Page 66 of Make Me A Sinner
I ignore him for as long as I can, but unfortunately, I won’t be able to spend the next few months stuck in this lobby. There’s only one way out of this—turn and face him.
The seconds before I meet his gaze feel like hours of torture, but still not long enough to prepare. I’m more scared now than the day he killed everyone around me.
What if this time he kills me and drags me to the depths of hell?
Great, now I’m thinking about him killing me, and I can’t wipe thatI know what you areexpression off my face, let alone pretend I haven’t heard a thing and that standing here in front of this door is just a weird coincidence.
There’s no way out but to face the reality, and I know it. I finally look at him, unable to control the shadow of fear as my breath picks up. And I see the same recognition on his face.
He knows I know.
thirty-one
-Serena-
“We’re leaving,” Set says through gritted teeth, and as much as I’d like to contradict him on that and stay a couple of more hours at the party to clear my head, I’m afraid I’m gonna have a panic attack.
Phro and Ares linger in the doorway as Set escorts me downstairs, dismissing my sister entirely. In fact, he didn’t seem to care about anyone else. And why would he? Everyone else is probably just flickers of light in the endless stretch of time to him.
My steps feel heavy, and by the time we reach his car, I think I’m shaking. It’s something involuntary, but I just can’t help it, even though I feel him watching me like he’s judging every tremble.
He opens my door, and I slip into the passenger seat as he gets behind the wheel. But he doesn’t start the car right away. Instead, he turns to look at me, and he suddenly feels like a whole different person. I don’t even know if he’s good or bad. All I know is I can’t wipe this stupid look off my face. Like, I don’teven know how to handle him anymore, even though he hasn’t changed. But everything else has. And every single one of his gestures begins to make sense. Everything that’s happened up to now has a whole new meaning.
“How much did you hear?” he asks in a cold, calculated tone that makes me all the more jumpy.
“I…I…,” my mouth opens, but no coherent words come out of it, because I have no idea what to tell him. I assume their discussion was longer, but I also assume I heard the essentials. At least the essentials that matter for me.
“For fuck’s sake, Serena, don’t be afraid of me,” he snaps, and the pleading edge in his voice makes me do just that. I’m scared of him even though I’m doing my best not to be. He’s still the same Set, only now there’s a demon on my shoulder, telling me to run, and an angel on the other, swearing everything will be okay.
“Fuck,” Set curses, slamming the wheel right before he floors it back to the city. I’m almost glued to my seat as the speedometer creeps toward 150.
One way or the other, I’m probably gonna die tonight.
Strangely enough, he doesn’t say another word for the whole drive back. Not even when we reach the hotel. He just starts packing the second we walk into the penthouse.
Things are getting absurd. I thought I was the one who was supposed to be running, not him.
“Set,” I try to make him notice me since all he seems to be focused on is showing as many clothes as he can into that damn suitcase.
“I can’t do this now, Serena,” he cuts me off as if he’s trying to ignore me. As if what I just found out can be ignored or put off like it means nothing.
“You should’ve told me,” I trail off, trying to ignite some sort of conversation because watching him pack is far more painful than any words that might follow.
“You weren’t ready to hear it. You’re still not,” he answers without even raising his eyes from those damn T-shirts he keeps throwing into the suitcase.
“Ready to hear that you’re the son of the devil, or that your role here is to keep everyone else alive? That you’re not all evil?” The words tumble out between tears.
Damn, I’m crying.
“That’s exactly why you’re not ready. Your mind wants to turn me into a hero so you can cope with the idea of being with a criminal. But I assure you, Serena, I live up to my name. I’m no hero.I am a fucking devil.” This time, he does look at me as he says the words, and I can see it in his eyes that he means every single one of them. “We’ll talk about this when I get back. There’s something urgent I have to do. Just don’t leave the hotel until I return.” He shuts the suitcase and storms out the door without giving me a single other explanation, or a goodbye.
My heart’s pounding so loudly it’s almost deafening, my chest feels like it’s being ripped in half. How am I supposed to deal with this and still keep my sanity?
The confusion is unbearable, and yet, in some twisted way, I’ve never seen things more clearly. He’s the devil's son. I should be running. Screaming. Praying. But all I seem to do is stare at the door he just walked through, haunted by the fact that the one person I fear, idolize, and can’t seem to live without... is also the only thing keeping the world from burning.
thirty-two
-Set-
