BIANCA
Asoft knock on the door pulled me out of a fitful sleep. I sat up and peeked around the dark room. Aubrey had taken off about an hour ago. I’d told her I was too tired to hang out. She’d given me a hug and said she’d stay anyway. I knew she was terrified of Dominic, so I'd assured her I’d lock the door and be on my best behavior. Reluctantly, she’d left.
Vincent hadn’t said much when he'd relieved Levin earlier in the day. Vincent had seemed preoccupied with whatever he was doing on his phone, so I’d taken a bubble bath and cried softly in the bathroom without him knowing. My argument with Levin had come out of nowhere and everywhere. I'd been so frustrated that I'd scream it all out at him. He’d already hurt me with the fiasco at the dance and the gun to my head in the woods. Then he'd had the audacity to outright flirt with Celeste in front of me.
I couldn’t take it. I'd let it all out, and now my heart was cracking. The last thing I wanted was to hate him. Because really, I didn’t hate any of them. I was just so livid over everything that was happening.
Another soft knock sounded out, and I shuffled to my feet. Nausea washed over me as I continued to think about Levin. Some tiny part of me hoped he was on the other side of the door. It wasn’t possible though. He was with Dominic and Vincent.
Maybe Aubrey forgot something?
I cracked open the door, and my heart jumped in my throat as Fallon offered me a smile.
“Fallon?” I opened the door wider. “You can’t be here—”
“Let me in?” he said, his words slurring. He shook his head as if to clear it. “Please, princess?”
“If Dominic comes back, he’ll kill you,” I hissed. “Go. If someone sees you here—”
“If you let me in, no one will see,” he reasoned, swaying. He caught himself on the doorframe and groaned.
I shot a look up and down the hallway, noting it was empty. But for how long? Knowing we were treading in very dangerous territory, I grabbed his arm and hauled him into the room with me, closing the door behind him.
Immediately, I realized what a terrible idea it was because he gathered me to him and held on tightly, his face buried in my neck.
“I’ve missed you, princess. I was at this party at Hail’s. I did coke and drank too much. I'm supposed to be fucking Stella right now because these other two chicks wanted to fuck me, but I couldn’t do it. So Stella saved me and brought me to you. I just wanted to see you. She’s nicer than I thought she was,” he rambled.
I tensed and didn’t hug him back.
“Fuck, I missed you. I’ve been living in this personal hell for days now. All I can think about is you. You’re so mad at me. I know you are, but I meant it when I said I’d prove myself to you. I’m a good choice, Bianca. I promise I am.”
“Fallon, you need to leave,” I whispered, pushing him away.
His face fell, revealing his worry and fear. “You hate me.”
“I-I don’t,” I said softly, untangling myself from him. “I’m just really upset with you. You were going to just hand me over to Dominic’s dad and hope someone rescued me. Were you planning on running away on your own or something if someone else saved me?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he stared at me. “I would've come back.”
“Really?”
He blinked several times, and I sighed. He was way too messed up to be having this conversation with me right now.
“You need to go back to your room and sober up. Why were you doing coke?”
“Hail said I could fuck Stella if I did it with him.” Fallon reached for me, but I pulled away in disgust.
That bitch…
“Not like that, baby. I wasn’t going to fuck her, and she wasn’t going to fuck me. She was trying to help me get away. So we pretended so I could come see you. Hail wanted me to stay so he and I could fuck these two chicks at the party. But that’s not my scene. I mean, I want to be with you with the kings, so that’s different. I’d make love to you while you sucked De Santis’s dick or whatever you wanted to do. I only said I wanted Stella so I could get to you.”
I wrinkled my nose. God, he was so high he couldn’t even stand up. He leaned heavily against Dominic’s dresser, sweat dotting his forehead.
“I’d do anything for you, Bianca,” he said, shoving off the dresser and approaching me again after a moment of silence. “I’m risking my life right now for you.”
“Well, don’t,” I said, staring up at him. “Go back to your room and rest. Please.”
“Do you love me?” he whispered. “Please tell me. I need to hear it.”
“I’m just really angry at you guys right now.”
He nodded, his eyes so glassy I could see my reflection in them. “I understand. Just trust in me, OK? If I fail, I’ll take my punishment from the kings, from the lords, without begging. I just want you. I love you, Bianca. I don’t want to not be with you. It’s driving me insane. I want to hold you right now and know I can’t. I’m so sorry.” He sank to his knees in front of me, sniffling softly. “I want to be a king so you can be my girl. So I can worship my queen.”
“Fallon,” I said gently when he reached for me. I didn’t back away. I let him grasp my waist and rest his head against my stomach.
He pressed his warm lips to the sliver of skin which was exposed between my tank top and pajama shorts.
“Is Dominic being good to you, baby?”
“He’s driving me nuts,” I whispered, raking my fingers through his hair. “But he’s not terrible. H-he’s good to me. Really good, actually.”
“Good. I’ve been so worried. So fucking jealous that he gets to love you while I can only watch from afar. Are Vincent and Levin being nice to my girl?”
I licked my lips. “Vincent is. He always is. He’s just so… Vinny. Levin and I… we aren’t talking right now.”
“He’s a dick. He’s the one who beat my ass in the fucking basement. Thought he was going to kill me.”
I clenched my teeth. Of course, Levin was the one who'd beaten him to near death. It sounded exactly what the giant prick would do.
“He doesn’t hurt you, does he? I’ll fucking kill him if he does.”