Page 85 of Make Me Scream
“I know.”
He curls his lips inward before surging forward and kissing me chastely. Just before he opens the door, he hesitates, muscles in his neck straining as he stares out the window. “I love you, Peris.” And then, he’s gone, leaving me in a cool rush of winter air that makes my head spin.
CHAPTER 25
PERIS
“What the fuck?”
My mind is reeling as I stare at the vacancy Abel left behind. I can’t comprehend any of it. What he said. His abrupt absence.Why?
What the fuck…
I watch him walk away from me, unable to stop him. My fingers clutch for purchase around the wheel, aching to reach out for him, my legs twitching, knowing I should jump out and stop him, but Ican’t.Because what if he didn’t mean it? What if it’s another one of his lies, said merely to placate me?
It’s entirely possible.
Abel plays games—and he’s the best I’ve ever seen at it. I fell for every single one, and I’m still in the midst of them, and it hurts…
But what if he means it?And that’s the thought that sticks there as I watch him walk through the propped open door, my heart hammering against my sternum.
He loves me.
Abel Silver fucking lovesme.He said the words… Words I’ve never heard him say before—not even to Ma—which means itmust hold value to him if that’s the one thing he’s never played around with before… right?
I let out a breathless, manic chuckle and toss my head back as I rake my fingers through my hair. This is unreal. Impossible, and yet…
What?
I shoot up in my seat as the door swings open and out walks my runt. He’s got a hoodie on, hood pulled up over his head, but there’s no mistaking it’s him. My brows tug together, especially because he doesn’t even look over this way.
Just as I reach to open my door to ask him what the hell he’s doing, a black BMW pulls up beside him, and Abel hops in the front seat without preamble. I rear back, surprise washing over me because who the hell is that? The dude driving is some frat boy-looking guy with dark wavy hair and fancy clothes. He reaches over Abel’s body, fingers fluttering over his stomach and latches Abel’s seatbelt for him, and my stomach flips in the worst way possible, a cold dread washing over me.
I can’t believe what I’m seeing—like truly cannot believe it. I dig the heels of my palms into my eyes and rub until I see a fucking galaxy, but even then, when my sight rights itself once more and my runt is still sitting in that car with that man, I realize I was wrong.
So,sovery wrong.
After a minute longer, the guy rights himself and starts to pull away. I jerk in place, ducking down to avoid the flash of his headlights. My heart is thrashing in my chest, and I choke on my own breath as I listen to the crunch of gravel under the tires get further away before I slowly crawl my way back up my seat.
When I straighten up, the car is turning left onto the main road, and I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but I end up driving the same direction—opposite of home. I keep him a single car ahead so I can follow without being suspicious.
“What the fuck are you doing, Peris?” I mutter to myself as I roll to a stop at the stop sign. I drop my head against the steering wheel and bang it against it a few times until I feel a deep throb bloom, and I groan.
My heart is thrashing, a heavy pulsing in my throat and radiating outward through my chest, where it turns into a deep, burning heat in my gut—like acid burning away at my insides.
A car honks at me, and I jerk upward, eyes flashing. I throw my hand up in apology and step on the gas, moving forward. A quick glance at the clock tells me it’s just past two in the morning, and that makes me frown.
Abel’s meeting with a random man at two A.M., and they’re driving toward the outskirts of town.
My hands tighten on the wheel. The cracks bite into my skin, but I barely even feel it as we make a right turn—right into the parking lot for the hotel.
“Fuck.” All hope I had that this wasn’t what I thought it was falls right out of me as the BMW pulls up through the valet. Abel steps out with a grace he really shouldn’t have and lets the valet shut his door for him, his backpack slung over his shoulder.
The other guy follows around the front of the car and presses his hand into Abel’s lower back, and they walk inside, whispering things to one another. Fuckingwhispering to each other like they fucking know each other—I tear into the parking lot and take the closest spot—which just so happens to be a handicap-reserved spot, but I don’t fucking care. Let me get a ticket, or let me get towed. It’ll be worth it.
I speed-walk into the building behind them, keeping my distance but needing them in sight. The dude bypasses the front desk and strides down the hallway. Must have a standing fucking reservation, the piece of shit.
My hands curl into fists at my sides, fury licking through my veins. An all-too-familiar fire I haven’t felt in so long finds itsway inside me, building slowly but strongly, and I know without a doubt it’s going to be catastrophic.
