[1] Midnight Lips | Ghost

𝐂𝐇. 03

SIMON 'GHOST' RILEY
༻☠︎︎༺

I never enjoyed thinking back to how my life was before it crumbled apart. Wondering if my nephew would still look at me with stars in his eyes was he still here. Would Mother still stroke my hair like a little boy until all of my worries went away?

It made my chest tight, hurt even, and I wasn't used to pain. It was one of the reasons why I stopped wondering about the ifs and woulds. I was never comfortable with feelings. They always betrayed me, so I learned to shut them down.

Then out of nowhere, this woman appeared, pushing the tip of my knife down on her finger and sucking the blood after, making my body come alive from its grave buried six feet under the ground. Such an innocent gesture, yet it slammed the air right out of my lungs, left my body humming in that unfamiliar heat.

They were round and big, heart-shaped lips, with a tiny bit of red mixed with pink. I knew exactly because I'd been thinking about them for the past five hours, slowly unraveling their details and adding some to my liking, though I couldn't find anything because they were already perfect to me.

I never let myself feel any emotion, not even desire, but goddamnit, if she wasn't the only thing that was in my mind right now. It was as if my brain took a picture of her and hung several on the walls of it. A fucking art gallery, the bastard created.

I sighed defeated. I needed a cold shower, it was my last choice to get her out of my mind.

In the bathroom, I stepped in front of the sink and met my eyes through the mirror before I gripped the mask and pulled it off. The man that stared back at me now was different, a man I would never dare to welcome back.

So I tore my eyes away and got under the shower.

*ೃ༄

The cold shower did work, but it all went to waste when someone knocked on my door. I had just put on a black long-sleeve t-shirt with some random pants and had to hurry up to get my mask on before I planned to answer the door.

It was late past midnight, everyone was supposed to be asleep, but I didn't feel like it yet. Besides, the thoughts of that woman were consuming me, so it wasn't like I could. I was hoping to work out some more now that I wasn't thinking of her.

But that someone who knocked on the door had to be her.
With her messy hair down.
And a tiny top that did nothing to cover the goosebumps on her skin.

Fuck.
Shit.
Eyes up, Lieutenant.

"What?" That came out of my mouth harsher than I intended to, but so it was because my throat had turned dry and made my voice raspier than usual.

God, if she wasn't getting under my skin.

Her green eyes narrowed. If the harshness in my voice hurt her feelings, she didn't show it. "I apologize for bothering you. I know it's late, but I saw your light on and I couldn't go to sleep knowing I took this from you."

I looked down to see the knife she took from me this afternoon. Damn her, I had even forgotten about that, too. I glanced behind her, the door to the room in front was wide open. Was she staying across from me now? Jesus, this was getting worse.

"It's funny," Herrera chuckled nervously, "because I didn't realize when I put it in my pocket. I wasn't trying to steal it or anything, I just—"

"Keep it."

Her lips–lips lips lips–parted as she stared up at me. "What?"

I forced myself to keep looking into her eyes and not trail them down the way I wanted to. "You can have it. I've got more of those."

"Oh?" She frowned at me confused as if she didn't hear me at all. Her eyes looked tired. Was she tired? I confirmed it when she took the time to register my words before the realization finally hit her. "Oh! Yeah, no, I couldn't possibly accept this. It looks so..."

"It's just a knife." But the way she looked at it when she held it in her hands for the first time, as if it was the most precious thing she's ever held. The way she whispered how perfect it was under her breath. It wasn't just a knife. It was a knife made for her.

And no matter how many knives I already had, even if it was the only one left, I knew better than to take this one from her.

My lungs tightened strangely, taking the air right out of them. What is this?

"But it's yours," she whispered, clutching the knife in her fist.

"And now it belongs to you. Have a good night." I was determined to close the door in her face, but it got stuck with a bump.

Her foot left a gap open. "Hey! Don't do that!"

"I've got things to do." The door pushed back against my hand. I couldn't do anything but let Herrera open it again.

"Like what? It's the middle of the night."

"Exactly, so what are you still doing here?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. Good. Now she was covering what was teasing me in the corner of my eye. "I don't know why you're being disrespectful to me right now, or is that normal around here? I don't know anything."

I let out a harsh breath. "Go back to your room, Herrera."

She didn't. She just lingered by and I was unable to close the door this time, unable to stop looking at her.

"Your pronunciation in the Rs is quite good, Riley."

It's because I've been practicing it for the past five hours, was what I didn't tell her. Instead, I said, "To your room. Now."

Her round eyes softened as she looked at me through her eyelashes, pupils expanding into two dark holes. She stared at me for what felt like minutes but was probably a few seconds, and I found myself thinking that I didn't mind.

I didn't mind at all...

Her eyes moved from eye to eye, like she was looking for something, before she gave up. "Fine." Herrera turned around to leave, but stopped and faced me again. She raised her hand with the knife. "Are you sure about giving me this?"

"Consider it a Welcome to Hell gift."

She snorted, covered her mouth with her hand as soon as it came out. "Shit, sorry," she blushed.

The edges of my lips twitched. "A gift from me, take it or leave it."

"What if I choose to leave it?"

"I'm not taking it back, so whether it's gonna lay there unused or someone else is claiming it. You wouldn't like that, would you?"

Herrera nodded her head once, twice, and bit her damn lip. That goddamn bottom lip. "Okay. I'll take it, I guess." She finally spun around and began to walk away. "Goodnight now, Simon Riley."

"Ghost," I called out.

She stopped by her door and whirled around again. I cursed at myself for not closing the door on time.

Herrera motioned to her face. "The mask, you never...?"

"Never."

"Why?"

"None of your business."

She scowled. "You're so—"

"Have a goodnight, sergeant." I closed the door on her face and fucking finally breathed decently again.

I stared at the wall in front of me, already knowing all I had left was working out because I knew—

I just knew...
That I won't be getting any sleep tonight.
All because of her.
Damn me.

*ೃ༄
TO BE CONTINUED...