Page 35 of Fright Night
His command weaves through me in an unexpected manner, and though my nerves are taut with uncertainty because the last time I was on my knees for him, he was crouched behind me and then left me on the edge, I find the ground rushing towards me. His fingertips are now a mere brush against my skin.
“Fuckin’ dreamed of this.” He murmurs it so softly, the wind takes it away and I almost believe he never opened his mouth. “You on your knees like this.”
“For how long?”
“Started to fall for you the first time you cleaned me up.”
That was a few weeks after moving in. Though Knox and I barely spared one another any attention, his pain was too obvious to ignore. Even when he demanded I leave him be, I sat him on the edge of the bathtub and wiped the blood away with a warm cloth. We didn’t speak. We didn’t need to.
His hand travels upwards, back to my mouth, ending the memory. My lips part for him on instinct, without instruction—because being with Knox is like being a different person. A person I’d rather be than the one I’ve been living. The perfect daughter. The quiet head of the planning department. The one trying to protect her stepfather from embarrassment.
Knox makes me feel powerful. He shows me desire in a way never imagined before. He’s urging me to change my future.
“But when you first tricked me, that really solidified my feelings,” he continues.
His hand traces my face as he walks around me. He gathers my hair to shift it off my neck, and when he bends down, his lips create patterns of goosebumps.
“Trick. That’s what you say if something gets too much. Trick and it stops. Understand?”
I nod.
“Alright. Be good and stay here for a moment, ’kay? Don’t move from this position. When I return, I wanna see you like this. A pretty fairy on her knees amidst the fallen leaves.”
My wings were cast aside a few feet away, making his nickname feel a bit pointless.
He heads for the maze’s path that leads away from the centre. After everything, he’s walking away and leaving me kneeling on the cold, hard ground in the middle of a Halloween maze, long after dark?
Um…
His exit barely makes sense, unless everything he recently said is false. What if this is another trick? What if he’s leaving the park entirely and going home, laughing at his stepsister kneeling for nothing?
I should go too. Say fuck this and head home. All this douses the fire his kiss lit.
My knees shift, repositioning. My ass lowers to rest on my heels and I bring my arms closer together. With it getting so late, the nighttime chill of fall is setting in and this costume isn’t meant to protect me from the cold.
Minutes pass, but even checking my phone is useless, being unaware of what time it was when he left.
A few more minutes go by and I’m on the verge of giving up. Obviously, he’s abandoned me or else he wouldn’t have been gone this long. It’s a cruel trick to make me desire him, only to pull back at the last second. Like last night, but somehow worse too because this time I was all-in.
With a resigned huff, I stand on shaky legs, gather my phone and fake wings, straighten my dress, and leave. When I turn the corner of the maze, an imposing form is right there, mask on his face, knife twirling around in his hand.
“Knox,” I breathe, unsure if my pounding heart is due to nerves or relief. Both, perhaps.
“And where,” his low purr emulates from behind the glowing mask, “do you think you’re going? Didn’t I tell you to stay on your knees where you belong?” His hand snaps towards me and fists the costume, which feels so much more delicate now. With it, he hauls me against his chest and I toss my phone to the side for safety. “If you wanna be my whore, you have to obey.”
“You didn’t come back.”
The mask tips to the side, in that silent and unnerving way he does. My heart pounds even faster when he brings the blade towards me, twirling it before slicing the ribbons tying the bosom of my dress together. Against the sharp blade, the satin doesn’t hold up—but neither does he. Once the ribbons are useless to ever tie the dress again, he continues, cutting it down to my waist before ripping it the rest of the way. The material flutters to the ground by my feet.
Then I realize what all this was for. He’s trying to elevate my blood pressure. Make me scared of him. Make mescream.
I can play along.
As he lowers for the dress, I run away, pushing around him and heading for the only exit in the maze. By the end of the path, I peek over my shoulder, spotting my phone and dress where I left them, but no Knox.
Strange…but I don’t turn around, continuing for the exit, aware that in my dress-less state, walking home isn’t an option. If I even make it that far. Hopefully he realizes I’m only playing his game and not running away for real.
As I turn the corner, I slam into a figure—again—and a masked Knox stands there, arms crossed over his chest, the knife still in his grip.
