Total pages in book: 181
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
He still can’t fucking let her go, and that’s exactly why I’m so obsessed. He never stopped trying to take her away from me, and in the end, he won.
My teeth grind together.
If I can’t have her, he can’t either.
I zip through my laptop files through my phone and find the one piece of evidence I saved all this time. The smoking gun. A video with proof of what really happened that night.
This could save my relationship…
And obliterate Levi Torres.
Levi
My phone keeps buzzing, but I ignore it all.
I didn’t even bother showing up for my classes today, so it’s probably my sister scolding the shit out of me. Whatever.
What is the point when my life no longer holds any meaning?
I turn off the shower and walk out, the droplets of water rolling down my skin a gentle caress to a flawed body like mine. The man in the mirror stares back at me, and I step closer just to have a good look at what he’s become. The scars clearly visible a mark of honor, whether they’re on top or underneath the skin.
Maybe finally it’ll all be over now that she no longer wants to let us all live.
Maybe now, I can finally rest.
Apollo
I’m exercising in my room with a dumbbell in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I don’t smoke often, but after the shit show, I’ve been dying for a hit.
We only barely managed to put out the fires on time, but some of the curtains and paintings still got damaged, and that’s gonna be a fortune to fix. That fiery vixen definitely cost me more than just a bleeding heart.
My phone buzzes, and I set the dumbbell aside and put out my smoke before I pick it up.
Aspen: Are you my Ghost? Come to the Crescent Vale Cemetery, 9 p.m.
I frown, staring at the message on my screen, but the longer I stare, the bigger the smile becomes.
Well, how could I ever decline an invitation like that?
Aspen
I put my bag down on the pebbled path near Mavis’s grave and fish out some knives, tucking them into my pocket. I wanna be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
My heart is nearly beating out of my chest as I wait here in my baggy pants and blue butterfly shirt. I hold a flashlight in one hand and my phone in the other. This place is poorly lit, and I can barely see a thing among the many trees on the premises.
But I definitely recognize the red-beaded eyes up ahead, slowly weaving their way through the myriad of graves.
I swallow away the lump in my throat as the figure comes closer and closer, the mask on his face still making the adrenaline pump just from the memories of all the filth he did. His towering presence crushes the pebbles beneath his feet, and when he’s close enough for me to see him, I say, “Stop.”
He pauses, tilting his head as he gazes at me, and I wanna know what he’s thinking. If he knew I would find out who he was in the end.
“So … you got my invitation.”
No sound. No words. No nothing.
“You brought me home last night,” I say. “I remember you saving me.”
I can hear him suck in a breath through his nostrils, and it makes me take a step back and clutch Mavis’s grave. Even though I know he did something good, he’s still my stalker and the man who haunts me.
Can I trust him?
“You said you were someone I know.”
He doesn’t respond, and I know I didn’t ask a question, but I’d hoped he’d fill in some new information for me. “You’re not going to tell me?”
He shakes his head slowly.
“Fine.” I clear my throat. “You know, I lost the plug. But I already gave you what you wanted. Now, I need you to hold up your end of our deal.”
He steps forward, and I hold my breath as the space between us evaporates. All that’s left is those haunting eyes and that mask separating me from the truth. He’d never let me rip it off. He’d never let me see what’s behind the mask, not even if I begged.
“Plea—”
“Kiss me.”
The whisper is soft, like a breath in the wind, but it stops all the raging thoughts in my head in an instant.
“Kiss me … and I will kill him tonight.”
A kiss? That’s all he wants after all the dirty demands?
A kiss … and all of it is over, just like that?
I swallow away the lump in my throat as I look up into his soulless eyes, my lips parting. “Can I lift your mask?”
He doesn’t stop me as my fingers slowly reach for his chin, tugging down the balaclava as slowly as I can, so I don’t give him a reason to stop me. I can barely see a thing in the dark, but I can feel the stubble right above his lips as I push the mask up far enough for me to lean in.