Page 34 of A Perfect World
Spittle flecked my cheeks, his fingers digging into my skin.
“How do you know about him?” I asked, the quiver in my voice impossible to mask. Vince’s lips curved into a cruel smile, dark eyes void of anything but rueful disgust. He opened his mouth to speak-
One second, he had me prisoner, the next he was flung like a rag-doll into the opposite wall. Ollie swallowed the doorway, glowing silver eyes locked on my ex.
“For someone who's supposedly so smart, you clearly didn't understand the assignment,” he growled, stalking through the empty studio towards Vince, who groaned and rubbed the back of his head. “Would you like a refresher?”
“Can’t you see he’s dangerous?” Vince wailed as he scrambled to his feet. “Doll, you’re not safe with him-”
“Call her that again and you’ll lose the ability to speak,” Ollie snapped, the force of his gaze shoving Vince to his knees right after he stood. “She’s not your fucking plaything.”
“But she’s yours?” Vince spat. Ollie retaliated with a growl, eyes glowing and underlying electric currents crackling off him. I winced as Vince shrieked. Over two minutes passed, a trickle of pink rolled down Ollie’s cheek. The sight of blood on him sent the strange tug in my chest on a pulsing beat. Whatever he was doing was hurting him. I touched his arm tentatively.
“He’s not worth it,” I murmured, “Let’s go.”
Eventually ice blue chased away liquid silver. He said nothing as he took my bag in one hand and mine in the other.
“Courtney, you can’t be serious!” Vince yelled.
But we had already left.
16
Ollie
Iwould’vedestroyedhimright there in front of her if she hadn’t looked at me with those sweet eyes. I was too fucking livid to speak, even as I walked her back to her dorm. All I saw were his hands on her neck and his thoughts about the punishment she deserved. Reluctantly, I left her to study for finals, but I couldn’t shake any of it from my head.
I resorted to a tried and tested temporary solution.
The dorm was quiet with my roommates out at a frat meeting, giving me the perfect opportunity to raid Marty’s stash. He never figured out how it dwindled when he religiously locked his door, but he didn’t realize he had a telekinetic picking it. I loaded up on Percocet, Xans, and Oxy.
I didn’t blame Jack for introducing me to them; prescriptions weren't even a thought until he’d given me something the night I'd confessed my darkest deed to him over summer. He meant well in wanting to calm me down and in his defense, I had said some pretty fucked up shit about what I deserved. Like tying myself to train tracks, or maybe the electric chair.
It scared him so badly, he forced me to take something. Little did he know, those pills gave me the first night of dreamless sleep in my entire life. Sure, drinking and smoking took the edge off, but nothing gave me cushy, blissful relief like narcotics.
My phone buzzed right after I snorted two lines of Oxy.
“Hey, mom.”
Her sigh niggled my guilty conscience. I collapsed on my bed.
“Oliver Wallis, I swear if you miss another counseling session, I’m dragging you to the next one myself.”
Fuck. I’d have to make the effort and place strategic thoughts in my therapist’s head after all. “Sorry, I’ve just been busy with studying and stuff.”
“Can you try, honey? Please?”
Her begging always wrecked me. Picked at the infected wounds in my chest until they were oozing. I squeezed my eyes shut.
“I will.”
“I’m worried about you,” she sighed. “After everything, I know you’re struggling.”
Everything. Sometimes I imagined I never did it, but that was an impossible thought. I wouldn’t be in my dorm, I’d be in a cell. I wouldn’t have spent the night with a girl I couldn’t get out of my head. I’d be strapped to machines to monitor me. A captive. An experiment.
I shuddered.
Survival instincts were more powerful than a mark on my soul.
