Page 155 of Where Sinners Repent

Isaac watches me. For what, I don’t really fucking care. He won’t find it.

Because he doesn’t know, is I’m already dead. Nothing they could do is worse than knowing Roxy opened that door.

No knife or prod or fist can reach the place she buried herself in.

So bring it the fuck on.

Chapter 38

Roxy

The bus is almost empty. I’ve been on it for hours, watching people get on and off, getting further and further from the club and the entire city that holds everything I love and everything I hate.

My phone trills in my hand again, Maddy’s name lighting up the screen. My fingers ache to answer it. To hear her voice and explain everything. But I can’t.

One word from Maddy, and I’ll break. I’m barely hanging on as it is.

Huddled in the corner of the seat, I watch a drop of rain drizzle down the glass until it disappears.

The phone stops before immediately ringing again. Her face appears on the screen. That damn smile with those brown eyes. The Long Island iced tea, in the hand of my first friend. I whimper and an old woman sitting two seats ahead of me glances over her shoulder. I turn towards the window before she can see the tears running down my cheeks.

Fuck. I hope Maddy’s okay.

By now, the twins would have seen my note. My brothers would have used the door. I just hope the Devils were prepared. They are strong; I know that. Stronger than I ever could be.

My imagination runs wild. Of guns, and knives, and pain, curdling gut-wrenching fear in my stomach. Outside, darkness swallows everything. Streetlights blur as we roll through the next city, carrying me farther away from Havenport Harbour.

My forehead falls against the cold glass, just as the bus rolls to a stop.

“Last stop!” the driver calls out.

Slowly, I stand, with only a bat, my phone, and enough cash for a meal or a room. Not both.

Just as I step off, rain bites into my skin. My phone rings again. She’s worried about me. Little does she know, I should be the last person she should worry about.

I betrayed them.

And ran.

With my tail tucked between my legs.

With a strangled cry I throw the phone on the ground, screaming as I stomp my boot over it. The glass crunches under my boot, and finally, the ringing stops. The older lady from the bus looks at me like I’m insane and darts off into the night.

So I’m scaring old ladies now. A new low.

I trudge in the rain, empty, mindless, alone, darkness the least of my problems. Nothing can hurt me now. Not more than I’ve hurt myself.

If I die, so be it. Bring it the fuck on.

Who knows what is happening to the Devils right now… Finally, I make it to a depressing motel. The red flickering VACANCY sign reminds me of Devil’s club. The place I was once so afraid of.

I pay the money and find my room, pushing open the door with the end of the baseball bat. The room looks like it’s one blue light away from disintegrating. Pink wallpaper peels and bubbles, and it’s got a smell I can’t quite put my finger on. Scrunching up my nose, I fall onto the hard bed, drawing my knees to my chest.

The silence is fucking deafening.

Without Kai hovering around me and Kaleb appearing out of nowhere, I feel more alone than I ever have been. The feeling settles around me, consumes me. Presses down on me until I can’t breathe.

I’ve always wanted freedom. Now I have it.