Obsession (Raven’s Vale Psychos #1

Chapter Nine

Hollis

The key turned in the lock, echoing through the dimly lit secret chamber. I glanced around at the shelves, lined with dust-covered journals and mementos collected from a life of violence and darkness. This was Riot’s world, and he had brought me deep into its twisted heart.

“Riot, why did you lock the door?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady as claustrophobia crept into my chest. I needed an escape plan if things took a turn for the worse. It was hard to trust anyone in Raven’s Vale, especially a man like Riot Tredway.

“Because, Hollis,” he said, his voice low and menacing as he walked toward one of the bookshelves, “I’m about to show you something no one else has ever seen.”

My heart hammered against my ribcage as he pulled a tattered journal from the shelf, the spine creaking under the weight of its dark secrets. Riot dropped it onto a nearby table.

“Read this,” he commanded, gesturing to the open journal. His eyes were full of shadows, daring me to look away, but I couldn’t. The words on the page were a mirror into his twisted soul, and I found myself drawn to them, unable to resist their perverse allure.

“Jesus, Riot…” I whispered, flipping through the pages filled with violent fantasies and demented ramblings. My hands shook as I read aloud a passage detailing his time in the institute for the criminally insane. “It says here that you witnessed unspeakable horrors during your stay… that they changed you.”

“Changed me?” He scoffed, pacing the room like a caged animal. “I was born with the darkness, Hollis. But the institute… it gave me the opportunity to embrace it fully.”

“Sounds terrifying,” I murmured, trying to keep the fear from my voice. I knew Riot was dangerous but hearing it straight from him only intensified my dread.

“Terrifying?” he mused, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “No, Hollis, that’s not it. It was… liberating.”

“Riot, you can’t possibly expect me to understand this,” I said, closing the journal and setting it down on the table. My heart raced as I looked up at him, searching for some sign of humanity in those cold, unyielding eyes.

“Maybe not,” he admitted, his gaze never leaving mine. “But if you’re going to stay here with me, you need to know who I am. And what I’m capable of. The journals I showed you before were a mere taste.”

And in that moment, despite the fear that gripped my soul, I felt an inexplicable connection to the man standing before me. A bond that was both terrifying and exhilarating in its intensity.

“Crash and Kane,” he began, his voice tinged with a twisted fondness. “I met them in the institute. We were all there for… similar reasons. They recognized the darkness within me, just as I saw it in them.”

“Darkness?” I echoed, my voice shaking.

“Sadistic desires,” he clarified, smirking at my reaction. “An insatiable thirst for blood and pain. We bonded over that shared hunger and became brothers.”

“Brothers…” I whispered, trying to comprehend the perverse connection they had formed.

“Brothers,” he repeated, his gaze piercing through me. “We promised each other we’d never let anyone control us again. Together, we’d embrace our true nature and rule Raven’s Vale with an iron fist.”

Riot paused, his expression shifting from pride to something more intense. He clenched his hands into fists, the muscles in his arms tensing as he spoke of a nurse at the institute who dared to show him kindness.

“Her name was Emily,” he said. “She thought she could ‘save’ me. Saw something redeemable in me. Foolish girl.”

“What happened to her?” I asked, sensing the tension building within him.

“Her kindness was… intoxicating,” he admitted. “For a moment, I allowed myself to be vulnerable with her. To trust her. And then I betrayed her.”

I needed to ask, and yet I feared his answer. But still, if I wanted to get closer to Riot and understand him better, I needed to know as much as he was willing to tell me.

“Betrayed her how?” My heart pounded in my chest as I braced myself for the answer.

“By taking her life,” he confessed, his eyes burning with a mix of rage and satisfaction. “She never saw it coming. One moment, she was holding my hand, trying to find the humanity in me… and the next, she was lying lifeless on the floor.”

“Riot…” I wasn’t sure what to say. I knew he enjoyed killing, but to think he’d done it in the institute as well.

“Tell me, Hollis,” he demanded, leaning in closer, his breath hot against my cheek. “Can you still look at me knowing what I’ve done?”

I swallowed hard, torn between the terror that threatened to consume me and the inexplicable bond I felt toward this ruthless killer. In that dimly lit room, I tried to understand the man before me and the darkness that had shaped him.

“Your past is terrifying, Riot,” I admitted. “But… I can’t deny the connection we have.”

He studied me, his cold eyes searching for any hint of deception or weakness. As I met his gaze, all I could do was hope the truth in my words would be enough to satisfy his dark and insatiable hunger.

The dimly lit room seemed to close in on me, the shadows cast by the flickering candles dancing across Riot’s face as he continued his story. His words were punctuated with cruel laughter as he described how the nurse had fought for her life, her eyes wide with terror and disbelief.

“Her struggle was pathetic,” he sneered, his eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure. “But I enjoyed every second of it. The way she gasped for air, the way her blood warmed my hands… it was intoxicating.”

I shuddered, unable to comprehend the satisfaction he derived from such brutality. My heart raced as I struggled with the realization that this man -- this monster -- was someone I’d grown to care for. And even worse, I was lying to myself. Had I not felt something similar when he’d told me how to kill the man in the alley?

“Is that what you want, Hollis? To be another one of my playthings? To feel my power over you?”

“Riot, I --” I began, but he cut me off, his vulnerability shining through the cracks of his merciless facade.

“Or do you think you can change me?” he asked. “Will you try to save me like she did? But tell me, Hollis… what will you do when you fail?”

My breath caught in my throat as I took in the pain etched across his face. As much as I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t ignore that my feelings for Riot went beyond fear and fascination -- there was something deeper, more dangerous lurking beneath the surface.

“Riot, I don’t know if I can change you,” I admitted, my voice trembling. “But I see something in you that isn’t just darkness and violence. There’s more to you than that. Maybe it’s not that you need to change, and only that you need someone to accept all of you.”

His eyes searched mine, a glimmer of hope breaking through the stormy clouds of his soul. For a moment, it felt as if we were standing on the edge of a precipice, teetering between redemption and damnation.

“Will you stay with me, Hollis?” he asked, his voice raw and vulnerable. “Even knowing what I’ve done -- what I’m capable of?”

I hesitated, my heart pounding as I considered the enormity of the decision before me. Could I really love a man like Riot? A man whose very existence was entwined with death and destruction?

No. It wasn’t a matter of whether I could because I already did. I’d fallen for him despite everything. Or perhaps because of it.

“Riot,” I whispered, reaching out to touch his scarred cheek. “I can’t promise that I won’t be afraid… but I won’t leave you.”

As my hand met his skin, something shifted between us -- a connection illuminated by the faintest glimmer of hope. We both knew the path we’d chosen would be fraught with danger and despair, but there was no turning back now.

For better or worse, our fates were intertwined.

I felt Riot’s grip on my arm tighten, as if he was trying to hold onto something that was slipping away. I wondered how long he’d waited for someone to see and accept him. Crash and Kane did to some extent, but the fact they couldn’t accept my role in Riot’s life meant even they only saw part of him.

“Riot, you don’t have to prove anything to me. I see you -- I see the complexity beneath the surface.”

“And you’re the only one who ever has. So don’t you dare turn your back on me now.”

He released my arm abruptly, and I stumbled back. I knew he was hurting, but the ferocity of his emotions frightened me. Did I really exist in this man’s world, or was I merely a pawn?

“Riot, I’m not turning my back on you,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “But I need you to trust me too. Can you do that? I’ve done everything I can to show you that I’m not going to leave, that I want to be here with you. And yet, it still seems like it isn’t enough for you.”

“Trust? You think it’s that easy? After everything I’ve been through, everything I’ve done? When has anyone ever given me a reason to trust them?”

“What about Crash and Kane?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I don’t think any of us completely trust one another. How could we?”

I could see the desperation in his eyes -- the primal need for acceptance, for understanding. And despite my fear, I knew I couldn’t leave him.

“I’ll stay with you, Riot. But you have to let me in. You have to stop pushing me away when things get tough, or you start feeling emotions you aren’t comfortable with.”

He stared at me for a moment, as if considering my offer. Then, with a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of a thousand lifetimes, he reached out and pulled me into his arms.

“Okay,” he murmured, his voice softening with vulnerability. “I’ll try… for you, Hollis.”

And so we stood there, two lost souls clinging to each other in the darkness, each trying to find solace in the other’s embrace. I didn’t know what the future held for us, but for now, it was enough to know that we were not alone.

“You know, I’ve never experienced love,” he admitted, his eyes searching mine for any trace of judgment or pity. “I don’t even know what it means, really. But I do know this -- I can’t live without you, Hollis. You’ve become my obsession, my reason for existing.”

His words hung in the air between us, raw and vulnerable. I could see the uncertainty in his eyes, the unspoken fear that I would reject him now that he’d laid his heart bare. I took a deep breath, swallowing down the lump that had formed in my throat.

“Riot,” I said softly, reaching out to touch his arm. “I think… I think that’s how you feel about me. That’s love, isn’t it? And I… I love you too.” I saw the hesitation in his eyes, the way he fought with himself over whether he should believe me or run the other way. “Maybe love is just a word. But whatever it is, I know I care for you, Riot. I don’t want to leave your side.”

For a moment, he stared at me in silence, his eyes filled with a mixture of disbelief and gratitude. “I never thought I’d hear someone say that to me.”

Had his parents never said they loved him? No, probably not. Considering what they’d done to him, I wasn’t sure they’d known what love meant. It made me think perhaps he’d been born this way through no fault of his own. Even if his parents hadn’t done unspeakable things to him, eventually, the monster within would have emerged.

“Riot,” I whispered, my voice barely audible in the dimly lit room. “Let me show you something different. Something… gentle.”

He looked at me, his eyes a stormy sea of uncertainty. I could almost see the gears turning in his head, trying to make sense of what was happening. For a man who’d only known violence and pain, the concept of tenderness seemed foreign to him.

“Fuck, Hollis… I don’t know how,” he admitted.

“Trust me,” I murmured, guiding his free hand to rest upon my cheek. “Just follow my lead.”

Our gazes locked, and for a moment, it felt as though we were dancing on the edge of a precipice, teetering between the darkness that had consumed us and the light that promised salvation. And then, with a steadying breath, I leaned forward, pressing my lips against his in a chaste, tender kiss.

It was a simple gesture, but one that held immense power. I could feel Riot’s body tense beneath my touch, his pulse quickening at the unfamiliar sensation. Yet, despite his initial resistance, I sensed his resolve crumbling.

“Is this… love?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper, as he hesitantly wrapped his arms around me. It was clear that he struggled to understand the sensations that coursed through him, the myriad of emotions threatening to overwhelm him.

“Maybe,” I replied, pressing another gentle kiss to his lips. “Or maybe it’s just the beginning of something new for both of us.”

I knew that Riot might never fully grasp the complexities of human emotions, that his darkness might always hold sway over him. But as I held him close, feeling the steady rhythm of his heart against my chest, I couldn’t help but hope.