Page 31 of The Sins That Bleed

Hide I close the door to my suite and head toward hers. I twist the handles on the double doors, but they don’t budge.

My fists pound so hard on the decorative doors that they rattle on the hinges. I pause, listening for footsteps or some other sign that she is on the other side of the door, that she’ll open up and fight with me some more. Anything is better than her ignoring me.

Nothing.

I consider that she’s gone to her office so I turn and run in that direction, but something stops me.

It’s like something is tugging at my chest. I can’t explain it, but I know I’m going in the wrong direction.

It’s odd but I’ve always trusted my instincts so I don’t stop now.

She’s in her suite, I know it, but I can’t get in.

And I need to get in, my desperation is starting to bleed into panic.

Why do I feel like I’m running out of time?

Sunny . I have to find her, she’ll know how to get in. I run to Nico’s suite where I last saw them and pound my fist on the door, hard enough that the hinges creak in protest. The panic is clawing up my throat—I have to get to her.

“Open up, Nico! Sunny, are you in there?” I shout before banging again. They’re taking too fucking long.

I’m about to kick the door in when it opens and Nico appears. “Why are you trying to beat my door down like you’re an ogre or something? What’s the emergency?”

“Is Sunny in there with you? I need her help.” I try and see over his shoulder to see if I can spot her.

“No, she left about ten minutes ago, said she was going to take care of something. What’s going on, Rai?” He’s serious now, picking up on my panic.

“It’s, I—” I rub my chest, the ache getting stronger as it calls me toward my girl. “Valeska, something bad is happening, I can sense it. We-we had a fight and she—I can’t fucking get to her, Nico! I know she’s in her suite, but it’s locked, I need Sunny to let me in.”

“Fuck, okay, it’s going to be okay. Let me call her and ask her to come back.” He turns into his apartment and swipes his phone from the counter. I start pacing to give my nervous energy an outlet.

“Come on, pick up, Sunny,” I hear Nico say, but he sounds far away.

I focus on my breathing, if I sink too far into my dread then I’ll be useless to help Valeska when I get to her. An idea comes to me and I take off running. I hear Nico shout after me and then hear his footsteps thundering behind me.

I reach Valeska’s door and slam my boot into the wood. I’ll kick it down to get to her. It doesn’t budge, so I repeat the action, again and again, but it’s not working. What the fuck is this thing made of? I switch to pounding on the door, but no answer comes.

“What the hell are you two doing?” Sunny shrieks at us and we both jump at her sudden appearance.

“Where the fuck did you come from? Never mind, actually, Rai needs to get into Valeska’s suite, something happened and he has a bad feeling, can you get us in?” Nico says all the words I can’t.

“I shouldn’t really, she has them locked for a reas?—“

“Please, Sunny, I need to get to her. If she’s okay and ends up pissed at us, I will take all the blame and say I tricked you into it or something, please .” I beg.

She studies me for a moment, and she must see the panic on my face because she moves around me. “Out of my way gentlemen.”

Within moments the door swings open and I’m racing through the entryway and towards a set of stairs. Her suite is completely different to mine and Nico’s, but somehow I know exactly where she is.

I’ll worry about how I know later.

I storm up the stairs, taking two at a time to get to her room faster. I burst through a door and find her large bedroom empty and everything in its place. I scan it again and notice another door open a little as steam slips through the crack and dissipates.

I run toward it and throw the door open. It takes a moment for the steam to clear but I almost wished it hadn’t. Blood. It’s everywhere, on the floor and walls, mixing with the steaming hot water of the sunken bath and, floating in the middle of it all facedown, is my girl, mon cauchemar.

And she’s not moving.

I race towards her as I scream her name. Time moves in slow motion as I try to get to her and save her. I don’t miss the jagged looking dagger that sits on the edge of the tub or the way her blood pools and drips off the tip of the blade.

I jump into the water, not caring as it scalds my skin, my only focus is getting to her. I reach her body and I’m partially aware of Nico and Sunny coming through the door, but I don’t look at them. All I can hear is my blood whooshing past my ears as I finally reach her and pull her to me.

I drag her lifeless body to the edge and find Nico there to help me pull her out. Sunny is frozen to spot by the door, her eyes unwavering on Valeska’s lifeless form. I pull myself out of the bath and kneel next to her body, Nico mirrors me on her other side.

That’s when I realise the extent of her injuries, the reason Sunny hasn’t moved from where she is. My heart breaks and shatters against the walls of this room, seeking out her blood to find comfort in them.

Hundreds of slash marks mar the exposed parts of her body; she’s in nothing but her underwear which means there is no hiding how many there are of them.

Slice after slice, going in every direction like she was in a frenzy, covering her arms, legs, stomach, and her lovely face. She’s lost so much blood.

“No! No, no, no, no, no, don’t do this, Valeska. Please, sweetheart, come back to me,” I sob and pain lances through my chest.

I can’t lose her too.

Nico places two fingers to her neck to check for a pulse while I clutch her hand in mine, worried that touching her anywhere else will cause her more pain. I suck in a ragged breath as I wait for Nico to confirm her fate.

“I’m so sorry, mon cauchemar, this is all my fault.” The words leave me in a ragged whisper.

Nico places his hand on my shoulder and he squeezes. I look up to find tears in his eyes as he shakes his head at me. It takes me a moment to register what this means. I was too late.

Too late.

The words repeat in my mind and there’s only myself to blame.

I should never have said those words to her, never should have let her leave my suite.

Hot tears track down my face as it sinks in—I’ll never hear her voice again, feel her touch, or get to fight with her only to see how we’ll make it up to each other when our bodies inevitably come back together.

“ Move , both of you.”

My eyes snap open at the harsh tone of Sunny’s voice. I’ve never heard her like this, nor did I hear her come over to us. No longer a frozen statue, she shoves us out of the way and we scramble back.

There’s a dangerous aura emanating from her that gets us moving. I notice something in her hand, a silver looking pipe with a red substance inside. She lifts it to her mouth and sucks as if smoking it.

I watch her intently, latching onto a small seed of hope that whatever she’s doing will bring my girl back to me. I try to ignore it because, unless witchcraft is real, there’s nothing to be done. I rub my chest at the thought of it, the finality of death.

I never understood Romeo and Juliet until now.

Sunny exhales and a cloud of smoke tumbles past her lips and over Valeska’s face. The scent of cherries fills the room and I inhale deeply, the aroma bringing me comfort. I’ve come to associate it with her.

The water soaking my clothes drips from me, hitting the tile like a death toll.

Nothing happens and Sunny repeats the process, this time getting closer to Valeska’s face, their noses almost touching. She must see something we don’t because the next thing I know, the pipe is against Valeska’s lips.

I see no movement and am about to speak to Sunny, to tell her she’s gone, when a puff of the cherry scented smoke unfurls past Valeska’s lips. I hold my breath, not daring to move in case it will disrupt what is happening.

The pipe is back to her lips and I watch, not daring to look away as I wait for another cloud to escape her mouth. Her eyes flutter open and my breath leaves me and relief courses through me. I see Nico near me, his mouth hanging open at what just happened, confirming that I’m not making this up.

I stand, rushing toward her only to be blocked by Sunny. I hadn’t even seen her move, she was so fast. Her hands are held up toward me to stop me coming any closer, but I ignore her, moving around her frame.

She sidesteps me, blocking me again as she commands me to back up. “Step back, Rai.”

“Let me fucking see her, Sunny, I thought she was dead!” I let my frustration colour my tone, I need to feel her in my hands.

“Not going to happen. If you know what’s good for you and you value your life, I suggest you back the fuck up. Now.”

I rear back at her words. What the hell is she talking about? I feel Nico gripping me by the shoulders as he pulls me back to the edge of the bath and Sunny relaxes, offering up a small grateful smile to him.

She turns back to Valeska, placing the pipe in her hand and bringing it to her own mouth.

I watch in awe as she drags the smoke into her body, and then she’s sitting up with Sunny’s help.

I scan her body to see the damage she inflicted on herself and to try and figure out how we’ll patch her up this time.

I blink and rub my eyes a few times, not believing what I’m seeing. Her wounds stitch themselves back together, the dark-red blood no longer seeping out of them. This can’t be real.

“What the fuck?” I whisper, mostly to myself, but then I feel her eyes on me.

I meet them, letting them bore into me with their intensity. I stagger back but Nico stops me, one more step and I’d have fallen back into the still-steaming mixture of water and blood. I’m hallucinating, this has to be a dream because I’ve seen these eyes before, but I was imagining them then too.

Blood-red eyes stare back at me, burning themselves into my brain. Eyes I’ve dreamt of, feared, and sought out. How is this possible? Who the fuck, no what the fuck is she? Is this some sick prank that they all conspired against me to pull off?

Logic tells me I’m being stupid, but I’m feeling pretty irrational right now.

I shake out of Nico’s hold and whirl on him. “Is this some sick fucking joke?”

He looks at me confused, but how else could he be taking this so calmly? I shove him, my emotions a chaotic storm unleashing itself and wreaking havoc on my exhausted body. He doesn’t even budge.

“You all thought it would be funny to prank me, huh? Let’s freak out Rai, the uptight asshole who’s too obsessed with finding his missing sister. Give him something to really freak out about because she’s probably dead anyway, right?” I shout and shove him again.

His hands shoot up in surrender. He’s not fighting me so it must be true. I knew I wasn’t fucking crazy.

“How long has this been going on for? Did you stage the break-ins too? Thought it would be funny to see my sterile home a mess and see how I’d react for fun?

Is this the part where you tell me you and Sunny had been plotting this when you were in your suite?

And here I was thinking you got the prude to open her legs so you could finally get laid. ”

My head snaps back as Nico’s fist strikes my nose.

Good. I want to fucking fight, I need some way to let these feelings out before I break.

I square up, ready to get into it, but he’s not near me, leaning against the counter with his hands locked together behind his head and Sunny stands in between us.

She doesn’t say anything, but the look on her face tells me my words have hurt her. The familiarity of her expression stirs something in me. It’s like I know her. I meet her eyes and I’m overwhelmed by the thought of them being blue, but the same red eyes that Valeska has meet mine.

“You need to calm down and get out of here before you get yourself killed.” She points to the door.

I bark out a laugh. “Nico’s not going to kill me.”

She grabs me by the T-shirt and pulls me to her level with more strength than she should have. I try and pull back but she holds firm.

“Not him, you idiot, her.” She looks over at Valeska and I follow her gaze to find she’s staring right at me. “You’re bleeding and she’s hungry.”

A shiver goes down my spine at the way she’s looking at me, like I’m the most delicious meal she’s ever seen. I should be terrified, but there’s only a small element of self-preservation running through my veins, the rest is anticipation. I want to know what it feels like.

I shake my head, no I fucking don’t.

“Okay, I’ll go,” I say, before I offer myself up to her willingly.

Sunny lets me go and stands between me and Valeska as I walk slowly toward the door. I’ll have to walk past her and pray that Sunny can stop her. Her eyes follow me as I get closer, tracking the blood that’s trickling from my nose.

I reach the door, not turning my back on her. I’m about to step over the threshold when she moves.

She’s a blur as she blocks my path, sinking her fangs into my neck.