Page 104 of My Girl

His blood.

There’s a darkness inside of my heart that isallhim. The thrill that needs more from people. More from life. A hunger that has always—and will always—belong to him, no matter how hard I try to resist it.

I pull out the small water bottle in my purse with the ripped-off label: the bottle of poison that Crave gave to me. Since I left Pahrump, I’ve kept it tucked inside of my purse. A reminder that I could kill him as easily as he could kill me.

If he hadn’t told me it was poison, I might have consumed it.

It could have killed me.

It could kill my next hookup.

It could kill anyone.

And it could still killhim.

I stuff it back into my purse, then head to the parking garage. I should pack a bag, but there’s an urgency rolling in the bottom of my stomach. I can’t wait any longer.

I want to gonow.

I don’t have a plan, but I know I need to see Crave. I need to confront him for the last time.

I need to ask him for his birth name.

Chapter33

Rae

A new padlockis chained to the fence around the Galloway House. I throw my purse and shoes over the gate, then I climb the fence. My bare feet cling to the links. It’s painful, but it doesn’t stop me.

I drop down to the dirt and slip back into my shoes. Crave may not even be here right now.

I walk forward anyway.

The house is different now that I know my connection to the place. Everything feels strange, like it’s not as big as before. Like everything that happened was a dream.

Inside, the house is empty. Quiet. Everything is clean. The blood-stained couch is missing. There’s fresh paint on the walls, and a clinical, fresh scent hangs in the air. Like someone’s trying to cover up the past again.

I sit on the floor in the living room.

I’m back to where I started. I don’t even know Crave’s real name. I don’t know how to find him.

A fist bangs on the front door.

“Hello?” a loud male voice calls. “Is someone in there? You’re trespassing on private property. I’ll call the police.”

I walk toward the entrance quickly and open the door. Ned jolts, shocked by my sudden appearance. He pulls me in for a hug.

“Oh, hey!” he says. “I thought you were those teens messing with the house again. When did you get back in town? I didn’t realize you were home.”

Home.He thinks Pahrump is my home. If anything, the Galloway House is my home.

There’s a lot of things Ned doesn’t realize about me.

“I just wanted to see the place one last time,” I say.

“I get that,” he says. Like my mother, Ned still thinks Michael Hall—the supposed murder-suicide perpetrator—is my father. “You should’ve called me. I could’ve taken you out for a welcome-home dinner.”

My lips curl. He’s so nice, it’s pathetic.