Page 283 of Satan's Spawn

I try for the phone but Crayton holds it over his head so I can’t reach…then I decide the best course of action is to kick him in the shin.

“If you need me to, I’ll do it!” I yell, even though Micah can hear me perfectly.

“Rebecca…” Crayton says my name through clenched teeth.

“We may not have a choice, Shaw,” Micah responds solemnly. “Not if you want to win.”

Crayton kicks the legs out from under a chair. “Then I’ll plead guilty to the charges.”

“Are you out of your fucking mind?!” I wail on him, appalled by the suggestion.

There’s a quick struggle. Mostly Crayton pinning me down on the bed so my face is squished into the mattress.

All while still holding the phone.

“Stop your shit, Rebecca.”

“You first,” I respond, voice muffled.

Micah has upgraded his defeated breaths to riled groans.

”You two need to work your shit out…” The rustling of papers can be heard over the speaker before he says, “’Cause it’ll be about eight hours before the DNA results hit the detective’s desk.”

* * *

“What the hell are you doing?”Crayton mutters as I continue to sweep my pen across a pad.

“Weighing the pros and cons of me testifying if I have to.” I draw a smiley face above the list of pros. “Ask me how many cons I got.”

“What’s the point? You’re gonna tell me anyway.”

I spin around on his desk chair. “None. Nada, niente. Not one reason other than my discomfort with telling my truth.”

Crayton lights a cigarette. “That one is enough for me.”

“Please stop,” I beg Crayton, dragging my feet over to him. “I can’t fight you and fight the universe. It’s exhausting.

“You know what else is exhausting?” He blows tiny smoke circles above his head. “Listening to you ramble on trying to convince me of something when I’ve already made up my mind.”

My lips form a straight line. “A lot of ‘me’s’ in those sentences.”

He looks out the window and chuckles. “I could putmein other places if you want.”

I pull at the roots of my hair and screech. “Stop evading the conversation!”

“Rebecca…there’s a ninety-nine percent chance I’ll be getting arrested within the next twenty-four hours. Even more of a chance of me going to prison.” Crayton drops his cigarette into a cup on the window sill. “Why are we wasting precious time arguing when I can be balls deep inside you?”

“Do you ever stop thinking about sex?”

“Not when I may be going through the rest of my life without having it.”

I shoot out of the chair, stomping over to where Crayton’s standing by the window and slap him in the arm. “Stop fooling around, this is serious.”

Defeat washes over him.

“It’s also been a long time coming, Little Ghost, and you know it.”

I shake my head eagerly. “I refuse to accept that.”