Page 203 of Shadowman

“Pervert.”

“Seriously, though,” she says. “How are you holding up? Better than your boys, I’m sure…”

My forehead lines in obvious confusion, the twinge of guilt that’s been living in my gut since my fight with Luthor and Ren growing rapidly into a churn of acidic remorse. Naturally, it makes me defensive.

“I’m just fucking breathing, like I’ve been doing since the moment I got here.” I struggle to tone down the hostility. “What do you want me to say? They separated us… I haven’t seen either of them since that day in the rec room.”

The look on her face is worrying, and I’m bracing for impending pain. She has something to say, I can feel it. But she’s holding back too, and it’s gutting me.

So she doesn’t trust me either now??

Joy scrapes hands over her face, those black tactical fingerless gloves she always wears lingering on her eyes. “Listen, I love you, but you’ll have to forgive us for being skeptical of your new boyfriend. I’m fucking exhausted… We all are. I haven’t slept in days…weeks, who fucking knows anymore. They kicked us out of the mansion last night, so it’s been—”

“They kicked you out of the mansion??” I gasp.

I had no idea…

I’ve been so wrapped up in my violet-eyed stranger, I’ve barely noticed that everything around me is deteriorating. And I’m momentarily awed by how much he’s distracted me. HowdeeplyTrevel Fenwick has sunk inside me and filled up all those vacant places.

“If you think Trevel had anything to do with it, you’re high,” I mumble. “He wouldn’t…” My words trail off, and I swallow.

Would he…?

A noise pings—like a phone chime. Joy straightens, and my brow furrows.

“Gotta go.” She squeezes my shoulder. “Keep your guard up,gwiyeoun sonyeon.”

“I… will.” My words are left fluttering in the air as she darts through a different door.

I’m frozen solid for minutes, recoiling at the fact that I clearly don’t know shit anymore.

What am I doing??

I’m a stalker, for fuck’s sake. I’m best at falling back and observing details. How could I have been so blind to all of this?

Maybe because someone covered my eyes…

Finally forcing my legs into motion, I wander, distracted, in the direction Trevel went, all the while obsessing over the events of the last few months.

All of my friends, either leaving, or dying, or betraying me. And I’m left with only one person—the mysterious stranger who arrived just in time to pick up the pieces.

It seems… almost too perfect to be a coincidence.

I spot Trevel up the corridor, propped against the wall, staring blankly at the floor. He notices me right away, uncoiling as I approach him slowly. I peek at the door he’s standing beside, a nameplate on it that readsDr. Lemuel Love, PhD.

My gaze flits to Trevel, and the first thing I see in his eyes is an uncharacteristic flash of guilt. But it vanishes quickly enough, replaced by a forced indifference.

“He’s not in there… is he?” I blink at him.

The mound of his throat dips visibly. “Doesn’t seem to be.”

We stare at each other in silence for a moment. There are a lot of things I want to say… Questions I want to ask. And I think he can sense it.

Trevel turns and knocks on the door, sort of jittery as he presses his ear up to it. I don’t hear anything from where I’m standing, and I assume he doesn’t either because he grabs the handle and whips the door open, striding inside the office.

As I peer up and down the hallway, something feels off. It’stooquiet. There’s a vibe in the air I can’t explain that has me tensing all over, like a fight response lying in wait.

Reluctantly, I follow Trevel inside Dr. Love’s office. As expected, it’s empty.