Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
All I know is it’s time for it to end, because I can’t take a whole lot more.
Zariah leaps up as soon as I enter the room and comes running over, throwing her arms around me. She hangs onto me tightly for longer than a few minutes. I let her, because I need it. I need her reassurance; I need her to tell me everything is going to be okay and that I’m not going to get into trouble for what happened tonight.
“I’m not going to let anyone harm you, or put you away. I swear it to you, Waverly. I’ll make sure this doesn’t touch you.”
I take those words in, letting them sink into my soul because I really needed to hear them. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and stand back. Alarick walks over, putting a hand on my shoulder and meeting my eyes. “You good?”
“I’m not . . . No, no, I’m not.”
I was going to say I’m not sure, but the truth is I am sure. I’m not okay, and I need them to step in now and make it better, because I can’t seem to get myself on the right side of things at this current point.
Alarick squeezes my shoulder and then asks, in a careful tone, “What happened tonight?”
I glance at Mykel, who is standing by the kitchen counter, leaning against it, his eyes never leaving mine. My heart swells and I find myself wanting to go over there and let him make me feel better, just like he did when we were in the bathroom. I don’t do that, though. I stand, trying to look like I’m not as terrified as I feel, and then I tell them what happened.
“I arrived and Bennett was on the ground, dead. It was . . . horrific. Dax had just hit him so many times, stabbed him. Absolutely horrible, and I never want to see anything like that again in my life. I had to keep calm, so I asked him what happened. He was freaking out—said they got into a fight because Bennett had told him there was a change of plans. Then, he said he just lost it.”
“Do you know what plans he wanted to change?” Zariah asks.
I shake my head. “I just had him tell me what he was doing, and he did. He told me that he sells girls, but he didn’t tell me he sells them to monsters. He left that part out, but he told me enough. He’s freaking out, because he knows Peter is going to bring down the thunder, and not to mention he just killed a cop. I had to think on my feet, so I told him we should bury Bennett and work out the rest from there. So that’s what we did . . .”
“Oh, honey,” Briella says, her voice soft.
Yeah, I can imagine what they’re all thinking right now.
I’d be thinking the same thing.
What I just did was the absolute worst, and I’m totally not okay. Not even close.
“I marked the trees when he wasn’t looking,” I whisper. “I made sure to remember where we buried his body so that you can find it, so that Dax can be taken down. This is your chance to remove them, to take out the trash. They’re going to be off their game, and things are going to blow up, especially when Peter finds out. Dax already knows if the cops go looking, they’re going to figure out what was going on and it’s going to be the end of him. Bennett was the only thing keeping it all a secret . . .”
“You’re right. This is our chance,” Alarick murmurs. “But we gotta be careful, plan it perfectly. Don’t want you suffering through anymore, Waverly. You’ve been incredible, but I’m not goin’ to let you get hurt. We’ll finish this; we’ll get you out of there. I swear it.”
I swallow and nod, and then I rub my arms, feeling cold even though I’m not. “I need to lie down, if you all don’t mind. If I recall anymore, I’ll let you know. I just . . . I can’t think right now.”
“Of course,” Zariah says, hugging me again. “I meant what I said, honey. Nobody is going to take you down for this. I’ll make sure of it.”
I nod, and then glance at Mykel once more before walking down the hall and into my room.
As soon as I’m there, I lower myself to the ground and I cry.
I cry so hard my body shakes.
I buried a man tonight.
I put human flesh into the ground and covered it up.
I got covered in someone else’s blood.
Am I a monster now, too?
11
WAVERLY
I don’t know how long I sit on the floor, crying, but when the door opens and someone comes in, I can’t even find the strength to look up. I just want to sit here, and sob, and let my body heal a little more before I stand and go to bed. I hope it’s not Zariah—not because I don’t love her, but because she’s a cop, and she just doesn’t understand.