Page 114 of Carnage
Bellamy shakes his head. “I don’t think so. I think I just need to know that…” His words trail off as he shrugs. “I don’t know, honestly. I get in my head about it, you know? I imagine terrible things happening.”
“I get it. I think it would be naive to say that what they do is safe. There are risks, but these guys know what they’re doing and they always make sure they have the upper hand.”
“I agree,” Colson adds. “What happened to Specter was a rare situation. None of them had ever been shot or hurt before.”
“I guess…” Bellamy exhales. “You saw Carnage kill someone, right?”
“Yes.”
“Did it make you feel differently about him?”
“No. I see him as the incredible, intense, but loving man that he is. He’s able to do what he does and then he leaves it. When he’s with me, he’s the sweetest. His love is like a warm blanket, your favorite book, or your comfort movie. I’m safe and loved. What he does for work is just one part of who he is.”
“Specter is similar in some ways,” Colson says. “His love is a lot. He’s overprotective and possessive, and I fucking love it because I know without a doubt how much I mean to him. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for me. I don’t even think about what he does. Not really.”
Bellamy nods, clearly thinking over our words.
I feel weird having this conversation knowing what I did to Leon. How after that I went out for several nights with Carnage while he hunted down every person associated with Leon and made sure they never saw another morning. Leon is the only one whose death I participated in, but I witnessed the others.
“Um, guys, I—” The words won’t come. I’m sure Colson would be fine about it, but Bellamy is already in a weird spot.
“What?” Bellamy asks.
“I think maybe you should try to go out with them once. At least with Stealth. He’d protect you.”
Colson tilts his head as he studies me. “I agree.”
“Maybe,” Bellamy says. “I want to not care, you know? I want to be confident around… them.”
“Do you still have feelings for Shadow?” Colson asks.
Bellamy nods. “Yes. It hurts not being with him, but I don’t want to make a mistake and hurt him again. I don’t want to get back into it and then find out I can’t handle it.” He drags a hand through his light blond hair. “I’m leaving next month for a family trip to France. I’m hoping to really sort my feelings out before I get back.”
“Maybe the time away will be good for you.”
“Yeah.” He quirks his lips. “You guys think that maybe Stealth and Shadow have some lingering feelings between them? Both of them insist they don’t when I ask, but it’s just a vibe I get.”
“Not just you,” Colson says. “But yeah, if they do, they aren’t talking about it.”
“Sometimes I wonder if me being here is keeping them from pursuing something together.”
Colson and I look at each other, but neither of us say anything. We’ve chatted and agreed that we think it’s either a nasty love triangle brewing or a sexy throuple in the making, but that’s not our place to say.
“You’ll figure it out” is what Colson eventually says.
“You will,” I agree.
The door to the basement opens and several sets of heavy footsteps barrel towards us. Carnage is first, his eyes searching for me and a sexy smile spreading across his lips when he findsme. Then Specter enters, beelining it straight for Colson, then finally Whisper.
“We’re going to Segreto tonight,” Whisper says. “Blush is debuting.”
Colson rolls his eyes. “Duh. I told you that two weeks ago.”
“I know but I was distracted. He should have some friendly faces in the crowd.”
Colson grins. “Oh, is that what you are? A friendly face?”
“That’s me. What’s he like?”
