Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Ghost

My car is parked several streets away from Wyn's apartment, and by the time I reach it, I can hear the sirens screaming down the block. Inside the safety of my car, I rip the mask off and slam my fist into the steering wheel, screaming into the black void that is my life, "Fuuuck!"

I hadn't gone into Wyn's apartment intending to fuck her, but when I saw her with Kai, a dark cloud of jealousy came over me, and I reacted on instinct.

I'm fucking losing it. Already.

If I ever had a fucking plan, losing my mind wasn't a part of it.

I've been watching her for weeks. It started at a distance, in my car, parked out front. I'd watch her come and go from her apartment. An odd sort of comfort came from knowing where she was, and what she was doing. I told myself it was what needed to be done. I was keeping an eye on her. Waiting for her next move.

But eventually, that wasn't enough. She came out of her apartment sparingly. To grab groceries, or see a friend, usually Lux. And on those days I hadn't caught a glimpse of her, it felt like the skin was peeling off my bones. My obsession had festered into an addiction, and I knew the only cure was setting eyes on her.

So I broke in while she was sleeping, which was far too easy, and hid in her closet. I didn't touch her that night, I just watched her sleep, hating her. Craving her. Imagining my hand around that delicate throat as I fucked her.

After a while, even that nearness wasn't enough. Addiction is like that. It gradually consumes from within and before you're even aware you're being eaten alive that shit escalates.

Tonight, I couldn't help but take her. I've never felt a pull like that in my fucking life. I've wanted things, sure. I've craved things. But this gnawing, all-consuming need I have for Wyn is something else.

It's predatory.

That should probably concern me, but if I'm being honest, I don't give a fuck. When I'm wearing the mask, I can shed the constraints of morality. I can silence the guilt and simply take what I want. And what I want is Wyn Barker. I want her pain. I want her fear. I want to use her, then leave her shattered.

She doesn't know it, but that's exactly what she did to me. I was once welcomed into the heaven of her body, and then she shut me out and left me broken…