New extra chapter
"Hurry up!" I shout through the heavy bathroom door, my patience wearing thin.
"Shut up!" she screams back from inside.
A dark laugh catches in my throat as I lean back in the chair, my mind slipping back to earlier tonight.
I should have left her in that parking lot.
If I had any sanity left, I would have left her.
It was Vivienne's fucking stupidity that dragged me into this mess in the first place, and it took me hours just to calm my racing pulse down.
Seeing Sophia now, knowing she can't remember a single thing about what happenedmakes it only slightly better.
If she actually remembered, she would be completely unbearable.
Still, the terrifying effect she has on my body makes my blood boil. All fucking night, my skin has been burning, my body craving hers in a way I refuse to acknowledge.
My original plan was simple, have Dr. Jenson look her over and send her straight home. But then the doctor looked at me, his expression grave, and told me that her values were elevated. That her blood pressure and breathing were briefly critical.
Those words had landed somewhere specific, cold, and deeply unpleasant behind my ribs.
"She has been detoxified," Jenson had said, giving me a fraction of a second of hope before he shattered it. "But I'm waiting on several test results until morning. Until then, she either remains here..." he paused, looking at me pointedly, "...or she goes to a local hospital."
At the mere mention of a public hospital, a cold shudder ran down my spine. Without even realizing the words were leaving my mouth, I made the decision to keep her here, despite how much it ruined everything.
When I looked at her small, fragile body lying on the examination table, something raw twisted in my chest. I couldn't stop myself from pressing the doctor for answers. "She'll have no lasting effects?" I demanded, my voice rough.
"She was fortunate" Jenson replied.
Hearing that, I let out a sharp breath I hadn't even realized I was holding.
"But I cannot release her in this state," the doctor continued. "She needs constant monitoring through the night."
"She stays," I ordered immediately. Then, turning to the two staff members waiting by the door, I added, "Take her to one of the guest rooms."
I had handed her one of my black shirts for her to change into.
Seeing her now wearing it, the way my shirt draping over her frame like a short nightdress did something to my head,a dangerous, electric shift in the air that I have absolutely no intention of naming.
One thing is for certain: my plan for her is delayed.
But against all odds, her chaotic presence actually made me forget the suffocating, toxic conversation I had with my father earlier. Even if absolutely nothing went according to plan.
I inhale deeply, about to shout through the door one more time, when the handle rattles violently. The door smacks open.
Sophia steps out with her head held high, looking ready to tear me apart. Her chin is up, her posture completely defiant, and her dark eyes hit mine with a lethal, burning glare.
"Looking stunning," I mock, standing up and try to hide the dark laugh bubbling up in my throat.
"Want a picture?" she hisses, her voice sharp as Glass " A signature?"her eys daring mine and i knwo instantly that she is referring to our first encounter.
"Funny "I mutter and rolle my eys .
Watching her walk away, a sudden realization hits me like a physical blow. She is giving me the one fucking thing I have been craving for weeks.
Fire.
It lights up the dark inside my chest. It's that wild, untouchable spark that makes my blood run hot and fast. She isn't broken, she isn't crying,she isn't like the others and she doesn't back down.
The way she stands in front of me breathing heavily, matching my gaze with a heat that threatens to burn this whole room down.
And fuck, I want to let it burn.