Page 27 of Toxic Kiss

I wish you’d just go away and never come back.

I hate you.

The words still echo and cut deep like he is whispering them in my ear. I’m a strong, successful, and independent woman who no longer cares about his approval. But it doesn’t feel like that right now.

I swallow it all down, straighten my spine, and climb the stairs slowly, one step at a time. The air feels thick enough to drown in while the lights buzz overhead, hot and unforgiving. Everything adds to the sweltering heat pressing in on the building.

Cyrus doesn’t move. His hands curl at his sides, trembling slightly.

“Well.” The word tastes rancid on my tongue. “You’ve always loved to chase the sound of your own chaos. I see nothing has changed. Keep destroying things and calling it honesty, Cyrus. Maybe one day you’ll stop mistaking the wreckage for art.”

No one breathes. Even the amps seem to go quiet as we wait to see what Cyrus-fucking-Vale will say next.

But, for once, Cyrus Vale looks like someone else has landed the knockout.

CYRUS

The sound of her voice hits harder than any punch I’ve ever taken.

Haven Gaillard. Devastating in every way. She’s the kind of beautiful that makes your chest hurt, and your soul long for a single touch.

Standing on my stage like she owns it. That mouth is as sharp as I remember, honeyed in a merciless, take-no-shit tone. Her words slide under my skin and settle where all the old scars live.

I’ve spent five years building walls out of whiskey and noise. But Haven looks at me once, and every brick cracks and starts to crumble.

The stage lights hum, bathing her in a soft glow. She’s sunlight and sin, fire and ice, a memory I’ve never managed to burn out of my system, no matter how hard I try. And just like she is reaching into my chest and turning a dial up, my heart pounds out of control. One word floods my mind…mine.

I smirk because it’s easier than admitting what seeing her does to me.

“Still trying to fix me? Haven’t you learned that’s impossible?”

Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes.

“Someone has to, Cyrus. Before there’s nothing left to fix.”

Bullseye.

Vex whistles.

“Welcome to the jungle, Haven. It’s good to see you again.”

The others shift, waiting for me to explode. I don’t. I can’t. I just stare as if my muscles have forgotten how to move.

She turns to the group with a genuine smile.

“Hey, boys. It’s been a while.”

Ledger nods, awkwardly. Ash’s eyes ping-pong between us. Eren’s mouth opens, then shuts again, before he lifts his hand in a small wave.

She walks closer, and the scent of her perfume surrounds me. It’s soft, sweet, and cuts through the sweat and dust saturating the air.

I tell myself it’s the lights making my vision blur, the heat making my heart race. But it’s her. It’s always her.

Haven Gaillard is my favorite sin, my unfinished song, and the one apparition I can never outrun.

chapter

ten