17. Asher
I never truly understood the way Creed explained his ‘colorless void’ when he’d slip into rage. Not until today. It’s not quite the same for me, though. There aren’t shades of gray. No white. It’s a complete fucking blackout.
It’s bad enough that my skin has been crawling and itchy since bringing Prudence home from Serene Acres yesterday. She was so shattered on the floor of her mom’s old room, and it took everything in me not to start slaughtering the staff there. They all failed Irene, and in turn, they failed Prudence. Somehow, The Celestials got in there and killed an innocent woman and then made it look like a suicide, and that alone is enough to have me in a piss poor fucking mood.
But add on the fact that I found the package at the door addressed to my pet, knowing in my gut that it was from The Celestials? Oh, and let’s not forget the truly sinful sounds Prudence was making from the bedroom with Griffin and Creed while I was already in a full-blown panic and trying not to rip her from their arms just so I had eyes on her…
It’s not been a good fucking day and I might just level this cabin to the ground in my rage.
So far, I’ve managed not to actually break anything, much to Genevieve”s satisfaction, but my control is slipping and my palms are bleeding from my nails digging into them repeatedly.
When Creed comes striding out of the guest bedroom, a smug grin on his face, I shove to my feet from the dining table and snap, “Pack your shit. I’m getting Prudence in the car. If you and Griffin aren’t ready in five fucking minutes, I’m leaving both of you here.”
His brows furrow, worry and confusion lighting his eyes, and he stops walking a few feet from me. He looks back down the hallway, probably itching to get to Prudence from the worrisome tone of my voice. “Genevieve said you were pissy about, um, the orgy in there that I swear did not happen,” he muses slowly, a little teasingly, as he looks back at me. “You’re really that put out that you weren’t invited in, man? You could have just knocked. I don’t give a fuck about sharing.”
I roll my damn eyes so hard I might have a stroke. With a sneer, I point down at the box on the table that I haven’t dared to open yet. “Fuck your orgies. This is serious. Prudence had something hand delivered sometime in the middle of the night, and we both know who it’s from, so we need to get back on the road and run again.” I start to pace, a hand fisting my hair because the bite of pain is helping me keep my head. “God-fucking-dammit, I thought this recluse cabin was safe enough, but now I’m thinking we need to go to fucking Canada to get away,” I mutter angrily, more to myself than to Creed.
If I didn’t feel… what I do for Prudence, I swear to god, I’d just ditch her and let my father and the rest of those sick fucks have their fun. I could manage the guilt if it meant I wasn’t living life on the run for the rest of my days. But since I’m apparently not as much of a cold-hearted asshole as I thought and I’ve gone soft for the feisty redhead down the hall, I can’t bear the thought of leaving her behind. Even if she weren’t in life-threatening danger all the goddamn time, I couldn’t leave her. In fact, I’m going to win her over and prove that I’m a better man than the bullying fuck she saw me as, but I don’t really have the time to even worry about that now that a new threat has quite literally dropped at our door.
Without a word, Creed’s face shuts down, turning into a mask of rage that matches my own, and then he stalks forward and reaches for the box.
I’m not proud of myself, but I smack his hand away like I’m scolding a child. It reminds me of the playful fighting we used to have when we were kids, where Creed was always getting himself into shit and I had to play the big bad cousin who scolded him, even when I was in on his schemes half the time. Honestly, I would have laughed at the two of us and the memories flooding me right now if this were any other situation.
Creed rips his hand back into his chest, shooting a scowl at me, and snaps, “The fuck is wrong with you?”
I breathe out a laugh that is all too hysterical and twisted, gesturing to that damn box. “For all we know, it could be a fucking bomb, Creed. Or fuck, body parts! So don’t touch the thing. Grab your shit, grab Prudence and Griffin. Hell, grab Genevieve too. Toss her over your shoulder if you have to, I don’t really fucking care, but we are leaving right now.”
“If it’s a bomb, don’t you think we should know about it?” he asks quietly, cautiously, eyeing the cardboard box with the appropriate amount of fear now. Thank fuck.
“No,” I mutter, pinching the bridge of my nose to rid myself of the headache I can feel coming on. “I don’t want to know how close we all came to dying, if it is. And I don’t want to freak Prudence out any more than necessary, so don’t tell her about this. I just want to get on the road.”
Creed’s brows creep up as he gives me an incredulous look. He leans a hand on the table, so fucking close to the damned box that I almost snap at him to back up. “I’m not keeping a single thing from her. She’s in this fight right along with us, and she has every right to know about the moves being made against her. And you know what, Ash? Fuck you and your shitty fucking secrets. I know you and Griffin are keeping something big from us; I can read the guilt all over your face every time you look at Prudence. I’m done with secrets, man. You should be too.”
I’m floored for a second, leaning back because my cousin has that familiar violence burning in his eyes that he only gets for Prudence and right now, that look is pointed my way. I quickly school my features, though, and grit out, “There’s no time for that conversation! Do you not feel the same urgency as I do? I would have thought you’d be the first to agree to carrying Prudence out of here tossed over your shoulder if you knew she was in danger. Maybe you’re not as devoted as you seem.”
It’s a low fucking blow, and I might just get knocked out for it, but at this point, I’m desperate to get us all moving. I’m nearly shaking with the nerves and fear riding my ass, and if pissing off my unhinged cousin gets my family out of this goddamn cabin, then I’ll happily wear the bruises he gives me in exchange.
He narrows his eyes and stands upright, his hands fisting at his sides as he steps into my space. “Of course I want her out of here! I want her to survive all of this bullshit and live a long, happy life, but part of that is respecting her wishes and boundaries, and I know for a fact that she would not be okay with any more fucking secrets. This is me standing up for her, because I’m so in love with that woman that I’d bleed myself dry at her request,” he seethes dangerously, his light brown eyes darkening with a threatening aura. “You want to hightail it out of here? Fine. I’m with you. But we will be having this conversation and you will be telling us whatever’s been eating at you the second we’re all packed into the car. And, Asher, if whatever it is hurts her, I will beat your fucking ass into the ground and leave you to rot. I’m done playing games. Either treat her right, or get the fuck out of our lives.”
I grind my teeth together at the threat, but I manage a nod. I’ll come clean. I’ll mend things with Prudence. And I’ll be keeping all of us together despite The Celestials trying to kill us.
Creed stares at me for another moment and then scoffs like he’s dismissing me and turns away from me to find Prudence. Only he doesn’t make it far, because she comes storming out of the guest bedroom like her ass is on fire, her eyes wide and terrified, and I’m instantly on high alert.
Shit, did someone get into the cabin somehow? Climb in through her window? Where the fuck is Griffin?
Before I can dive headfirst into my renewed panic, Griffin and Genevieve come out behind Prudence right as she pushes past Creed and me, snarling, “Show me the fucking box. Let’s see what those motherfuckers are throwing at us next.”
I lurch forward and grab her wrist to stop her, but fuck, she”s strong when she”s pissy. Prudence snatches her arm out of my grip and glares at me. ”Do not touch me right now, Asher, because I”m on a very thin knife”s edge and nobody will like me when I tip over,” she snaps, stripping my skin from my bones with her expression alone.
I open my mouth to argue, because that”s just what we do, but Genevieve beats me to it. ”We don”t need to open it. Let”s just get you out of here, okay? There”s nothing on my cameras, so whoever dropped it off is gone for now, but we don”t know when they”ll be back.”
Griffin”s lips curl up into a sneer as he stares Genevieve down. ”Good fucking use those cameras were. Did you not get an alert when these psychos were here? What if they had barged inside and murdered all of us?”
If it”s at all possible, Prudence gets more pale at that thought, but it only makes her more determined to get to the box. While Genevieve is apologizing and explaining how The Celestials must have shut her security down for half an hour to slip in and out, Prudence closes the distance between herself and the table and then, with a deep breath, lifts the flaps open.
The smell hits me first.
Blood. Death. Decay.
It”s a wonder it hadn”t seeped through the cardboard and made this entire cabin reek. So not a bomb then. Body parts it is.
All of us move in closer to Prudence while she goes eerily still. Creed steps up beside her, takes one look inside and then curses under his breath.
”What is it?” Griffin murmurs at the same time I say, ”Fuck, let me see.”
Creed tries to wrap his arm around Prudence, trying to console her, but the moment he touches her, she lurches away from him and runs to the kitchen sink, where she pukes until her entire body is trembling.
I”m torn between going to her and checking the contents of the box, but when Creed and Griffin both go to her before I”ve made up my mind, I leave her to them. She likes them better than she likes me anyway, so I doubt I would have been much help. No, what I can help with is dealing with the rotting body part sitting on the table.
I move over to it, holding my breath, and I”m surprised when Genevieve comes up beside me. ”You don”t have to look,” I mutter to her, but she just scoffs at me. When I finally look inside, I really wish I hadn”t.
I”m not squeamish, but the way the flesh is loose and decaying, slipping from the skull is almost enough to have me joining Prudence in emptying my stomach. It takes me a moment to see past all the rot and realize who the hell”s head I”m staring at, but then it hits me and my heart breaks a little bit more for my poor little pet.
It”s Annie.
The only friend Prudence made at Blackwood University.
I say as much to her sister, quietly so Prudence doesn”t hear and start retching again. Genevieve sniffles, subtly blinking away tears that I”m assuming are sympathy, and then she leaves me with the box to go to her sister. I watch for a second as all three of them surround Prudence, murmuring softly, offering gentle touches, and then I do something I”ll have nightmares about later.
I reach inside and shift the head to make sure there”s nothing else in there.
Everything is slimy. I”m going to have to soak in bleach for at least an hour before I feel right in my skin again, but when my fingers brush against thick cardstock, I”m glad I shoved my hand inside. I pull it out gently, trying real hard not to touch the flesh anymore than I absolutely need to.
Foolish of you to leave someone you cared about behind… We”ll be seeing you very soon.
”Fuck,” I spit, a whole new fire lit under my ass. ”Everyone get in the fucking car,” I snarl as I toss the note down to the table and stomp through the cabin. I need to wash my hands in the hottest water my skin can handle, and I expect them to be outside and ready to go by the time I”m finished.
And then we”re fucking leaving.
Except when I come out of the bathroom a few minutes later to find everyone right where I left them, a snarl on my goddamn face, Prudence looks me dead in the eye and says, ”I”m not running anymore, Asher. It doesn”t matter where we go, they”ll find us. You know that as well as I do. I”m not leaving… I want to fight.”
God-fucking-dammit.