Page 103 of Serpent In White
“She’s wonderful.”
“She is. Are you really single? You seemed… unsure at first.”
Darian stills, and I hear him thinking about it. The sound is so strong, my knees buckle, and I almost fall down.
Drake will never be able to love me back…Darian’s voice speaks in his mind.He’s ashamed of wanting me.
“I’m single. I’m just… experimenting,” Darian whispers, his words and the tone of his voice striking me down like a thousand knives cutting me all over.
The regret lining them… it’s damning; coated in unrequited feelings and uncertainty, two things Darian has never been.
Until me. This is what I’ve done to him.
“Can I take you in my mouth, Head Priest?” Lars’s voice stings my ears once more, and I turn, quickly storming away as quietly as I can, though I’m sure they heard me slamming the door.
I can’t be bothered with it. I just need to get the fuck out of here.
The thoughts of everyone around me assault my mind as I jump onto my ATV and peel off, dirt and dust kicking up behind me as I tear up the path. I rush back to my trailer at the bottom of the mountain, the farthest from the rest of housing. But when I get there, I still don’t stop. I keep going, up the mountain.
I go up and up and up some more, driving for a long time, farther than we tend to go.
This is uncharted territory.
I come to a fast stop when I almost crash into a tree, jumping off the ATV and immediately falling onto my knees in the dirt. I clutch my chest, because I think I’m having a heart attack, and I can’t breathe. I don’t know what this feeling is, but it’s like a tight, suffocation in my chest, squeezing me from the inside out.
“Fuck… fuck fuck fuck.” I cough, covering my eyes, forcing away tears.
This is stupid. Why am I reacting this way?
I left him. I moved out. I told him we couldn’t…
This is what I wanted. But why?
Why, when I’m so clearly in fucking love with him…
Climbing to my feet, I stagger around, stomping through my thoughts. I walk for a while, weaving between the trees of the mountain until my feet start to ache and my body feels heavier than my heart.
And when I stumble upon a clearing in the woods, I decide it’s the perfect place to sit down.
As I saunter into the clearing, a rock appears before my eyes. It’s dark, black and smooth. It just looks like a seat, and my tired, tear-filled eyes land on it right before my ass does.
Plopping down, I bury my face in my hands, and I cry.
I cry vicious tears, agonizing tears. Tears that sting my eyes and my cheeks, and my hands. They’re like acid, and when my lids creep open, there’s red on my hands.
Deep, thick red, staining my pale skin.
A chill brushes my skin until all the hairs on my arms stand up.
“Why am I bleeding?” I whisper to no one.
My chin lifts as a form steps in front of me. It takes a few blinks over my blurred vision before I recognize the person.
My gaze narrows suspiciously.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” the all too familiar voice stabs my ears. “Hey, shrimp. Long time no see.”
“Dan.” Pure hatred etches my tone as I stare up at him in rage and disbelief. “I thought I killed you.”
