Page 20 of The Demons We Hide

I nod as I rise up the steps to the duplex. “Yup.”

“Oh, that’s too rich.” Roquel laughs, the sound loud even over her neighbors’ old radio bumping out deep bass and fast lyrics. This is my world now. The blinders are off. No one and nothing issafeanymore.

9

LEX

One week. One week of no texts. No calls. No responses of any kind. One week of teeth-gritting repressed desires. One week until Gio is officially released from the hospital and the worst of his injuries have been checked, re-checked, and checked a third time for good measure.

I consider myself a patient man. You don’t fall in love with your childhood crush and watch her for thirteen years if you don’t have patience. But in seven long—agonizing—days, she somehow manages to test what I’ve always considered to be one of my better qualities.

She doesn’t come to school, and though I’ve checked her cell and I know that she messaged the Lee girl’s phone number last, I’m not allowed to act on that information. Nolan forbids it. We know where she is, who she’s with, but Nolan is too caught up in Gio’s recovery and trying to find out why someone would attack him because of Juliet to realize that she could be in danger without us around to protect her.

So, what do I do in the interim?

The short answer: I go fucking insane. Staying awake at all hours, staring at the ceiling, lying in a bed with her clothes and the sheets that have remained unwashed because they still smell somewhat like her. When I close my eyes, I dream of her. Soft skin sliding over mine, ocean blue hair between my fingers, pink lips parted to accept my cock.

There’s still so much more I want to do with her. When I hadn’t known what it was like—having her at my mercy, beneath me, on top of me, her scent all over me—it’d been easier to resist. Now that I know… it’s like offering a dying man the cure to his disease and telling him that he can’t have it.

The long answer of what I do is a bit more complex. I do what I do best. Stalk her. Watch her. Take my pictures. Roquel Lee is a classic teenage girl. She has a laptop that’s easily hackable. A phone that she takes far too many pictures on. SnapBird is an app she’s particularly fond of—allowing users to send temporary photos and messages before they’re erased. Nothing is ever truly erased, though, and it’s child’s play to hack her account and find everything.

In many of her photos over the last week, Juliet’s been there. In the background. Reading on a bed. Half dressed, coming out of the bathroom with a toothbrush hanging from her mouth. Flipping off the camera when Roquel actually bothers to make her the star—a rare occurrence. Each hint at her life away from us makes me feral to have her back in my space.

I want her inmybathroom, inmybed, inmyclothes. Not some random cunt’s. The rage nearly pushes me over the edge into dangerous kidnapping territory. Then again, if they would simply let me take her when she least expects it and tie her to my bed, we wouldn’t have to worry about her running off.

“He’s thinking about it again,” G warns as I drive towards the red bricked school building that makes up Silverwood Public.

I cast him a look in my rearview mirror but don’t respond.

“As long as he’s not acting on it, that’s all that matters,” Nolan responds absently, his eyes on his phone screen.

“You know these things come in stages,” G says. “If he’s obsessing too hard, then the next step is for him to act on his urges.”

That finally has Nolan lifting his head and turning to look at me. “You’re not going to kidnap her,” he states.

I don’t say a damn word. I’m not making any promises. I’ve waited for Juliet Donovan long enough. If she doesn’t come to her senses sooner rather than later, then I will be forced to take matters into my own hands—no matter what he says.

Nolan’s expression darkens when I don’t answer. “Alexio.”

My upper lip peels back from my teeth in a snarl as I pull the SUV into a sharp halt, sliding halfway across two lanes and not giving a fuck. I jerk up the emergency break as I slam the gear shift into park. Nolan points at me.

“No.”

My hands clench on the steering wheel to keep from rounding on my best friend and punching him in the face. “If you don’t want me to take care of it”—the words come out slow and measured—“then get her back orI will.”

Nolan has no chance to respond because Gio speaks up again from the back seat. “She’s here.”

Together, our heads whip to the side and spot a familiar head of aqua-blue hair pulled up high into a ponytail get out of the passenger seat of a shitty Toyota Camry. The SUV is off and my seatbelt is unbuckled before I even realize I’ve moved. By then, it’s too late and I’m already stepping out of the vehicle and moving across the pavement of the parking lot.

“Lex!” G calls after me as car doors slam shut behind me.

Dressed in a pair of leggings that conform to every shape of her legs and ass and a soft gray sweatshirt with white paint stains over the front and sides, Juliet turns at the sound of my name. Sunglasses hide her eyes from me, but I don’t let that deter me. Over the top of the Camry, Roquel smirks, seeming amused if not a little unsure.

“Catch you later?” she asks, directing her attention to Juliet.

Juliet merely nods without a verbal response, and Roquel books it towards the school building. I’m dimly aware of several others in the parking lot watching us. Both Nolan and G have caught up to me by the time I reach her. My nostrils flare and I grimace in distaste. She doesn’t smell like herself, but like weed and a sickly-sweet perfume that’s also leaking out of Roquel’s car.

“Where the fuck have you been?” I demand. Though I know the answer, she can’t yet know that we’ve been keeping tabs on her.

---