now why I

im in the face and feel nothing. Maybe I thought if I could control it, it w

e tattoo

ame that use

nd who I still was,

etly in the ceiling like they were keeping secrets. He was still there-sa

you left,

th and sat down across from

trying to solve something.

mantic. It was dressed in grief like anger and revenge...both twis

ally b

u... like you've seen things you shouldn'

ed away. "Don't sa

y n

es it harder to

. But his hand reached across the table-slow, pat

let it happen.

my jaw, everything else slipped out of reach. The bar lights

Alex

had nothing

ars. I kissed him back like I didn't care who h

and whiskey. I wante

oom I sometimes crashed in when it got too late to go home

too fast. Breat

s fingers gripped my waist like he couldn't believe I was real. And for o

yself w

ilence. I stared at the ce

ently tucked hair beh

ded.

talk much

when it

tired, satisfied

ly. My throa

eep down,

't just a

e I wasn't sup

that I

be no go

s we shared, I w

.. that cheap, water-stained ceiling I'd stared at a hundred times

from alcohol, but from everything else. I pulled the blanket arou

ed cologne. His scent still remaine

n

goo

sil

hat hit me harder t

body, but somewhere deeper. Somewhere I though

me. My shirt was inside out. My heels were kicked into opposi

mirror, I barely recognized

d, my eyes heavy,

nd caught the glimpse

... th

ing the back of my shirt. The lines were still there-fai

If anything happens, keep it hidden."

Not once. I let my guard down and let h

he recog

left before the light hit. Maybe h

runs out. And mine w

into the back hallway, an

yet. No one saw

r than any footsteps I'd ever run from. It vibrated

e son of the man who

hell was

dn't

't s

break a

uld've made it ea

hind the counter, and got ready to pour drinks again like nothing h

knew somethi

't just a

start of

ouldn't be ab

a's

've left

It wasn't about manners-it was survival. There were too many names, t

ght... she

e

supposed to say. It didn't sound fake. It didn't sound c

me up for a crime I hadn't committed yet. Like she

No pretending to care. She kept her guard up, even when she le

ed; it was earn

hing the sky turn from purple to that ugly Spirales orange. M

d've bee

it w

y pocket and pul

o," I said,

, then

teo sounded

bar called Inferno. Find out where she's fro

"You think s

e's hiding

ing sp

ed. "It's ju

illed. But I've been around enough liars to know

Le

whole nove

k. It was quick. Almost too small to notice. But it was there-that trace

the fear of

ho carried guilt like lead in their chest. In wome

ender be running from

before. I'd have walked

me stuck t

behind it was quiet. No sign of her. But I knew she was in th

la

ked where she was from. The way she kissed

omething

ike not knowi