Page 31 of When Night Falls

"The day your dad forced himself on you." My heart drops. My breathing becomes shallow, hyperventilation on the rise as his words ring through my ears.

He's looking straight at me, into my eyes and into my soul.

"Wait, how do you know about that?" I ask, not believing a word he says at this point until he can prove that his statement is true. But I refuse to believe that anyone from this town or any other town has any knowledge of my past life.

I feel my breathing kick into a hyperventilation fit. I start to feel like the walls are closing in on me and everything becomes blurry as heat covers me.

"Lucynda, you need to breathe." Rivian reaches out to me, his hand gently coming down on my shoulder, and I want to hate him for telling me what to do, but I can tell he's not using whatever mind games he possesses to do so.

I release the fist I created and allow my skin to breathe from the moon-shapes my nails had surely begun to imprint into my palms. I close my eyes and inhale through my nose, exhale through my mouth.

"You're lying," I say as calmly as my worked-up mind allows me and as my eyes start to clear from the blur I'd been seeing, Rivian moves his hand up from my shoulder to my neck, holding me there as his thumb grazes the side of my chin.

"I may be a lot of things, Lucynda. But I wouldn't lie to you about something like that," he says to me and though his touch—desirable and so warm—soothes me to my core, I can't help but feel upset that he knows about one of the darkest parts of my life. It’s a day I never want to go back to. A day that carved my life and kickstarted my obsessive thoughts with wanting to punish everyone who belittled me, and abused me.

"How?" My breathing comes short.

"I heard your cries for help. I was in the area and I heard you. I trespassed your home and saw him on top of you."It just gets worse, doesn't it?Not only does he know about it, but he witnessed it.

Rivian's eyes search mine and I'm sure he can see the tears that I'm trying to hold back. I cried one too many nights over what that bastard did to me, I refuse to let it affect me now.

"Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you stop it?" I hate that I need space from him now when a moment ago I felt secure by him. I yank his hand away from me and take a few steps back.

"I did. I am the reason he backed off you." His voice is sterner now, eager to tell me the truth. "And I'm also the reason your father is dead." The moment I feel as though I've got a hold on my hammering heart and my lack of air, everything falters again and I'm back to a confused state of panic.

"You…" I stammer, looking down at the ground and trying to fit the pieces together. "Youwhat?"

"I compelled him to walk away, made him abandon his ridiculous ideas of wanting to bring you harm and after I saved you from him that night, I had to go back to finish what I started." Rivian speaks composedly, as if murder is as casual a hobby as reading books or listening to music.

My fight or flight senses spike up and I know I'm on the verge of yet another panic attack, which will lead to the consequences of being mind-controlled by the man who claims to have killed my father.

I should be thanking him, and I want to. But I can't help the logical part in me that says that this is not normal, and despite having my own thoughts of destruction, murder is wrong.

But for vampires, it's nature and I might have to learn to accept that.

Something nags at me, the intrigue of needing to hear how he did it even though danger stealthily looms in the air. I have to understand why he would do that.

"You can ask me, little one." Rivian seems to have closed the distance between us as I let my mind wander but I don't back up as I look up into the souls of his eyes, the way they gleam with all the mystery and sin they did when I first saw him.

"Why did you kill him, Rivian?" My heart drowns out the sound of my breathing, I think Rivian can hear it too, if that's the sort of skill vampires might have.

But he takes one final step closer to me and cages me against the wall. My head makes contact with the bottom frame of one of the paintings, but my surroundings are of no concern. I wait for Rivian's answer. I wait for his hand to slowly work its way up from my wrist to the curve of my neck. He pushes my hair behind my shoulder as he leans in and places his lips to my earlobe, his whisper giving me chills.

"I did it for you."

13

brilliantly broken

Rivian

He was alone in the house, and he'd made it too fucking easy for me. The asshole had just gotten done running bathwater for himself and I saw the opportunity arise, so I took it.

Lucynda had lured me there, and she had no clue she even possessed that kind of power. Neither did I. I could feel the presence of the tether which is why I felt compelled to save her. To avenge her. So I went back to give the pig who attempted a hateful act on an innocent girl something to die for.

I did enjoy the scream that barreled out of his puny mouth when he saw my reflection standing behind him in the mirror. I told him not to scream any further and his mouth shut instantly. I had watched him squirm with the need to cry for help, but I wouldn’t allow him the pleasure of someone hearing him the way I’d heard Lucynda.

I wanted to take my time with his death, but I heard voices coming from right outside the house and knew that someone was about to enter.