Page 61 of Cedar Edge
I move towards her, clutching her face between my hands. “Cricket, I need you to breathe.”
“He… Royce was here.” She says through the sobs.
Law holds her tightly from behind his own tension radiating through him. “Turn the fucking music off.” He snaps at Logan. Logan doesn’t say anything but I cut him a hard look.
When the music finally stops Thea seems to let out a regular breath. “The tequila… can you… can you get it out of here please?” Her voice sounds so terrified and small that I’m ready to destroy every bottle of tequila in this fucking town.
“You got it, Tink,” Logan says from behind. I can hear him tossing the bottle and the glasses into the trash.
Thea cries silent tears as her body trembles against us. Law jerks his head towards the couch and I release my hold on her face to allow him to pull her towards the living room. Logan drops onto the couch first and Law hands Thea off to him. She curls herself around him.
“Keep her here.” I say as I drag Law back towards the worst of it all.
Thea’s door is still open and Law drags in a shocked breath as he spies the photos. He doesn’t bother stepping into the room instead he stands at the threshold allowing his eyes to sweep over the photos.
“I need to call this in.”
I grab onto his hand forcing him to stay put. Walking in front of him to block the room from view I look him over, shaking my head as I see all the tell tale signs of one of his attacks coming on. “Law, you need to wait. You need to stay with us and in the morning we can figure it out.” He tries to back away from me but I tighten my grip. “Rebel…” I growl.
Law’s eyes close and I watch him wrestle with his demons as he tries to avoid going off the deep end. I don’t know how long I stand there with him but eventually he blinks his eyes open and releases the tension that had built up. “I’m good now. I just need some air.”
I don’t fully believe him but this time when he pulls from me I allow it and watch him head out into the night. Guilt and rage swim through my blood stream. This should have ended long ago. Royce should have died the second he stepped foot into our town, but he’s managed to slip through my fingers time and time again.
“Royce, you stupid fuck. You really are far too excited to meet The Reaper.” Dragging my mask back on I vow to burn the whole fucking world down if I have to, to get to him. He has powerful people guarding him, but he’s not immortal. He bleeds like the rest of us which means at some point I’ll find him, and when I do I’ll enjoy watching his life run free from his veins.
Thea
I fall asleep to Logan whispering sweet nothings to me. They are lies. All of them. I’m not safe. Royce has invaded the one place Ididfeel safe and he ruined it. It’s tainted now. Just like I am…
My stomach twists and turns as I sit at the table with Royce. Something is off. The smell of the dinner that was prepared is only making the nausea worse.
“You aren’t eating.” He says with deliberate calm.
I try to swallow but my mouth is too dry and I’m forced to take a tiny sip of water from my glass, if only so I can respond.
“I don’t feel well.” I risk looking up at him and hate that he is frowning as he looks at me.
“What’s wrong?”
My body trembles. I want to scream that it’s him, he’s what’s wrong with me. But I seem to still, kind of, value my life. So I swallow back those words. “I’m nauseous.”
“Theadora, why would you be nauseous? You certainly can’t be sick.” He pauses, his eyes lighting up in a way that has the bile rising up towards my throat. Any moment I’m going to spew all over this fucking table. “Are you… are you pregnant?”
The way he says it has me speaking before I think about it. “Fuck no!”
His fist hitting the table startles me and a surprised whimper escapes my lips. He is out of his chair coming around the table quickly, rage flowing off of him in thick sheets. He rips me from my seat before slamming me against the wall with enough force that the wind is knocked from me.
“Theadora, why must you do this? Why must you make me like this?!” He spits in rage before he is able to calm himself down. “I think it’s time we made some changes.”
Royce lets me go and my body slides to the ground as he pulls his phone from his pocket. “Hello, this is Royce Ripkins. My wife and I are leaving the country this week. But before we go, we wanted to have her birth control removed. We want to start a family.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lily of the valley: “It is believed to be a harbinger of death or bad fortune.”
-Fez Inkwright,Botanical Curses and Poisons: The Secret Lives of Plants-
Ace
