She’d want it that way … I think.
I don’t think I ever really knew what she truly wanted.
All I know is that this is for the best.
“Chase?”
A voice in the corner of the room makes me lift my head, but I have no clue who’s calling me or what they want from me. I didn’t catch the question. I haven’t paid any attention to the meeting whatsoever since I came here.
“Sorry, what?” I ask.
“Are you okay?” the chairman asks.
I swallow and sigh. “Yeah … I’m fine,” I say, clearing my throat.
“You don’t look fine,” another one says. “Did you even hear what we said?”
“Yeah, this is an important topic,” someone else says.
I shake my head. “I’m sorry, guys.”
“Okay, how about this …” The chairman closes his folders for a second. “I suggest you go take care of whatever is on your mind first, and then we can all come back and get a fresh start on this. We’re running out of options anyway, so it’s good to take a break for a day and see if you can come up with anything new.”
The other people in the meeting don’t seem too happy about that decision, and it’s as though it was made just for me, but I’m grateful.
“Thank you,” I say.
The chairman nods as he packs up his things and leaves.
I quickly shake everyone’s hand before walking out and going straight down to the parking garage.
He’s right. I do need to get my mind off things. Or rather … her.
If I don’t do something quickly, I fear I might succumb to killing just to sate my needs… to fill the hole she’s left. Maybe it makes more sense than keeping it all tucked inside. I’m like a walking bomb ready to explode, and I don’t like it one bit.
I drive home with knots in my stomach, trying to figure out if I should call Brandon. The phone’s right beside me on the passenger’s seat, and it’s as if it’s staring straight back at me, whispering in my ear to make that call.
And even though I so desperately want to rid myself of this annoyance, I resist the urge to pick it up until I get home, where I quickly tuck it into my pocket without looking at the missed calls.
I can’t give in. I just can’t. I have to do this. For me. For her.
To prove that I’m capable of more than doing evil.
That I can live … without her. And that I won’t ruin myself in the process.
As I open the door and take off my coat, I stop dead in my tracks.
In the middle of the living room is—
“Syrena?” I mutter.
Am I dreaming?
I must be. A hallucination of some sort because I’m so goddamn addicted to her.
“Hi.”
Her voice. It’s definitely her.
She’s really here.
My lips part, but I have no clue what to say.
Why is she here? And how?
A noise in the kitchen immediately makes me turn my head and peer around the corner. Someone throws a knife in the sink. A muffled voice speaks up.
“Sorry ’bout that.”
Brandon walks out with a sandwich stuffed in his mouth. “I got hungry, so I made a PB and J. Hope you don’t mind.”
I frown, shaking my head, still not knowing what to say to all this.
He grabs my shoulder and whispers, “I was just coming over to check on you, but then I found her sitting in front of your door, so I let her in.” He takes a bite of his sandwich. “Also, just wanted to let you know I saved the other girl.”
My eyes widen. “On your own?”
He shrugs and then winks. “Yeah. Problem?”
I mull it over for a second. We were going to save them all together, that was the agreement, but I guess I slipped up along the way, and Brandon took care of it. Even though I’m pissed as hell he’d go on a killing spree and be the hero without me, I can’t be mad at him for doing the right thing.
I sigh. “Well done.”
The smirk on his face is almost as irritating as the amount of noise he makes when he chews. “You’re welcome,” he says. When everything’s still silent, he adds, “Well, I’ll leave you two to it then.”
As he walks out the door, I mutter, “Thanks.” But I don’t think he heard.
All I can do is gaze at the girl in front of me … and the beautiful, independent woman she’s transformed into.
I still can’t believe she’s truly here in the flesh, right in front of me.
I thought I’d never see her again. Swore to myself I’d never go to the place she works at ever again. Not for my sake, but for hers. Because that was what she needed … her own life, without me.
Yet here she is, in my home, stepping closer, while my body feels frozen to the ground.