Kiss of War

Chapter - 17

ELIANA

Even though I powered my phone off, a consistent buzz rattled my brain. Sleep eluded me. No matter how hard I shut my eyes, they failed to glue together in slumber. A blanket of uncertainty crushed me under its weight, smothering me with heat.
The need to check my phone was palpable. My hands fidgeted with the Egyptian cotton sheets, a dew of sweat clinging to my skin. Carter, Claire, and Serena circled around me like vultures eyeing their next meal. The gifted family that never graced my wishlist.
While I once thought that unconditional love and loyalty were the golden standard for every household, I now knew that blood, secrets, and lies were the only things that run through mine.
"Fuck it." Shoving the covers off me, I departed from the bed, making my way downstairs. Dad's cure to a restless night had always been a glass of warm milk with a teaspoon of honey, and since I didn't have any sleeping pills lying around, I'd make do with what I had.
Every light in the house was on full blast. I wasn't a wasteful person, but I hated walking around in the dark. It didn't help that tonight, I expected Serena to sneak up on me at any given moment and beat me to a bloody pulp.
I took Cole's advice and released that video. A bubble of jealousy burst when I finally hit the post button. I'd come to the conclusion that being just equaled a loss of opportunities. If Serena could be cruel and thrive on top of it all, why couldn't I? Why was I drowning in a pool of good intentions?
That was why I avoided my phone like the plague, and the milk tasted sour sliding down my throat. Momentary bursts of braveness were my forte, but I still had a long way to go when it came to dealing with the aftermath.
A brave coward.
It didn't make sense, yet at the same time, no title had ever felt more fitting to me. The world could have gone up in flames, or I was worrying about a drop in the ocean, and the video was already taken down before any real damage was done.
The devil worked hard, but Carter Laurent worked harder.
Either way, I wouldn't allow myself to look until dawn. It was already two in the morning, but I'd put it off until I couldn't anymore.
Honey pooled on the bottom of my glass as I chugged the milk. It didn't help a wink. Was this why bad people couldn't sleep at night? Were their demons tugging at their conscious every second, begging for attention like yapping puppies?
I didn't even know why I felt guilty. It wasn't like she didn't deserve it. Serena had an unparalleled obsession with me. Reached past mountains in her brain to shift the heftiest load of blame to me. Yet, the role of judge and jury sat heavy on my shoulders.
I'd stooped to her level. Hurting her because the real villains sat behind walls of steel, hiding under cloaks bathed in blood.
I rinsed my glass, staring at the window above the sink. Darkness swirled at the edges of the pool and the entirety of the lawn. The maple trees Dad and I planted for my thirteenth birthday aided the spooky atmosphere, casting daunting shadows that stretched tall along the walls of the pool house.
"What the hell?" The usual pang that followed every time I thought of my dad was cut short. One of the shadows shifted, and I didn't know if it was the wind or something else.
My breath fogged up the window as I raised on my tiptoes, leaning forward to get a closer look. The silhouette moved faster than the slight breeze outside could ever make it go.
Shit, shit, shit.
The sound of the glass slipping from my fingers barely registered in my brain. This was it. I'd finally pushed until there was nothing left to pull. Had they sent someone to kill me?
Oh fuck, oh god!
I'd left my phone upstairs, and there was no way security could ever hear me from the gate. My breath got caught in my throat when the shadow moved again, this time closer, propelling toward the window.
I stumbled back, my hands gripping the aisle behind me, and a banshee shriek bubbled up my throat when... a fucking squirrel leaped on the sill, staring at me as if I was a lunatic.
"Oh my god," I exhaled roughly, my chest heaving. "I'm going insane," I spoke to the squirrel, and it tilted its head at me as if it agreed.
Yeah, positively delirious.
I gathered the broken shards of glass quickly, and by the time my eyes flicked back to the window, the squirrel was waving its bushy tail at me in goodbye. After double-checking every lock in the house, just to be sure, I hightailed it back to my bedroom. Sleep might hate me, but creating a fort out of my covers and hiding there until orange dusted the sky didn't sound half bad.