Page 6 of Obsession (Dark Revenge)
“I have no idea. I don’t know the girl.”
I sighed, feeling as though we were making no progress while Alison was slipping further away from me. I needed this conversation to conclude promptly.
“Can we please speed this up?” I implored.
“This is precisely what I mean,” he groaned.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve always been a good at listening to me, son.”
“Yes, of course.”
“But now, you’re more preoccupied with chasing the woman you claim to hate more than your worthless father, instead of actually hearing what I’m trying to convey to you,” he growled.
I averted my gaze for a moment, struggling to meet his eyes because I knew he was right. My mind was in turmoil, miles away, focused on wherever Alison might be hiding. No wonder I had suffered two near-fatal incidents in such quick succession. My distraction was becoming a significant liability, a danger to myself. I needed to regain control. Taking a moment to refocus, I turned my attention back to Vince, who appeared satisfied as a faint smile curved on his lips.
“Better,” he commented. “Now, answer my question.”
“I remember.”
“We’re different, Jared. Born twisted. We can only flourish in the shadows. While that girl may shine like the sun, what lurks beneath is a perfect fit for our world, a source of sustenance for you.”
“I know what’s hidden beneath. I witnessed it when all the teachers and other students chose to ignore it to win her favor,” I pointed out.
“I know you can see it, but instead of despising it, instead of being repulsed by it, you crave it. You don’t want a sweet, obedient wife waiting for you at home, showering you with compliments, and seeking a vanilla relationship in bed. No, you desire pain. You yearn for someone who can endure it. You hunger for someone you can touch without breaking. Alison has proven to be a formidable adversary for you, but enemies aren’t meant to fall in love. They are meant to annihilate each other.”
“Love?” I asked incredulously.
“You’re right. It’s not love because we don’t experience that. It’s something far more profound.”
I groaned, understanding the implications of his words. However, I had vowed not to be the one consumed by obsession. I intended to emerge from this ordeal with my sanity intact, feeling like I had finally conquered the beast. Vince, however, remained unconvinced, and it was clear that the only way to prove to him that I could handle this situation was by letting Alison go immediately. She had already vanished, leaving me with every reason to expose all her secrets and unveil her true nature. There would be no better time than the present.
“Do you not trust me?” I inquired, noticing the darkening of his eyes in response to my question. I knew I was pushing him, but I was feeling cornered by his words.
“I trust you, son,” he affirmed. “You might be the only person I have ever trusted and will ever trust.”
“Then tell me you believe I can handle this.”
Vince shook his head and briefly averted his gaze, radiating an unmistakable sense of disappointment.
“Do you not recall what I told you about her? What I observed when you two were together?” he asked, turning back to me.
“Alison despises me. She’s always despised me. You couldn’t put someone through the torment I endured if you secretly had a crush on them,” I insisted.
“A crush?” Vince burst into laughter, catching me off guard with his genuine mirth. He rarely laughed, typically wearing that cruel smirk, but this time, he was genuinely amused. “Jared, dear God.”
“What’s so funny?” I inquired.
“A mere crush would never subject you to the torment you’ve experienced. Boy, you’re not listening to me!” he exclaimed, still sounding amused. “If Alison truly belonged to our world, if she were as deeply entrenched in it as we are, I would have thrown her at you because that sweet façade is precisely that—a façade. It’s all an act! She’s a creature of the darkness. She’s made of it. It’s not a simple crush she harbored as a young girl. She became obsessed long before the real torture even began. That’s how she loves. She loves like we do. She tormented you because she wanted to etch herself into your very being, so you could never belong to anyone else. It’s not just a crush. That girl is unhinged, and she set her sights on you a long time ago.”
Chapter 4
-Jared-
Each word that left Vince’s mouth only served to stoke my anger further. I couldn’t bring myself to believe any of it. Not a single utterance he made made any sense to me. Because if it did... No, I wasn’t the blind one this time. Alison and I were destined to torment each other because we harbored such deep-seated hatred. There couldn’t be anything sweet about that.
“I’m talking to a brick wall,” Vince groaned, rubbing his eyes, clearly observing how I was shutting down every word he spoke.
