Chapter 24
Nix
My heart is pounding wildly as I shove my door open.
I glance over my shoulder, confirming no one is following me, then I step into my apartment and drag the door shut behind me.
Thunder rolls above the building.
It’s just a storm.
I kick my boots off, then take the few steps into the living room.
Outside, heavy clouds drape the land in darkness, leaving the inside of my apartment even darker.
I drop my bag onto the couch and keep moving toward the balcony doors.
That rope is knotted around my ribs, pulling me here.
I don’t know if this is the direction to campus, but that feeling inside my chest is trying to drag me toward him.
It was pulling me toward him yesterday too. But today…
My core clenches.
Today is so much more.
I press both of my hands to my chest, feeling my heartbeat jump.
Lightning crackles.
Something blurs on the other side of the sliding glass door.
I take one step closer.
Thunder cracks.
And Volik drops from the sky onto my balcony.
A startled exhale leaves my lungs, but it’s paired with that same sense of relief I had the first time I saw him.
Streaks of water trail down the glass between us as we watch each other.
And my heartbeat slows.
Volik is too big and the balcony is too small, so I can just see his eyes from where I’m standing, not the top of his head.
I want to see all of him.
I try to remind myself that’s not what I want.
I rushed to get away from him. I don’t want him here.
Pain pricks the corners of my eyes. Because I’m lying to myself.
I want Volik here. I want him here with every piece of my soul.
But I don’t know why.
I force my eyes to close.
This can’t be real.
I open them.
He’s still there.
Volik holds my stare as he reaches one hand up to his chest. I expect him to place his palm over his heart, but he doesn’t.
He grips what remains of his shirt, then jerks his hand down, ripping the fabric from his body and dropping it beside his bare feet.
Leaving him in nothing but shredded pants and those red boxer briefs, which are still struggling to contain him.
Standing in the rain. Steam rising from his skin. He looks… like a fallen angel.
He looks like mine.
Volik slides the door open.
And the balcony groans as he steps inside.