Page 64 of Soul So Dark

“It’s…wrong…” I grind out bitterly, the words like acid on my tongue.

“You mean it’s everything you’ve ever wanted,” he keeps his voice low, steadily bringing me closer to the edge. “You’re too good, Alex. You won’t do it, but some other asshole will, and they won’t give it—or her—a second thought.”

My breath hisses through my teeth. I want to beat his fucking face in. And then I want to kill every hypothetical moron he’s talking about who’ll just use Dallas for her body and not even care about her.

How could anyone not care about her?

“You’re good, but notthatgood,” Aiden continues, “I know how fucked up you can be. I know about the shit you’ve done, the things youlike.” I grab his shoulders, clenching his shirt in my fists. “You’re going to fuck Dallas Lutz, aren’t you? You’re going to fuck Col’s little sister. How are you going to do it, Alex?”

I don’t dare open my eyes, or she’ll disappear. “In her bed, in that Pepto Bismol pink room of hers, fucking her on top of her Squishmallows…”

“Herwhat?” he hisses.

I grit my teeth, chasing the release. “Those—those weird pillow animal things…”

“She’ll be biting the hell out of them soon enough,” he rasps, pumping my dick faster. “Dally’s so wet for Alex fucking Barrera that when she finally works up the nerve, you’ll jump on it. Bet she’s the tightest you’ll ever have.”

I nod.

“And loud.” He pumps faster. “Are you going to cover it up or wait ‘til no one’s home so you can make her scream for mercy?”

My hand flies up and I grab a fistful of hair at the back of his head. “Fuck…fuck, fuck, fuckkk!”

My jaw drops and I dig my heel into the sofa cushion, my abs trembling while I come all over Aiden’s hand. And as soon as my breathing slows and I open my eyes, she’s gone in an instant.

I let out a groan, not bothering to move even after Aiden pushes off me and rises from the sofa. He glances toward the kitchen, where Colson and Mason are standing at the island with snacks scattered over the quartz countertop, oblivious to what’s happened in the living room.

Aiden looks down, towering over me with a severe look. “Get it out of your system now, Alex. Don't fuck this up. Dallas might seem worth it right now, but she won't be when everything comes crashing down and you're left with nothing—including her.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Dallas

We’re not even out of the parking lot of the Starliner before I’m scrolling through every social media app I have, searching for a guy named Jesse with dark hair, who lives somewhere near here, and who may or may not have a picture of an orange dirt bike in his profile. But it’s no use, no one matches his description enough to even message and ask. He’s still a ghost who vanished into the night.

After my fruitless search, I notice that I have an unread text. Part of me is dreading opening it and seeing a long, panicked message from my mom thinking I’ve been abducted and murdered. But when I see it, I forget all about the mysterious stranger who invited me to climb on his bike and live a different life for an hour or two.

Fine, maybe I don’t forget him completely, but at least for a few minutes.

ALEX (7:23PM): Check under your bed when you get home

ME (9:42PM): For monsters?

ALEX (9:46PM): I’d say yes but I’m at Aiden’s right now

“I’m home!” I holler as I practically sprint across the living room and up the stairs.

I think my mom calls something in response from the Master suite, but I’m already gone. Clearly, I made the right decision by not going with Jesse because they definitely would’ve heard a dirt bike outside, even down by the road.

As soon as I flip the lock on my doorknob, I dive onto the carpet and flip up the comforter to look under my bed. There’s a cluster of dark objects just out of view and when I grab for the first one, I knock another over with a clatter. They look like a bunch of CD cases, which is weird. But when I start pulling them out, I realize they’re PlayStation games, and the cases are old, not like the larger ones I have now.Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy VII, Medal of Honor, Silent Hill, Spyro, Vagrant Story,and multiple discs of theTomb Raidergames.

And then my jaw drops. The last thing I pull out from under the bed is an original PlayStation console. The big grey brick is unmistakable. And it looks so…old.

I get up and scurry over to my TV, unplugging and switching around cords until I make enough space for the new console, which includes digging around in a gallon plastic bag filled with random cords and adapters. Then I open it and pop in the originalTomb Raiderbefore returning to the pile of games for the controllers. But as soon as I pick them up, I give pause.

Aw, shit…

A black cord hangs from each one, not more than five feet long. They’re not wireless. And of course they wouldn’t be wireless; this thing is ancient. But I guess that also means they won’t die right in the middle of playing. I’ll just have to get some extensions for them.Do they even sell those anymore?