Page 7 of Sleepless Beauties
He pushes off from the mattress and doesn’t make a sound as he stands. I still feel him there, staring at me from the edge of the bed. A second slips by. Then I faintly hear the click of the door as he closes it behind him. It’s the only indication he’s gone. I blink through the tears I can’t seem to stop, but I refuse to make a sound. I won’t show my weakness to one of them.
I won’t.
Because my sister was indestructible.
And look what they fucking did to her.
* * *
When pale sunlight creeps across my bed, I lie there in the warmth of it for hours. It crawls over the room while I hide beneath the blankets and think about all the things I’ve already dwelled on through the long dark hours of the night.
I tried to protect her. I was her only friend.
And I failed her.
Twice.
I swallow that thought down. It’s a weird sense of grieving I’m trapped in. Because my sister, she truly did die two years ago. The woman I’ve met and maintained a relationship with during the time since, she wasn’t the same girl I grew up with. She wasn’t the twin who understood my every thought.
She was… frigid and proper. Scared almost.
I know why.
Of course I understood.
But it’s hard to mourn someone you’ve already lost a long time ago.
The emotions within me are a pushing and pulling confliction of ups and downs. She’s gone, but her heart is at some form of peace now.
Finally.
When I shove out from the blankets and sneak into the bathroom, the cold flooring sends chills across my flesh. I leave the light off as I brush my teeth at a slow and distracted pace.
Wow, you’d think I was avoiding a monster lurking in my living room.
Probably because I fucking am.
I know Prey is still here.Seventy-two hours,at least. I wouldn’t be surprised if he continued to check up on me for the rest of my short mortal life. That’s what the council of Crimson City does, they keep tabs on the suspicious.
And I’m sus as hell in this case.
Do they know I checked up on them last month? I surveyed the house. The House, I suppose I should say.
I spotted the man Kyra described, the cruel one everyone fears.
I just wasn’t fast enough to kill him before he killed her…
With a swipe of a wet rag over the dried blood along my temple, I realize I’ve stalled as long as I can. I can’t ignore the bloodsucking leech in my apartment any longer.
I slip through my bedroom and quietly open the door.
Then I fling my fist out so fast that the man looming over me doesn’t even have time to react. My knuckles meet the hard plane of his abdomen and he folds on impact. The lazy lean he had as he lounged against the door frame crumbles in half a second. My tired eyes watch while Prey hisses out a lost breath as I simply walk past him to my couch and curl up there with my morning blanket. Once I’m wrapped like a pretty cocoon, not yet ready to spread my wings and fly, I acknowledge the coughing creature.
“Put a fucking shirt on and don’t get comfortable in my house.”
He slowly lifts back to his impressive height, but there’s a new glare in his eyes.
“Did your sister never tell you not to attack your superiors?”
