Page 53 of Twisted Violet

It’s ridiculous.

How can I want something more with him, with any of them, when I can’t even trust them with the truth?

Still, I can’t stop thinking about the way he looked at me the other night.

The way his mouth tasted.

I always knew Dallas was hot. Anyone with eyes could see that. But now, my attraction to him is so much worse.

I know what he smells like up close, what he sounds like when he groans in my ear,and what his hands feel like when they’re wrapped around me.

It’s all so freaking confusing.

The first flickercomes just as I finish topping the cheesecake.

Then, the lights go out, the refrigerator shuts off, and the room gets swallowed in darkness.

I rip my headphones off and toss them on the counter.

For a second, I just stand there, blinking into the sudden dark. Then comes a sound that makes my heart leap out of my chest. Not from the storm, but from something inside.

A bang.

A loud one. Like someone slamming a fist against the wall.

My stomach drops.

Another bang follows, louder this time. Then, a muffled voice, sharp and frantic.

My heart stutters.

I grab my phone off the counter, flick on the flashlight, and move.

The hallway stretches ahead, too long, too quiet. The beam of light shakes as I walk, slicing through the shadows.

“Hello?” I call out, my voice low.

No answer. Just another thud, coming from the direction of Niko’s room.

I reach his door and try the handle, but it doesn’t move.

“Niko.”

I press my ear to the door. “Are you in there?”

Silence.

Then.

“Vi?”

Relief flows through my chest. “Yeah.”

“I- I can’t get the door open. The manual lock is jammed.”

I blink, trying to process. His room is the only one in the house with a biometric lock. Something Rome said he insisted on, for privacy.

“You’re stuck?”