Page 21

“You have five seconds to get out before I scream,” I said.

Aiden narrowed his eyes into thin slits.

“You wouldn’t dare.” His voice was low. A warning and a promise. A promise for what had yet to be seen.

I raised a brow at him, allowing my lips to curve slightly. “Do you want to take that chance?”

It was a contest of wills as I locked eyes with him. The air crackled with tension until it became almost palpable.

But what he failed to realize was that I was an expert at staring contests. Hadn’t lost in three years.

Bitch had nothing on me.

After what felt like an eternity, Aiden pulled his eyes off of mine with a grunt. Without another word, he stomped out of my room like the drama queen I knew him to be.

“You, too,” I said to Tanner, who stubbornly remained. His full lips pursed.

“I thought we bonded today,” he protested.

“Oh please.” Rolling my eyes, I moved to pick up the clothes that were now on the ground. “You just want to get in my pants…er…leotard.”

Without bothering to acknowledge something we both knew to be true, he said, “I’ve never seen anyone stand up to Aiden like that. Most are too scared of him.”

“He doesn’t scare me,” I blurted, folding up a shirt. The sudden silence was charged with tension.

“And why is that?” Tanner asked tightly. Suspiciously. A voice that hinted he knew exactly what I wanted to remain hidden.

“Because I know evil, I’ve seen evil, and Aiden isn’t it.” I settled on a half-truth. I had seen evil. Seeping over my skin. Contaminating my lungs. Killing me. There was so much evil in the world, so much darkness, that my only option was to find one bright spot and hold onto it. That was Beau. My light.

“But I’m serious, Tanner, get out.”

It must’ve been something in my voice, a quiver perhaps, for Tanner slipped out without confrontation.

Alone at last, I allowed the tears I kept at bay to slide down my cheeks.

What Aiden failed to realize was that he would never be the big, scary monster in my story. I had a monster.

And his name was Dylan.