4. Malic #3
Hmmm. There’s something to examine here. Something odd about Dane’s death, but I don’t dwell on it as I make my move. I can’t lose my entertainment for one second.
I follow JJ on the edge of campus, leaving enough space for him not to recognize that he was being followed. Like me, he’s had plenty of training under Franco’s hand. I’m sure getting stalked was at the top of the list of things they were taught.
Always keep your eyes open. Never let your guard down. Fight to the death.
Okay, that last one is more for me than anything. I can’t have certain opponents running away and telling the police what I’ve been up to.
JJ suddenly stops at the edge of the cemetery, staring at Mack as he spills his guts to a non-existent body.
Poor fucking sap. One day, he’ll come to realize she’s alive and breathing.
He’ll cry. Guilt will eat away at him. And I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he realizes what he did.
But for now, I enjoy being one of the only few who know that little detail.
JJ leans down, petting their dog with gentle hands and murmuring something to him. Hmmm. There’s a rigidity to his body and a tightness to his face when he stands to face Mack.
Oh, yes. Wonderful. JJ has been clued in. Now, not only do I have to worry about retaliation from them for the kidnapping, but I’ll have to keep an extra eye on my little ghost.
Because if JJ confronted the girl he used to know and love, then he has a big surprise in store for him. She’s alive. Not dead. Not burned by the fire that consumed her home.
My heart beats out of my chest as I linger in the bushes, desperate for a glimpse of the girl who owns my heart.
But there’s nothing there.
Nothing but a burning house, illuminating the space around her home. Deep orange and red swirl toward the starry sky, drowning out everything with thick, black smoke. Despite the heat emanating from the fire consuming my obsession’s home, I’m frozen in place watching it all unfold.
I’m a fucking statue where I sit. A place I’ve been so many times before, watching and waiting for her. Even beyond. I’ve broken into her home, stood over her as she slept, and kept the bad guys away from harming her.
This is my safety net. My place of peace. With the girl who doesn’t know I exist. At least it was.
Everything moves in slow motion as I watch the flames consuming everything in their path. Like it was fed gasoline. In fact, I sniff the air, taking in the thick fumes of accelerant.
Someone did this to her. Her family. Someone fucking got to her, and I wasn’t here to protect her in time or lure the bad man away from her.
I’m about to emerge and race inside the home to save her. The girl I’ve only met once, but promised I’d protect with every ounce of myself, even if death was imminent. At least, I’d die with her in my arms and our souls bound together forever, away from our lives on earth.
I protected her for this long. What’s one more moment in a burning building?
But I don’t have time to react or move from my hiding spot. The same spot I watched her and them day in and day out, wishing I could join them.
A familiar shadowy figure catches my eye.
I see him. He doesn’t see me. He only sees her.
The girl in his arms. He huffs and puffs, carrying her until he stumbles.
His knees shake and tremble as cries tear from his throat.
Tears create a river down his ashy cheeks, miraculously untouched by the flames.
He murmurs something. A promise, probably.
A promise to keep her safe from whatever occurred and caused the raging fire that nearly took her from this world.
“I’m sorry,” he cries, swiping his fingers along her unmoving face.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get here in time to save the others.
I tried so hard.” He heaves a breath in and out, trying to pull oxygen into his lungs.
“I swear, you’ll be safe even if it’s far from here.
I promised to always protect you. To hold you through sickness and in health.
This is my sacrifice for you. My sacrifice to it all.
He did this. I’ll make him fucking pay!” He leans down, barely breathing, and kisses her forehead, murmuring more words I can’t hear.
But I see him. His face. The tears on his skin. The emotions cloud his features as he lifts her again with renewed strength and takes her out of view.
I follow close behind when I finally climb to my shaky feet.
Nothing has ever affected me like this has.
Watching her emerge from the flames of her home before it collapsed in on itself.
I didn’t see how it all started. I didn’t see anything until she was safely in his arms with her eyes closed and blood fresh on her body.
JJ and Mack walk side by side toward their home on the hill, softly discussing something. I cock my head, attempting to see if he’s told him anything or if he knows anything. I wonder how much it will tear them apart when they realize she’s alive and a select few know.
Even a few within their ranks. I grin at the possible future—the fallout.
Ahhh. It will be a glorious day to see the three of them at each other’s throats.
Enemies instead of lovers. Then, I can swoop in and steal my girl and take her away from all this fuckery.
Well, that’s in the plans, anyway. No matter what, my little ghost will be forever mine.
Even if I have to chain her to my bed and hold her in my room for days on end while she comes to terms with the fact that she belongs to me.
Maybe Wilder. But just us. Fuck Franco’s precious heirs.
They don’t have a say in who my little ghost chooses.
Ohhh. My dick perks up at that. Having her at my disposal. We can make up for lost time.
Hmmm. I wonder what her dorm looks like. I should sneak in, lie in her bed, and leave her a little present—a token of my appreciation to her. Oh, yes. That sounds delightful. There are certain ways to travel through campus without being seen. Places that normal students aren’t aware of.