Chapter Sixteen #2
She looked around, studying the room until she'd taken it all in. It was dark with the UV lights on. One masked man was painted on the closed bookshelf, the other was open, revealing dark spines and the white titles that reflected in the light.
“What is this place?” Ceecee went to the nearest shelf and bent forward to read some of the titles of the books.
The corner of Moth's lip quirked into his cheek. “Surely you know about Alia's kinky side? You've been friends for years.”
Ceecee stood up straight and turned towards us abruptly. I shuffled on my feet and tucked my hair behind my ear, drawing Moth's attention.
“That's why I asked you up here,” I started, “we have a confession to make and you might not like it.”
His forehead, which was already creased, furrowed even further. “What is it?” he asked cautiously.
I swallowed hard, looking to Ceecee for backup. I wasn't sure how to tell him that I'd lied about that fateful day. My heart thundered as Ceecee came to stand next to me, her hand resting on the bump of her stomach.
“Well,” I started when she stayed silent, “I didn't tell you the whole truth about the day that…” I couldn't bring myself to say it. “…The fire. I… well, it–”
“It was me,” Ceecee blurted, tears brimming in her eyes. “I was the one who started the fire. It was an accident. However, I was so petrified of being sent to jail, Alia took the blame for me…”
Blinking slowly, I sucked back the tears that tried to push their way out.
“She was just being my friend,” I explained when Moth glared.
“She'd sat with me while I cried all afternoon on photo day.
We hatched our plan to follow you home and scare you.
We never imagined you'd live alone, without parents. You know this, I have told you. The only thing I left out was that Ceecee was there with me and she was the one who decided to actually light the fire.”
“Alia had nothing to do with the fire,” Ceecee said, “that was all me. I just didn't think and I certainly had no idea it could spread to the house.”
Moth's hands were clenched into fists at his sides, his jaw tighter than a stretched rubber band.
He'd either lose it and give in to his need to exact revenge or keep his word. He’d promised me that he would absolve me of my stupidity.
Would he give Ceecee the same grace? Or murder us both in a fit of rage?
“We decided to stop being friends,” I said, glancing at the girl who I'd shared crushes, heartaches and puberty with. “And haven't spoken until recently, when you came back into my life. I had to warn her and now…”
I pointed at her stomach, where she cradled the growing child inside of her.
“I'm pregnant,” she announced, “and I need you to forgive me so that I can be the best parent to my child. I… we…” She stepped closer to me and took my hand.
“…never meant to hurt any of you that day. We just wanted to play a prank and get you told off by your parents. It was never anything more than that.”
His thick chest rose and fell as he turned away from us and paced to the UV image of the masked man. He stood in front of it, staring off as if he were no longer in the room with us.
“Please,” I said quietly, “say something.”
“I'm sorry,” Ceecee added. “I had a major crush on Wasp, surely you remember that? It broke me, knowing that I’d caused his death.”
Moth went completely still, only turning stiffly a few moments after her statement. “Your revenge plot went a little too far.”
“Exactly.” I nodded. “No one was meant to get hurt and that's what we need you to understand. Sometimes, people do shit to others deliberately, and yes, that's when revenge is best served fucking cold…”
My shudder caught his attention. He knew in that moment who I was talking about.
“But, other times, we do stupid things because we don't think or because someone else has a hold over us.” I licked my lips. “And those people feel enough guilt to last them a lifetime. Their justice is served in a different way.”
Moth frowned and looked at the floor, the intensity of his emotions permeating the whole room.
Ceecee and I glanced at one another, waiting patiently for his verdict.
That's what it fucking felt like, a courtroom with the muscular handsome man, who could exact revenge in one punch of his fist. No wonder the pair of us shook in our boots.
“It's good that you've come clean,” Moth told Ceecee coldly, “I'll let the others know so the truth is finally out. You need to go and be a good mother to your child. Wasp would want you to be happy.”
Tears slipped from her eyes, tracking down her cheeks. I blinked my own away, pleased that she had the absolution that she needed so she could move on with her life. I was envious of the way she held her unborn baby, despite the grief that flowed from her.
“Thank you,” she whispered, going over to Moth and leaning up to place a kiss on his cheek.
He went completely rigid and just about hid a scowl. I'd seen it so often, I could detect it lingering there. The man didn't do affection, much less from someone he wasn't fucking.
Turning back to me, Ceecee gave me a hug and pulled back. “I need you to be in my life now. Auntie Alia has a nice ring to it.”
“Don't!” I smacked her arm playfully. “I was just about keeping it together.”
The tears filled my eyes and I swiped at them, trying to erase their evidence. I didn't want Moth to see me weak. He prided himself on being strong, stoic and totally disconnected. I didn't want to be him, but I did need his respect if we were going to get through the next part of our plan.
“Let's meet up really soon.” I guided Ceecee towards the door, hugging her when we reached it. “I just need to speak to Moth about something. Text me on my real number later.”
She beamed, her smile splitting her face as she left us. Shit, how had she got her forgiveness so easily? Moth hadn't exactly given me an easy ride.
“So,” I muttered, turning towards him, “did I just need to be pregnant for you to treat me better when we met on the bridge?”
“Shut up,” he snapped, coming closer. “You weren't pregnant. You didn't even have a man, you were floating adrift.”
“Poetic.” My murmured response drew a growl from him.
“You lied to me about your involvement in the fire. Why?” His jaw clenched, pulsing in the corners.
I inhaled sharply. “I don’t know, I just… It never would’ve happened if I hadn’t have wanted revenge.”
He paced away from me, over to the dancefloor and back again, his jaw still ticking where he fought his emotions. “You still lied.”
“If you can forgive her, you can forgive me.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
His chuckle wasn’t friendly as he paced back to the dancefloor, calling to me in a haunting tone. “I may have told her to get on with her life and she will be safe from me. However, I will never forgive her.”
“And me?” I pleaded, tired of the games. “Will you actually forgive me after everything that has happened between us?”
“Why do you have to be so infuriating?” He moved to stand right near me, staring down into my eyes.
“Me? You're the one that drives me mad. Why couldn't you afford me the generosity you just gave Ceecee?”
His teeth bared. “After years of hating you, and then you rescuing me, I had to take my frustration out on someone.”
“Do you still hate me?”
The energy that flew between us would've lit up the room if it was visible. I had to keep my hands at my sides to resist the urge to grab him, punch him, kiss him and fuck him. The son of a bitch drew me to him like a Moth to a flame. Ugh.
“I told you that I didn't.” He stood extremely still, right in front of me, as if he were also trying to keep control. “Why are you asking again?”
“Apparently, we can't be grown up enough to accept that we're in a fuck/hate relationship.”
The corner of his lips lifted in a smirk. “And if you weren't so emotional about it, we could keep it that way.”
Throwing my clenched fist, I punched him right in the gut. Except, it was rock solid and the impact hurt my knuckles. I recoiled, holding my hand and frowning up at him. How dare he hurt me when I was trying to evaporate his dickheadedness?
“We need to just get past this Friday, fuck Brandon–”
“What?” he barked, gripping my wrist and lifting my arm. “Fuck Brandon?”
“Not literally!” I tried to wrench my arm away, but he held too tight. “Are you…? Are you jealous?”
His nostrils flared and he walked me backwards until I was against the wall. Oh shit, here we went again.
“Not this time!” I shoved him hard, using all my strength.
He actually retreated, his gaze narrowing on me. “I am jealous!” he hissed. “As a kid, I was obsessed with you. I had just worked up the courage to ask you out when Wasp pushed me and ruined everything. That obsession never went away, even if it turned into a fucked-up mixture of hate and desire.”
“What?” I breathed, releasing my held breath.
My heart pounded fast in my ears and I stepped towards him. He put a hand up to repel me, clearly keeping me away now that he was opening up about how he'd felt all that time ago.
“When you told me about Brandon stalking you,” he said, “on the bridge that day, I felt a rage that burned fucking deep. I didn't understand why.”
“Did you know who I was right away?”
Nodding, he bit his bottom lip hard. “Yeah. If any other woman would've approached me that night, I probably would've gone over the railings before she'd reached me, but you… your voice… I'd dreamed about it for so long.”
My hands shook as I reached for him. He swatted me away and took another step back.
“I'm telling you this so you know that I wasn’t nice to Ceecee to be a cunt to you.” He looked at the floor.
“I did it because I don't give a shit about her.
You, though, I seethed on your betrayal for years and it's still bubbling underneath the surface.
No matter how much I try, I can't release the hate… or obsession.”