Beyond His Evil

THIRTY.

💫⭐🌟✨

I inhaled deeply and exhaled. Repeated the process over and over, but the anxiety wouldn’t go away.

I couldn’t hear anyone outside, but I knew they were there—humans or hunters, probably the ones in the rooms close to mine. Watching. Whispering.

I held my breath and thought of all the reasons I had to go out.
One, I needed to find Rya.
Two, I—

A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.

I stiffened. The knock came again, louder this time.

Anger surged through me like wildfire. I was sick of this. A prisoner in my room because of others. Because of what I was.

I clenched my fists. Maybe I should ignore it. Maybe if I just stay quiet, they’ll leave. But no—no, I was done hiding. I ripped the door open.

I didn’t look at him. I didn’t let him speak. I didn’t even think before I started yelling.

"I have had enough of this bullshit! Yes, I'm powerless! Yes, I'm different! Yes, I'm an abomination! Whatever you think I am—why don’t you just believe it and let me live my life in peace? Who are you to make my life harder than it already is?"

He blinked twice. Like he had no idea what I was talking about.

"Every damn day. You stand outside my door, talking like you know me. Like I can't hear you."

"I'm—"

"You better shut your mouth and let me talk because I have been listening to all of you talk for days! You say we’re one, we fight together, we do this, we do that, but you're the same people trying to bring me down every day, and I want to know why!"

His brows lifted slightly. That only fueled my rage.

"Why can't you just leave me alone? Is that too much to ask? God!" I slammed the door in his face.

My whole body shook. My heart pounded. But I felt lighter like I’d dropped a weight I didn’t realize I’d been carrying.

Then, another knock.

I stared at the door. Maybe I imagined it.

Another knock.

I yanked the door open, fully prepared to punch whoever dared disturb me again—only to find the same guy.

I clenched my fists. Oh, you are playing with fire.

"Are you fucking deaf? Or are some of your brain cells missing?"

He smiled.

He. Smiled.

I had to mentally repeat that because I couldn’t believe it. This guy had the nerve to smile at me.

"You’re right. You’re right."

I blinked, confused.

"I do talk about you every day."

A beat.

"Well, mostly about whether or not you snore in your sleep."

My jaw hung open. The nerve!

"It's quite obvious that you've been through a lot," he said, completely unfazed, "and I'm happy you got it out of your system."

My first was a second away from connecting with his jaw when he added, "But I was just knocking to tell you that I’ll be staying in this room. I wanted to introduce myself."

He pointed to the door opposite mine.

I blinked.

"That’s all."