Page 64 of Make Me Bleed

“Fuck you,” I snap with a grin that shows all my teeth as I make my way up the stairs to my room, where I find Abel sitting on my bed, legs spread as he types away on his phone, brows furrowed in concentration.

I lean against the doorjamb and cross my arms over my chest as I stare at him, eyes roaming over the length of his tattooed, scarred legs. The light blonde hair covering them. The way they go on for days, even though he’s short as shit.

When he finally notices me staring, he looks up and flushes. “What are you looking at?” he snaps.

“Just some ugly runt,” I retort with a smirk.

“Oh, so nothing new, then.”

“Nope. Same old, same old,” I reply as I slowly enter the room and push the door shut behind me. It creaks as it closes, causing goosebumps to rise on my skin. I relish in the burn as I make my way toward Abel, his face now screwed up in trepidation as he slowly drops his phone to his side.

“Why’re you looking at me like that?”

“Who are you talking to?”

“What?” he squeaks, and my blood burns a bit hotter.

“Who the fuck are you texting at eleven in the morning?”

His crooked face twists into his signature sneer, and he crosses his arms over his chest just as I make it to his legs. “None of your fucking business, Peris.”

My knees brush up against his, and I knock his legs apart, forcing my way between them. Abel leans back, chin jutted up in defiance as he stares me down.

“I’ll think you’ll find it is my business since it’s my fucking bed you’re sitting on right now.”

“What does a bed have to do with it?” he snaps back just as quickly, and I reach down to wrap my fingers around his throat, relishing in the rush of his pulse against my fingertips.

“It has everything to do with it,” I breathe against the side of his face. His breath comes out in short little bursts that make my blood sing.

“You’re forgetting one important thing.”

“Oh, yeah?” I rasp. “What’s that?”

“I’m not yours anymore.” He whispers the words against my cheek, his lips a soft caress against my skin, and for a moment—just a moment—I fall into it. But then, his words hit me, and I rear back.

I catch his eyes to find them steel gray and cold. “You never were, though, were you?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“So many things, Peris,” he sighs, likeI’mthe one who’s fucking stupid.

“No,” I counter, shaking my head to disperse the screaming thoughts that come tumbling to the forefront of my mind. He’s just trying to play me right now—like he does best. But I’m not going to let him.

I fucking knew him—I still do, no matter what he says—and there ain’t no way in hell I’m going to let him slip through my fingers again. I’ll kill us both first.

“No?” he says, mocking me, and I pull back with a feral grin and tighten my fingers around his neck. Abel’s breath stutters, and I take pleasure in his uncertainty.

I lean down to whisper the words against his lips. “You can’t lie to me. I’ve seen all your fucking ugly, and I loved you anyway. In spite of it, even. There’s nothing you can say that will change that because I know you’ve done the same.

“There’s no going back from this, Abel. Whether we’ve spent weeks, months, or years apart, we were always meant for this. And at this point, I don’t fucking care if it tears me apart. I’m not letting you go again. You don’t have a choice.”

Abel’s breath matches my own, coming in short, panicked bursts, and my eyesight is a little hazy around the edges as I stare down at my runt, my puppy. My… fuck. The only person I’ve ever really fucking loved.

Because it’s true. Even now, after all these years, I still love him.

I wouldn’t be the mess I am if I didn’t.