Page 6 of The Cruelest Chaos

She hasn’t run yet. There’s that.

“Dickhead!” Cain bellows this time, and I hear anotherpop.Another firework going off, which must mean it’s getting close to midnight.

Ella finally speaks. “Your friends want you, Pretty Boy.” Her voice is surprisingly soft. A little Southern, but it’s a subtle accent and doesn’t sound like the standard North Carolinian drawl. I wonder where she’s from.

“Yeah, but what doyouwant?” I counter. “What’re you crying about?”

She bites her lip, and I want to bite it, too, but I take a breath and try to control myself. People usually talk before they fuck, right? How many minutes is standard? Two? Three? Can I get away with that? Usually, yes. But we’re in the middle of the woods and it’s kinda cold out here. I don’t really care, but she might.

Fuck, I might not care about that either.

She steps closer. I remember Natalie’s warning: She’s doing well.

So how was she doing before?

“Get your hand off of me,” she says calmly. She brings her own hand to my cheek, scrapes something hard against my face.

I back away, letting go of her face and yanking her hand down. I see what she was playing with. Some sort of bone, shaped almost like a V. It reminds me of a bird, and I’ve seen enough dead, decomposing bodies to know it isn’t a human bone.

Somehow, it doesn’t make me feel much better, but thankfully, she drops it.

“What the fuck is that—”

“Goddammit, leave the kid alone!” Ezra growls at me, and I clench my hands into fists as more pops go off, and the music gets louder.

Don’t You Dare, by Zeal & Ardor. My favorite death metal blues shit, maybe because it’s the only kind that exists. A bit of Satanism mixed in with the gospel?

Count me the fuck in.

But right now, I don’t have time for my brothers or their music, unless they’re gonna suck me off to the song. I thought coming out here with them would becompanionable.

But then I saw Ella. She’s got a pretty mouth. That’s companionship.

As Cain calls for me this time, I turn to yell at them over my shoulder, the music getting even louder. I cup my hands over my mouth. “Leave me the fuck alone!” I shout at them, and I see Atlas tip his head back and laugh, his arm slung around Natalie.

I turn back to Ella, who is smiling at me. I notice her Cupid’s bow is very pronounced, giving her the impression of having a permanent pout, even when she’s smiling.

It’s sexy as hell.

I take another step toward her.

Her red-rimmed eyes narrow, but a smirk still plays on her lips. “What doyouwant?”

“What do you think I want?”

“You wanna fuck me?”

I’m startled by how bold she is, and she must see it in my face. Her smile grows wider.

My heart slams in my chest.Is it really gonna be this easy?

But before I can answer her, Ezra shouts after me and I groan, twisting around to yell back at him.

By the time I turn around after I finish telling him just what it is I’m going to do to him if he doesn’t shut the fuck up, Ella is gone.

Or, not gone.

Running.Away from me. I see her long red hair trailing after her as she hikes her dress up to be able to run faster still. I swear I hear her laughing.