Page 619 of Lessons in Cruelty

The glass falls from my hand, bouncing on the carpet at my feet.

I slam my fist into the wall.

Sharp pain lances through my knuckles, but it’s not enough—not nearly fucking enough—so I do it again. Again. Again. Until there’s a smear of blood on the wall and my arm is shaking violently.

“Fuck!”

This isn’t how it was meant to be.

None of this was supposed to happen.

I have a dying girl in my basement, a dean who thinks she can threaten me, and a mother I’m somehow still tempted to mourn when I should be dancing on her grave.

And where I expected sanctuary in Haven and Kai’s arms, they’ve instead turned their backs…and found sanctuary in each other.

My phone buzzes.

I want to ignore it, but on rote, I take my phone out of my pocket and check it.

It’s a VibeFeed notification

My heart stops beating. I can’t breathe. My entire body goes numb as I fumble to unlock my phone and open the app and go to messages⁠—

@bssweetgirl

You were right.

About everything.

I read it twice.

Three times.

…you were right…

Haven.

My sweet girl, Haven.

She’s testing the water. Seeing if I’ll drown her.

Warmth floods back into my body along with a long, stuttered breath. My lips pull into a smile as I lean back against the wall I’d just been assaulting.

I knew she’d come back to me. I knew if I was patient, if I gave her space to realize that I could offer her exactly what she wanted, what she needed, that she’d find her way to me.

…you were right. About⁠—

I’m about to type a response, but I stop before my fingers touch the screen.

Haven said I was right about everything.

And for the first time in my miserable existence, I don’t want to be right.

Not about what’s happening to the girl in my basement while I stand here smiling at my phone like a lovesick fucking imbecile.

I spin around, eyes wide as I punch in the key code. Too fast—it beeps and flashes red. Again, slower, trying to breathe when all I want to do is pant. My feet thump down the stairs, the impact jarring my phone out of my hand before I reach the bottom.

Melissa’s head lolls forward. I grab her chin and wrench her head up. Heavy-lidded eyes roll in their sockets, mouth gaping.