her; he wasn’t the one to offer her any medical attention. Rylie Rose must have felt her friend die in her sleep. She woke up around three in the morning and walked into my guest room where we had Syren.

She didn’t react, she simply remained quiet and held onto Syren’s hand as the warmth left her body. An hour later she kissed the top of her forehead then told me that I was the only close person that she had left. I told Rylie that I would pay for a service in honor of her friend, but she told me that Syren didn’t have any friends like that nor family. Rylie asked for Syren to be cremated so that’s what I planned on doing.

“It’s time for us to leave.” Monster broke the silence.

We all sat in my living room as if it wasn’t in the middle of the night. Detavio and Monster was dressed in all black from head to toe. Tactical gear, Kevlar vests, boots laced tightly like they were ready for war. This was personal. I watched them transform into something that I never got to witness. They stood in silence with grim faces, years of hatred simmered in their eyes for Impurity. I sat with Rylie Rose head rested on my right shoulder like an outsider. I was the brother that never pulled a trigger, never spilled blood or watched a man die. At least not yet. That was about to change.

“I’m going with you guys,” I stated sternly.

“Nah, you stay with Rylie Rose,” Detavio said with a grim smirk on his face.

“He can come if he’s sure about it.” Monster interjected.

“This isn’t the kind of shit you come back from…when we get to that underground bunker and do what needs to be done, you will never be able to unsee it. His face before death will pop into your mind randomly…before eating or in the middle of your sleep.” Monster finished his statement then cracked his neck from left to right.

I swallowed down hard, my fingers twitched by my side.

“I need to see him die.” My jaws clenched.

“You don’t need this kind of closure,” Detavio said.

I shook my head and stood up.

“He didn’t just damage you two. He broke us all in his own sick way. The two of you got to fight back and face him…I never got that, so I want and need to see the end of him.” My heart slammed in my chest as a painful lump traveled up my throat.

“Okay. Go suit up, all black. You will stay close and don’t do shit unless we tell you once we get underground,” Monster stated.

“I’m going with you! For Syren, and to protect you.” Rylie Rose’s soft voice interjected into our conversation.

“Rylie Rose, you stay here. Men will be here to pick up Syren’s body. Do not debate me either. Now is not the time.” I looked down into her light brown orbs.

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