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Twisted Obsessions

Blade

S il is completely immersed in the TV, sitting inches away from it with his silver mask on. He chuckles as the news anchor explains the gory details of the most recent murder to shake up the streets of Salem.

Red sits on the other side of the motel room in the wobbly wooden chair near the window, his feet kicked up on the table as he shoots daggers through his mask at Sil. He still isn’t happy about what he did. I don’t think he’ll ever get over it, and if I’m being honest, it was a dick move on my brother’s part, but at the same time, smart as fuck.

With Nixon out picking up some last-minute things, I’m left sitting here alone, suffocating in tension so thick you need a fucking chainsaw to cut it.

The winter is always our slowest season, since not many people are out and about late at night. So we take this time to prepare ourselves for when we start up again. However, being cooped up in a small house with three other guys tends to make us all a little stir crazy—hence the random spike in murders over the last six months.

Another laugh from my brother jolts me back to the present, and I sit back and study him carefully, feeling like he might be hiding something from me—from all of us. But I can’t for the fucking life of me figure out what it might be .

“So are you done being a fucking dick and ghosting my sister?” Red snaps, smacking Sil on the back of his head.

He spins around in his chair so fast I get whiplash. Enraged, my brother rips off his mask and throws it onto the couch, glaring at Red.

“First off, it’s none of your fucking business. Second, your sister is fucking crazy. She’s putting me through hell, and I can’t deal with it.” He shakes his head, putting his finger to his temple and making the crazy gesture with it.

“She thinks you’re seeing someone else,” Red confesses, scowling hard.

“The fuck I am! I ain’t seeing anyone else, and you all should know that. Besides, Red, the relationship I have with your sister is a fucking scam, and you know that. I did it for one reason and one reason only, not because I love her or want to be with her.” The tension in the room is palpable, thick enough to drown out the muffled sounds of the news anchor’s frantic voice spilling out more horror stories.

Red leans in closer, his gaze unwavering. “Yeah, I get that, but you could at least treat her–” he starts, his voice low and dripping with frustration.

“Treat her? Treat her how?” Sil shoots back, his voice rising with indignation. “She’s not a damn princess in a fairy tale, Red. She’s either on board with the plan or she isn’t. I owe her fucking nothing.”

Red’s fists clench on the table. “You owe her fucking human decency! She cares about you, and you’re just using her to play some sick game; it’s not fucking right.”

“Right?” Sil explodes, standing up and knocking the chair backward. “What’s right? That I should let her think this is real? That I should throw myself into some fucking emotional pit just so she can feel validated? No fucking thank you. I’ve got enough on my fucking plate without trying to manage her feelings.”

“I’m just saying, keep it real. This isn’t a fucking video game. When you fuck someone over, it doesn’t just reset,” Red insists, unwavering even as Sil seethes.

The silence hangs for a moment, thick and vibrating with hidden truths. From the corner of the room, I watch the exchange unfold—the unsteady dance between anger and betrayal.

“Hey, how about we switch the topic back to... I don’t know... the fucking murder? It got worse than that police report on your sister last week.” Red turns to me, momentarily distracted, his brow furrowed. “What, you’re just going to ignore this?”

“No, I’m paying attention. I’m all for your little moral high ground... But let’s not forget we’ve got enough on our hands right now,” I growl, making it a point to roll my eyes so he can see.

I point toward the flickering screen, where the news anchor moves on to some blurry footage from a security camera, the grim reality of the city unfolding through the static. “You want to talk about crazy? That’s what fucking crazy looks like, not whatever bullshit drama you’ve got going on.”

But Sil isn’t finished. He narrows his eyes at Red. “Look, if you’re so worried about feelings, maybe you should try being her brother for once.”

“Whatever,” Red mutters, but I can see hesitation ripple across his face.

He misunderstood what it meant to play both sides—the protector and the realist—and that was a dangerous position to inhabit; it made him vulnerable, torn between what he wanted to believe and what was real.

The commotion fades as we absorb the news report, the anchor listing victims and motives with a clinical detachment, flashing images of familiar faces from around town.

I feel anger pulse through me, a reminder of why we have to tread carefully, but I can’t ignore the knot in my stomach—a nagging sense that what Sil has turned into isn’t going to be easy to fix, and it is far from over.

“Listen,” I finally say, the weight of choice hanging heavy on my tongue. “Whatever’s going on with you guys, it can’t stay like this. We need to move before our shit gets hot and our fucking lives are turned completely upside down.

“Move where?” Red scoffs, still clearly invested in the mess between him and Sil.

“Wherever,” I say, biting back the sigh that threatens. “We need a break from this place—new faces, new vibes. The walls are closing in. Silence can be worse than danger.”

Sil shrugs, adamant, the anger slowly softening in his tone. “You might be onto something. But I’m not ready to leave this fucking place. We can move houses, but I’m staying put.”

Saint

Trapped and utterly drained from the relentless arguing with Riley, I feel a suffocating weight surrounding me as I wrestle with my temper. I understand that not every situation demands a reaction, yet I find it impossible to keep silent when it comes to this—him, her, all of it.

A surge of seething anger washes over me as I glance back, catching a glimpse of him sporting that infuriating expression that gnaws at my very core. Exhausted from arguing, I rise, reaching for my black hoodie and slipping it on before striding toward the door.

“Where are you going?” my brother asks, concern lacing his voice .

“Out,” I snap, not bothering to turn around.

I fling open the front door and step into the biting cold, letting the frigid air envelope my heated skin. Despite the steady snowfall surrounding me, I walk down the lonely street, hands shoved deep in my pockets, my thoughts consumed by a single person— her .

She’s still unaware of my presence and of how I’ve been watching from the shadows, sneaking into her room at night just to listen to her sleep. She might sense something, but she has no inkling of the intensity of my obsession, and that feeling clings to me, refusing to let go.

But the guys are oblivious. I can’t confide in them—playing dumb is my only option, pretending I don’t know who she is. I know I’m making too much of it; they don’t even know who she is, and they haven’t mentioned her. I know they saw her when I did; it’s undeniable that she didn’t catch their attention.

But dammit, she caught mine, and now there’s no escape from the fixation consuming my mind.

Now, Riley’s fucking sister has thrown everything into disarray. She was never part of the plan, yet here I stand, grappling with a reality I never wanted—one I never anticipated facing.

It all began with the uncertainty of whether she’d notice me lurking one night in her friend’s room. I had no idea if she saw the blood staining my hands and clothes or caught a whiff of death and charred flesh that lingered on me. I couldn’t take the risk, so I drowned my fears in alcohol and approached her—the rest is history.

The crunch of snow beneath my feet is almost deafening, but it doesn’t drown out the tumultuous thoughts spiraling in my mind. Each step takes me further from my brother’s concerned gaze, further from the binds of our twisted reality.

I arrive at a small park; the trees are stripped bare of leaves, and a ghostly white coating blankets everything in sight. It’s beautiful, in a desolate, melancholic way, mirroring the turmoil rolling within me .

Thoughts of her flood my mind—the way her laughter lights up the darkest moments, how her eyes crinkle when she smiles, the warmth radiating from her even on the coldest nights. Each detail is etched into my memory, as if I am creating a mental shrine in her honor. But each memory is tainted by the agony of my choices—even though I’ve enjoyed every single fucking moment.

Settling down with someone—someone like Carly—feels like a fucking gravestone marking the end of my life. The chaos that has seeped into my existence is now rooted in something deeper—darker—from which I can’t escape. My heart doesn’t long for her; it cries out for the girl with the glossy black hair and the laughter of an angel.

I only wanted to get closer to her, yet my life spirals in ways I’ve never foreseen. I should have stayed away; I should have let her remain an untouchable dream. But the thrill of secrecy, the pulse of danger—it’s intoxicating.

I need to fucking see her again—now.

As the wind picks up, sending icy particles swirling through the air, I close my eyes, wanting to block out the reality waiting for me back home. Amidst the chaos, a voice—a soft whisper—breaks through.

“Why did you do it?”

Startled, I jerk up to see her standing there, her silhouette framed against the dim glow of a nearby streetlight. Snowflakes descend silently around us, creating an intimate space just for the two of us. I want to hide everything—my turmoil, my guilt, the truth—but something in her eyes urges me to respond.

“Do what?” I reply, my voice dripping with ignorance, fully aware of the question she’s truly asking.

She takes a cautious step closer, her breath forming small clouds in the air. “ You know... her.” The simple question hangs in the frosty air, heavy like the night itself. I choke on my words, caught between the urge to confide in her and the instinct to shield her from the gruesome truth lurking just beneath the surface .

“Because I had to,” I finally admit, the words slipping from my lips before I can stop them. “It was the only way to keep you close.”

I see a tremor in her hands, her eyes widening with an emotion that I can’t decipher—fear, perhaps, or something deeper. I can’t hide from her. I can’t put on a mask because she’ll see right through it.

The snow falls softly around us, and suddenly, I blink, jolting back to reality where I sit alone in the park, lost in my thoughts—without her. Seeing people. Hearing voices. I’m losing my fucking mind.

Rising to my feet, I start to walk again, laughing at the momentary insanity that just gripped me. One thing could help me feel better, and I don’t stop walking until I’m outside of her apartment, gazing up at her window. The light inside intrigues me.

Thinking I might catch a glimpse of her, I climb the fire escape, attempting to remain as quiet as possible. Settling into my usual spot beside the small table, I peer through the window, my heart lifting at the sight of her dancing in nothing but a delicate black nighty.

But as soon as my smile breaks through the frown, it falters, and anger surges through me like wildfire. My heart sinks as a tall figure enters her bedroom, clad in low-hanging sweatpants and no shirt. He wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her close and kissing her lips, which are supposed to be meant for me.

My blood boils, and I retreat from the window, unwilling to endure anymore of the bullshit I’m watching. It feels as though my heart is being twisted, a torrent of knives piercing my back as I descend the fire escape, desperate to distance myself.

Maybe Blade was right when he said it was time to move. Knowing she has a boyfriend now, I realize that I can’t trust myself. She makes me completely unhinged, and I’m terrified of what might happen if I linger around and obsess over her any longer.

We need to leave Salem... but we’ll be fucking back.