Page 11 of Poison Aches

The boy glances at me, as if sizing me up and down, then he holds my gaze, ridicule clear in his eyes.

“You’re just a c-coward.”

CHAPTER 2

Emmett

I’d been watching the silly, confused, and dazed-looking girl from the moment she ran around the corner of the church and up the slight hill toward the cliff.

She seemed out of it, a thoughtless, reckless little girl that has no sense.

But looking at her now, and the flood of unshed tears in her eyes, I can spot something else that makes the thing in my chest jump vigorously.

Guilt.

So much guilt.

I narrow my eyes at her.

She can’t be more than seven years old. Tiny, her hair pulled back into a puffy ponytail, that’s now filled with snow.

Why the hell isn’t she wearing a damn hat?

Actually, she isn’t wearing much at all besides that ugly frilly black dress and black tights, sans a jacket, in this snowstorm.

But then again, she doesn’t look like she has any forethought in life.

It turns out the girl who was pretending to be strong while accepting condolences by the entrance of the church twenty minutes ago is just a coward.

Not just a coward, though, at least for what she wants to do, but she also seems like a reckless idiot.

Without meaning to, I scoff out loud at her pathetic behavior.

The girl jumps in fear.

“What?” the girl shrills, still looking at me in shock. “I-I’m not a coward!”

Obviously she hadn’t noticed me here but I had seen the pathetic play of emotions on her face like a movie in 4D that Noah Montreal is always droning on and on about.

“Really?” I bite back, already bored but still looking at her for some reason.

“Yes.”

“Then you’re a liar, which is even worse.”

“I’m not!” she shouts but her shoulders start trembling as tears start streaming down her face.

Urgh.

I hate crying children. They get on my nerves.

Like, the fuck are you crying for like you’re the only one that has it hard in this damn life?

Of course the girl looks miserable, but she has the right idea as a solution.

She just needs to see it through and rid me of this crap.

I ignore her and look out at the dark sea.

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