Page 142 of Shadowman
Byron claims that he and Ren fooled around casually, but clearly, it happened often enough that Byron formed some sort of attachment to Ren, the thought of which has been driving me a bit mad.
Why is he able to hook up with Ren so freely, yet withme, it’s like pulling teeth? What does thisRencharacter have that I don’t?
Is Ren easier than me? Is that it??
I can be what he needs… Even if it destroys him in the process.
“Always projecting your issues onto others…”
The voice snaps my face around in search of him.Leo??
Fuck, where are you??
Sighing out of defeat, I give one last lingering look to mycompetition, who, thankfully, is down here for the foreseeable future.
Enjoy your stay, sweetheart.
Heading back in the other direction, I search for the room. It takes me a bit, since all of these corridors look alike. But eventually, I find the door I committed to memory, and knock.
A moment of quiet passes before a soft voice calls out, “Hello?”
“Hi, Felix.” I grin at the door. “May I come in?”
He sounds closer when he asks, “Trevel…?”
“Aww, you remembered.”
The distinct click of him turning a lock is followed by the door opening just a crack. And there’s Felix Darcey peering through the opening at me, black-framed glasses outlining his bewildered expression.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, almost mousy in his soft-spoken passiveness.
I’m amazed that this cute little ball of terror actually murdered over thirty peopleandcaptivated a straight doctor of the mind. He seems far too insecure for all of it.
Is that what Dr. Love likes? Vulnerability paired with impulse control??
Because… um, hello!
Focusing on what I’m doing, I pull charm out of my bum. “I was just coming back from my session with Lemuel and thought I’d stop by to say hello.”
The look on The Carver’s face tells me he’s unsettled by many aspects of what I’ve just said.Good. That’s what I was going for.
“Oh…” He peeks out into the hall behind me. “And you just… walk around? No guards or anything…?”
I shrug. “I mean, don’t you?”
He blinks and straightens, opening the door a bit more. “Good point. So, how was your session?”
“Fabulous,” I sigh. “Lemuel is truly a revelation. But I don’t have to tell you that…”
He stares at me for a moment. “No. You don’t.”
My lips twitch.Come on, baby psycho. Get mad…
“I missed having sessions with him greatly after he left,” I go on. “He was always so helpful, you know? I’m sure he’s helped you a great deal as well…”
I witness the mound of his throat dip. “I think we help each other.”
My stomach bunches, and I have to fight the urge to grab him by the throat. “Of course you do. He does seem rather settled now. And that’s all thanks to you, little Felix.” I poke him on the nose, and he balks. Peering over his head, I observe his room—it looks like a closet someone turned into a dormitory. “Cute flat.”
