Page 63 of Alamort
“No.”
“Think about it, Crew. If she’s at our house, there’s no way she can receive a letter without us being here to intercept it. Catch the guy. This goes beyond revenge.” His feet tap the ground, letting me know he’s nervous. “I may not like Saint 95% of the time and Malice even less, but no one deserves what he had to go through.”
“No,” I say with finality. It’s not happening. I will not allow someone who killed one of our best friends to live in the same house as us. As Ty did.
“Put some cameras around her room and we will go from there. Saint, call Elijah and see what the fuck happened.” I’m curious to know why he’s been sending us to locations that Saint’s father has been finding. Is there a leak? Did Elijah turn his back on us? Bennett’s hand slams on the desk to get my attention.
“If we lose another one of our ‘brothers’ that you claim you love because you’re so blinded by revenge. I’ll never forgive you. You will loseeveryone.”He promises as he storms out of the room, down the stairs, slamming the back door on his way out. Everything is falling apart. It’s all connected to her. We should just kill her. That would give me back my brothers. What’s left of us, anyway. Tyson dying was because of her stupidity and because of that Elijah won’t come around anymore.
Saint is pulling away from us because Malice is forcing him to keep secrets and stay busy. If Saint is keeping secrets from us,it’s safe to say that all our goals may not be aligned. We did all of this to have her here to now protect her? That’s what it feels like. Where is the justice?
Agentle whisper carries my name. “Priya.”
Choosing to ignore it, I roll over and sink deeper into the fluffy comforter, enjoying the warmth and coziness.
“Priya.” What will it take to shut it up? The headache has dulled to bearable and I’m not throwing up, so that’s a plus.
“Priya!” As the seconds pass, the voice becomes increasingly louder, making it impossible to go back to sleep.
“Hmmm!” More of a ‘What the fuck do you want?’
“Someone was at the door.” That jolts me upright, instantly wide-eyed and alert. River is standing beside the door. She looks small, her arms holding herself in the shadows of the moonlight. Carefully, I slide my hand under the far pillow, feeling for the familiar shape of my razor blade. It isn’t much, but it’s all I have.
My bare toes touch the frigid hardwood floor, sending a shiver down through my body. Cautiously, I tiptoe towards the door, fearing that it might betray me with a creak. My Shadow man wouldn’t hesitate to make himself at home in my room but he’s also never visited when I had a visitor.
With a quick glance through the peephole, I strain to make out any details in the dimly lit hallway. Since there are only two of us on this floor and we don’t have any friends aside from eachother, very few people come up here. I grip the handle of the door and steel myself against whatever is out there. The door gently opens, freeing the lock and opening silently.
The hallway is eerily empty, creating an unsettling atmosphere that is new to the space. The lights aren’t flickering or out entirely, so there’s a silver lining. From my room, the elevator sits diagonally across, its buttons glowing brightly. It reaches the first floor, and a soft ding fills the air. I don’t want to jump to conclusions but what are the odds that it’s the person leaving my floor? A part of me feels like the older horror movies that have the stereotypical dumb blonde wanting to go see. The other part of me that’s overly cautious knows I should stay put.
Just as I’m about to return to the room, I notice a black envelope taped to the door. They’ve been more frequent lately. I figured the Shadow man just didn’t want to admit the truth when he asked me about them and didn’t deny it. I’ll ask him about it next time. No way he’s doing whatever he wants until he comes clean with me. Determined, I rip it off the door and tear it open. My heart skips a beat and my brow wrinkles. The ominous letter feels heavier than usual.
You were so easy to find :)
My nail catches on something taped to the back and when I flip it over, the walls of the hallway close in on me. The blood drains from my skin and my lips part in silent terror. A picture of my sister's headstone stares back at me. In messy handwriting it on the bottom of the Polaroid shatters my mind. “She’s gone because of you.”
The vicious poison of hopelessness has finally settled into the cracks of my soul, no longer able to be held off by my sister’s memory. I thought by gaining a connection with the Shadow oreven River I could stumble through life. I lethopeweave it’s way into my heart that I could carry on without my sister.
My fingertips trace the glossy tombstone holding my sister's name. Addison L. Carter. I choke on my breath. A sucker punch seizes my lungs. No…not a punch. An echo of it, the aftershocks that leave me with the clarity I’ve been running from.
Murder.
Pyro.
Bitch.
Pet.
This will never end.
“Priya?” River’s soft voice calls out snapping me out of my trance. I shut the door double checking it’s locked before reassuring River that it’s safe.
“Who was it?”
“The hall was empty,” I say quietly, crawling back into the warmth of my bed, hoping she won’t see the decision I made out in the hallway written on my face.
I leave the corner of the blanket pulled down for her to join me. I lay on my side to give my sore ass a reprieve from being laid on. “What time is it?” I yawn.
The bed sinks with her weight, but she doesn’t lie down. “3:30AM.”