Page 156 of Off the Rails

Looking at her, her eyes were sunken — somehow even darker than they always were. Small and weak, there was something like defeat in the way she stood.

I rolled my shoulders back, ready for her to gloat and explain that I needed to be punished for running from my duties.

Instead, there was a loud thud as a black duffel slammed into the flow. Its top was open, a pile of cash inside.

Cyrus didn’t say a word, leaving the cash at my feet before turning and disappearing.

But I lost.

Every single fiber in my being wanted to grab the bag and throw each tied stack in her face. I didn’t want her blood money or some pity victory.

But I couldn’t stay here for another day. Couldn’t deal with her believing I was more of a monster than her.

Licking my teeth, I grabbed the duffel of cash, zipped it closed, and grabbed my bag from the bed.

“Tess, please. Just tell us what’s going on.” Blade pleaded, a desperation in her voice I'd not heard before.

Both of them stood in front of the door, a narrow path between them as they stared back at me. Blade’s brows scrunched together while Nash’s jaw tensed.

“Move,” was all I could say as I shouldered past them and back into the hallway.

“No, stop. This is bullshit!” Blade’s voice grew fevered as she jogged after me.

I could hear Nash speaking in muffled tones behind me. “Cyrus, what the fuck did you do?”

But she didn’t answer, instead Cyrus’s heavy bootsteps faded as she walked away.

Not looking back, I kept my eyes on the front door.

Just a few more steps to freedom.

Blade was a couple steps behind me, begging for me to stay — to at least have a conversation before I disappeared.

I couldn’t do it, couldn’t stand another lie from two people I thought I could trust. I thought they knew me, really knew me.

A rough grab stopped Blade’s feet in their tracks. Nash’s voice a deep growl, almost a warning. “It’s her right. She won. If she wants to leave, we have to let her go.”

They wouldn’t fight for me, wouldn’t follow me every step until they got their answers. Instead, they would release back into the world and wait for a new plaything to keep them busy.

For a moment, as my hand gripped the metal door handle, I thought about staying. Maybe I could forgive them, maybe Cyrus would realize how horribly wrong she’d been about me.

Or she won’t.

Pushing open the door, I knew the truth. She’d harbored this grudge for almost a decade. And not once in that time had she considered that her perception was wrong.

What would change her mind now?

Maybe there’s something better waiting for me outside of Feverpoint’s wrought iron fences. Even if I couldn’t see it through the rage.

I let the door slam behind me. I was done waiting for their forgiveness.