DIRTY BLOOD | TR ✔︎

NINETEEN ➢ RIDDLE

The moment I woke up this morning, Kaeda has been acting strangely.

When I asked her what she was having for breakfast, she started sputtering. Granted that isn't something that would typically raise suspicion, but the bowl of cornflakes was right in front of her on the table, half eaten.

Later, she was sitting on the top deck of the yacht in swimwear. Royal blue swimwear with an untied top, lying on her stomach as she read. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, stray curls falling away from the tie. Her back was glistening with sunscreen I'd applied for her. And when she asked me to put some on her back and I told her I already had, she blinked at me, baffled.

Now, as we lay in bed, her on her stomach with her face in the pillow and hair splayed all over, still in her bikini—now tied. Her back is darkened with color and her arms are tucked under her head.

I'm in shorts, shirtless. My skin is less pale than it was before, tinted darker from the sun. I lean on my side, laying an arm over Kaeda's back. She jolts, her body tensing, and I pull my arm back towards me.

"Do you think I'm going to hurt you?" I ask her, furrowing my brows.

I don't think I could stomach hearing the confirmation from her. It would prove to me that I'm just as everyone already sees me. Cold, calculating, heartless.

I prepare myself to hear the word from her, start to shut off every emotional response I could have. I turn off my emotions and force everything away, feeling nothing except numbness as I wait for her to speak.

She doesn't move, she just says a muffled, "no."

I huff, taking a hold of her waist and flipping her over. Despite the relief that floods through my veins, I can tell she's hiding something from me and the dread that fills my blood is because of it.

"Then why are you acting so strangely?" I retort, straddling her waist. I don't put my full weight on her, just enough to keep her in place until I get my answer.

She blinks at me, eyes flicking between mine, searching. For what, I'm not sure.

Her tongue swipes over her bottom lip and she's watching my face when she finally speaks.

"You love me." She says, voice just above a whisper.

And my heart plummets into the acid of my stomach, burning because she hasn't said she loves me, too. The layers of my vital organ is slowly peeling away, thinning out until it's ripping a hole to access my bloodstream.

And it's like the acid is pouring into my veins. Everything burns. Every touch slowly kills me, and I slowly pull myself off of her.

I sit beside her and she scoots into a seated position.

I squeeze my eyes closed, dropping my head and fidgeting with my hands in my lap. I'm picking at the skin of my palms, stained red with murderous actions. I'm peeling at the skin around my nails, drawing blood to the surface.

"Yes." I whisper, confirming her statement.

There's no point in lying to her. I've told her so much about me, more than anyone knows. There's no reason to turn back now. No reason to start lying now.

"Why?" She asks, the bed dipping as she moves closer to me.

I force my eyes open and swallow the tension in my throat.

Kaeda moves to straddle my waist, pushing against my shoulders and my back collides with the headboard. Her hands rub up and down my chest, grazing over the scars I hate so much.

She leans forward, pressing her lips to mine. Her tongue ventures into my mouth and I respond almost immediately.

My hands are on her hips, pulling her against me. My fingers are in her hair, tugging at the roots and capturing her soft hums with my mouth.