Page 8 of Casper
She was afraid of me. Not that I could blame her. She didn’t know me. If she did, she would know a monster lurked inside me. One that could only be appeased when holding someone’s life in my hands. Feeling the crack of bones in my grasp.
There was a reason I was the enforcer of our group. The first to get my hands dirty. I never shied away from violence. Never thought twice about it. Luna had witnessed that firsthand tonight. Maybe it was better this way. For her to see who and what I really was. If she couldn’t handle what she saw tonight, she couldn’t handle me.
Not that I expected her to share my secret crush. I didn’t get close to many women. None in fact. Occasionally, I partook in a one night stand, but even those were few and far between. I had a tendency to frighten women. Possibly due to my size or my silence while roughly fucking them.
I intimidated the hell out of women. I had yet to find one that saw the real me and didn’t run screaming. After Luna’s reaction tonight, I expected her to be no different.
“Don’t tell me you’re staring at the colorful one.” Auryn jabbed me hard in the ribs with his elbow. “Are you fucking kidding me right now, bro? Is there an epidemic of pussy whipping going on around here? Should I be keeping my distance? I don’t want to catch that shit.”
He and I stood with the rest of the guys outside the church, watching the growing party. Giving him a shove, I signed, “Do that again and I’ll break you in half.”
Rebel scoffed. “Sounds like someone is jealous they don’t have a hot chick riding their dick every night. Get over yourself, Auryn. We’re onto you.”
“Not everyone wants a chick on their dick,” Dominik Taylor added with a smirk. He’d turned up at the graveyard shortly after we arrived. When we’d asked where he’d been, he shrugged us off.
Feeling frustrated, I moved to stand in front of the four of them so they could all see my hands while I signed. “The body at the Halloween park was because of me. The guy I roughed up last year went after Luna. I killed him.”
“Brandon Jacobs?” Stray sipped from his whiskey. “Why would he go after Luna?”
“He seemed to think we were together.” My hands moved quickly, so I tried to slow them down for Auryn and Rebel who weren’t as adept at sign language as Stray and Dom had become. “He was going after her because of me.”
Dom shrugged. “What’s the problem? You took care of him. Nobody saw you, right?”
“Only Luna. It scared her pretty bad.” I paused in signing to glance across the graveyard to where she stood near the fire pit with her friends.
“She’s not going to say anything, is she?” Auryn followed my gaze.
I shook my head, my hands moving again. “I don’t think so. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure I blew any chance I may have had with her.”
Auryn made a face. “She’s just one girl. Pick another one.”
My brow furrowed as I shot him a disgusted glare. I didn’t want to pick another girl. I wanted Luna. She was everything that I wasn’t. I guess that’s why I was so drawn to her.
“Don’t listen to this idiot.” Rebel shook his head at Auryn. “He doesn’t get it. Give her some time to calm down. You were protecting her. She’ll come around.”
Easy for him to say. Once he decided he wanted Storm for himself, he’d aggressively gone over and above to make it happen. I wasn’t sure Luna would respond the way Storm had. I sure wasn’t about to climb the dorm to her room or anything.
That wasn’t my style. The monster inside me was ready to do anything it took to make her mine. The Hyde to my Jekyll. Since I’d already scared her enough, I needed to keep that side of myself in check.
“And if she doesn’t,” Auryn piped up, unable to keep his smart ass mouth shut. “Fuck one of her friends. The brunette gets around a lot. I’m sure she’d be up for it.”
I held up a hand, silencing him with a look. I wasn’t in the mood for his shit tonight.
“As much as I’d love to stay and listen to Auryn mouth off about things he doesn’t understand, I’m going to steal my girl away for some forest nookie.” Stray held his cup up in cheers, grinning as he walked away.
It didn’t take Rebel long to join him, crossing the graveyard to wrap his arms around Storm and whisk her away. Unfazed by our reactions to him, Auryn pulled out a joint, leaning against the church while he smoked. Even though he’d annoyed me, I still accepted the joint when he offered it.
Trying my best not to stare at Luna and make it obvious, I snuck occasional glances in her direction. She leaned against a headstone with Ripley. The two of them were alone now, having lost the rest of their friends to their SOs and the party. Athena was dancing with several others where her and some other girls had created a makeshift dance area.
I made sure not to let my gaze linger too long. The party was filled with costumed students, most of them from the university. There was plenty to look at. One guy had even come dressed up as a giant joint. People loved it. He was surrounded with partygoers. Still, my gaze darted back to Luna.
Once I caught her already looking in my direction. Our eyes locked across the distance. She quickly averted her gaze. She wouldn’t be the first woman to avoid me like the plague, and I doubted she would be the last. I wasn’t exactly a typical, normal guy. That was fine with me. I’d made peace with that long ago. Although at times like this, it sure would have made my life easier.
“No worries, dude.” Patting my shoulder, Auryn jerked his head in Luna’s direction. “She keeps checking you out. Maybe watching you kill a man turned her on. Some chicks like that kind of thing.”
“Jesus Christ,” Dom muttered. “You’re a real piece of work, huh?”
“I like to think so. I think I’ll take a lap around the party and see what yummy treats there are to be had.” Auryn left with a wink and a chuckle, far too amused by himself.
