Page 31 of Vallaverse: Twist
“Is she?”
I nod. “She's on her lunch break, too. But she's going to the park. She's got to finish painting that cherry tree before all the blossoms blow away.”
“How observant.”
“I guess.”
The rest of our lunch outing goes well. The special turns out to be a cream-based soup that reeks of too much garlic, but Kris eats every drop like it's the best thing she's ever tasted. She convinces me to order dessert, and I choose a raspberry moussesince I can't get the tea I want. I even enjoy the walk back to our building.
But it was too good to be true. I feel the drop as soon as I step off of the elevator, and a flush heats up my cheeks.
“Kris,” I whisper, devastated. “What did you do?”
“Did you think I was going to let you waste away in that bedroom?”
“Kris.”
“Sweetie, you really need to walk a little faster. We need to get you settled before he gets here.”
“He?” I ask as the first cramp pinches my stomach.
She smiles at me, but it doesn't leave her twisted red mouth. “You've met him before.”
Then everything spins sideways and fire consumes me.
The next thing I'm aware of is the feel of slick sheets underneath me. They're too hot, and they stick to my damp skin as I writhe against them.
“He's ready for you now,” Kris says cheerfully, but she sounds far away and underwater.
The door opens wide, and the silhouette that takes up the frame causes my mouth to dry and my throat to constrict as terror becomes the very air I'm trying to suck into my lungs. He steps into his room, unbuckling his belt.
“Hello again, Omega.”
Chapter Fourteen
Brooks
He's calling again. The fifth time this week. He doesn't leave messages. I shouldn't answer. I know I shouldn't. I know exactly how stupid it would be to take this call, but he's only going to keep calling. And watching his number pop up again and again is starting to feel really shitty.
I swipe to answer the call.
“What do you want, Lazarus?”
He takes a shaking breath. “You answered.”
“You called.”
“I've been calling.”
“I know.”
“Do you hate me?”
Anything I was about to say dies on my tongue. The truth is... maybe. I don't hate Laz, not really. But I hate what he does to himself, and I hate how much it hurts me to watch the damage accumulate. I hate myself for letting him pull me back in after all this time.
“You do,” he says quietly. “Don't you?”
My shoulders sink with a heavy sigh. “No. I don't hate you.”
