Chapter 13
MATTEO
I wake in Brad’s bed. The morning light filtering through the window is fucking bright, nearly blinding me.
I groan. What a rough night. I’m drained, my muscles sore, this foul taste in my mouth, like I’ve been licking mud.
I’m colder than normal—and not from the freezing temperature I was in half the night.
It’s something deeper that hits me at my core.
My mind races through everything that happened: That man attacking me in bed. Biting Brad while he was restraining me. Vague impressions of being led out of the dorms and through the woods. A disembodied voice saying vile things to Alexei. Lying on the church floor as the guys fought around me.
I was seeing through my eyes, hearing through my ears, but in a detached way, watching all this as a viewer, not a participant.
When I first woke in the church cellar, surrounded by the guys, I couldn’t make sense of why I was there.
I had some wild theories—that maybe Alexei was in on whatever fucked-up shit these guys were involved in, and his whole bit about needing me to help him with his spell was just some ritual so they could offer me up as a sacrifice.
Despite all the confusing shit that came up, I was relieved when it became clear they didn’t know what Alexei and I had done or what we know about their weird-ass magic club.
When we got back to the dorms, I had so many questions, but after my initial jolt of adrenaline, I came crashing down.
Alexei brought up the monster shit again, but I was nauseous as fuck by that point.
Some combination of what happened and all the information racing through my confused brain.
I needed to lie down, even if just for a minute.
I somehow managed to brush my teeth and shower, and I vaguely remember getting back to the room and Alexei saying, “I’ve got you. I’ll keep you safe.” Then I passed the fuck out.
Now that I’m awake, I feel so dirty. I know it’s not just about being controlled physically, but from being violated in my own mind. I seal my eyes for a moment, bracing myself for the bright light before opening them again.
Alexei stands at the window, gazing out. I don’t imagine he got much sleep last night, if any.
When I sit up, I notice the salt circle surrounding the bed. I have a faint recollection of Brad and Luke being in here, setting this up to make sure I couldn’t get out if that thing took over my body again.
As I’m adjusting against the headboard, Alexei says, “Matteo?” and rushes toward me. I read the concern all over his expression, behind the black and blue where Seth hit him, poking at a fury within me.
“When I see Seth again, I’m gonna kick his goddamn ass,” I spit out.
“It’s fine,” he insists, though he looks like I feel.
Still, even with a few bad bruises, the guy’s sexy as hell.
“How are you feeling?” he asks, stopping short of the salt barrier.
“Maybe if COVID and a hangover had a baby, and that baby was crying inside me…does that make sense?”
His brow creases, but he smiles. “I’ve never had symptomatic COVID, so not really, but at least you sound like yourself.”
That small smile dissipates quickly, though, turning into a frown. Reminds me of how he looked after we left the church, like he’s been carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Are you okay?” I ask. “Do you need to put ice on that?”
“I’ve been putting ice on it, but thank you, doc,” he teases. “I’ll be fine.”
I know it’s true, but I still fucking hate Seth for going feral on his ass like that.
“And how’s Cody doing?”
“Luke texted that he’s still sleeping, but other than that, seems okay. Like something that’s happened to him before when he’s used his powers.”
“Thank fuck. And are you all right?”
He blinks a few times. “I mean, yeah. I’m not the one who had a psychopath in me.”
“Wait. What psychopath?” There was some talk about having someone in me, but I seem to have missed that part.
Alexei pulls his phone out of his back pocket and keys away for a moment, then throws the phone down beside me on the bed. I pick it up and see the image of a man on his screen. Goose bumps prick across my flesh. It’s similar to the face I saw at the foot of my bed…
“Jonathan Farras: The Night Stalker of Buford,” I read. Buford’s the neighboring city, abutting Lawrenceville. I browse the Wikipedia page, noting his victims. “How did you find this?”
Alexei gives me the rundown of what happened, helping me make sense of my scattered memories.
“I don’t remember too much while I was possessed,” I say, “but I recall him saying some nasty things to you. About us messing around. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? You didn’t say that to me. He did.”
“It was disgusting.” Rage burns in my chest. It isn’t just what that asshole said, but that he pried it from my head, invading places he had no right to.
Alexei glances to the floor, quiet for a moment before he says, “Matteo, if anyone should be sorry, it’s me.
You asked why I hadn’t told you about that monster from last semester…
and I should have. I didn’t know that anything we did would lead to this.
If I’d thought it would put you in danger, I wouldn’t have gone through with it. Please tell me you know that.”
I’ve had so much on my mind since I woke up that, of all the things I was stressing about, this wasn’t high on my list. “The reason I brought it up last night was because I was surprised you didn’t tell me about it, but I don’t blame you for what happened.
You didn’t make me help you with that ritual, and when I agreed to do it with you, I knew there might be consequences.
Granted, I didn’t know some psychopath would possess me, but you’re not responsible for that. ”
“I feel pretty damn responsible.”
I close my eyes. “Alexei, please, we have so many bigger problems right now. Don’t beat yourself up over this. I can decide if I hate you tomorrow.”
He cracks a smirk, which considering what we’ve been discussing, I’ll take as a win. But then his expression turns serious again. “I mentioned it to the guys while you had Farras in you, but do you remember when you said you felt feverish when we messed around?”
I nod.
“I felt something at the end there too. This heat I didn’t understand, and I’m wondering if that’s when whatever allowed Farras to possess you happened.”
From what I remember, it was pretty intense, and it was easy to assume it was the side effects of the sildenafil, but I can’t help wondering if he’s right. If whatever happened in that moment led to this change.
He adds, “I was planning to bring it up to the guys again when we see them at the church tonight.”
“What are you gonna tell them?”
“I don’t know. When I accused them of playing with black magic, they seemed confused, so I’m wondering if maybe they don’t realize what they’re doing. What if they’ve been thinking using their powers has been harmless fun and the Saints have the wrong idea about the Sinners?”
“I’m assuming the Sinners is what Brad, Luke, Seth, and Cody call themselves?”
He nods.
It’s good to have some context for what Alexei’s been involved with, but I wish I hadn’t had to pay such a heavy price for that to happen.
“It’s worth hearing their side,” I say, though I can’t deny I still feel hurt by Brad not sharing this with me. Still, he did save my ass last night. That has to count for something.
“In the meantime, how about something to eat?” Alexei asks. “I can grab some stuff from the kitchen.”
“I’m tempted to take you up on that, but I need to move around a bit. How about breakfast at that diner across the street? Your treat?”
His brow creases. “It’s two in the afternoon.”
“What?” I snatch his phone off the sheet and check the time. When I was looking at it before, I’d been so fixated on the info about Jonathan Farras, I hadn’t even thought to see what time it was.
“Good thing they serve breakfast all day,” I say, scooting off the bed. Alexei starts to say something as I push to my feet and step toward him, my head bumping into what feels like a concrete wall, bouncing me back onto the bed.
“Fuck.” I press my hand to my face.
“Sorry, I’m supposed to break the circle to let you out.”
“Couldn’t have given me a heads-up, at least?”
“I didn’t know what it was going to do. They didn’t explain how it would keep you in. Just that it would.”
“Fair enough.” And really, with how I’m feeling already, what does it matter if I pile on a little extra pain?
He breaks the circle with his shoe, and I move over it cautiously.
Luke and Brad brought Alexei his toiletries and a change of clothes for the night, so we head to the showers.
I take a quick rinse, then vigorously brush my teeth until I get that horrible taste out of my mouth.
Once I manage that, I hop into my clothes, and Alexei and I head out to the diner, where we find a booth by the window.
When the waiter comes by, we ask for coffees.
After Alexei orders a sandwich and fries, I say, “Can I get the stack of pancakes—the pecan ones? And can I get some peanut butter on the side with them? Some syrup too…maple. The hash browns Gone Bad with chili. Sausage links. And a cup of vanilla ice cream.”
“We’re out of ice cream,” the waiter says.
I groan. “Just seems to be my luck the past few days. In that case, a pecan pie.”
“Anything else?”
“No, we’re good,” I say, but as the waiter starts to walk away, I call him back. “Could you also bring a cup of espresso with my coffee?”
When the waiter finally escapes, Alexei’s eyes are wide, surely because of my monstrous order.
“Guess being possessed makes me a hungry boy.” I shrug, trying to make light of what was a truly horrific experience.
As Alexei cringes, I study his injuries. I lean over the table, rest my hand against his cheek as I assess them. When I touch his flesh, there’s that spark, reminding me of the night we shared for that first ritual.
The one that started all this trouble.