Page 139 of Pretty Thing

Over and over, I hit him until he’s flat on his back in the snow, panting and staring up at me through one unswollen eye. I see the defeat. He understands this is really the end.

“Yer…a fuckin…psycho,” he says and then smirks. “Just…like your father.”

“See, this is why you piss me off. You just don’t know when to quit. That was fucking rude.” I snarl down at his bloody face. “I’m nothing like him.”

“Fuck—”

Done with his voice, I bring the bat down as hard as I can on his jaw. Some of his teeth fly out, but I don’t stop until he’s unrecognizable.

Walking over to the large, metal garbage can, I drop the bat in, then take off the track pants and zip-up hoodie I wore to protect my jeans and thermal shirt from blood splatter. His phone goes in next. Then, I pull the gel accelerant from my back pocket and douse everything. The black leather gloves are last. I toss them in and strike a match.

The whole barrel goes up in a ball of flames.

Between us there are enough boot prints to make it look like a party. Even so, a fallen tree branch helps to smudge the evidence. I drag it behind me until I’m satisfied there are no clear imprints, then I drop the branch in the ditch.

I pass his bloody corpse on the way to my car.

Bye, Kyle.

Fucking prick, I still can’t believe he got blood on my hood. He can’t even die without being a pain in my ass.

I climb in and drive straight to the car wash.

Once the car is clean, all I need to do is go home, shower, and crawl into bed with Eden.

I’m sorry, Pretty Thing, this will hurt, but it needed to be done.

thirty-nine

​. . .​

Eden

Blinking, I slowly run my tongue over my lips.

What the hell?

Where am I?

I try to sit up, but my arm shakes, and I flop back down on the pillow. The room is spinning. I close my eyes to block out the sunlight and focus on not throwing up. My brain races as I try to piece together what happened. The last thing I remember clearly is eating dinner with Felix.

“You’re awake,” Felix says as he rounds the end of the bed and kneels in front of me with a smile on his face. “You had me really worried. I didn’t realize you drank so much last night, but you’ve been out for hours.”

“I…I…feel…shit,” I slur.

“Here, I brought something that will help.”

Felix holds up a glass of yellow liquid.

“Wa…what?”

“It’s just a sports drink. You need electrolytes and something bland to eat. I’ve got toast coming.”

His words make sense, but something doesn’t feel right. I’ve never been so drunk that I can’t remember a single thing. It’s terrifying losing time. It reminds me of the crash and being in and out of consciousness.

“Hey, it’s okay.”

Felix kisses my forehead and helps me sit up. I close my eyes again and breathe slowly to clear the brain fog. The drink seems to help. I take small sips, but Felix doesn’t let me stop until it’s gone.