My shoulders are about to fucking snap with tension as I trail through the tall trees, pushing away the low branches.
Does she have a death wish? Those who attacked her that day could be lurking here, waiting for her return.
It was fucking ugly, and that says something considering I hated her at the time.
Hated her? Past tense?
I still fucking do.
My plan is in place. It’s chipped and ragged around the edges, but it’s still the same.
Then what the hell are you doing here?
I briefly close my eyes, eradicating that voice.
I only came because she doesn’t get to die by someone else’s hand. Her life is mine, fucking mine, and she has no right to end it without permission.
That’s it.
That’s all.
My steps turn wider and harder as I cut through the distance. Dry leaves crunch under my shoes, and the smell of the forest is nearly asphyxiating.
The sun has begun its descent, casting a somber hue on the trees.
Darkness never scared me before. It was a place to take refuge in. Darkness is where the monsters become invisible, and I’ve long since converted to the other side.
I’ve long since given up on what people consider normal. My life is anything but.
My life has been submerged in darkness since Ari’s death, and I’ve inflicted it on the world—or rather, on her.
Reina.
She’s the subject of my darkness now, and nothing will save her from the things my wired brain is planning.
Nothing will save her from me.
She might be a monster, but there are degrees in those. Her level would never reach mine. Reina was bound to lose before we even got started.
I would pity her if she hadn’t already killed that part of me.
If she hadn’t pushed her off the edge and let her head shatter to pieces.
The image of Ari’s smashed face and her limbs lolling in awkward positions still haunts my nightmares.
Her ghost still visits me in the darkness, asking me to let her soul rest in peace.
This isn’t revenge; this is fucking justice.
Which Reina has never been served in her life.
There’s no doubt in my mind she headed to that cottage, so I don’t bother with searching the forest and stride straight there.
As the trees and the earthly ground blur in my vision, I can’t help recalling that night.
The night Reina could’ve been gone once and for all.
* * *