Malevolent

Chapter 7

My mouth felt dry and my nerves unsteady. I desperately missed my music to drown out the drumming in my veins.

The ache.

The itch.

The anxiety, pulling me into agonizing sobriety. 

I hadn't gotten my fix and I was starting to feel the debilitating effects The only person I could count on to help me, was my roommate Sofia, and she wasn't here. I wonder if she noticed I'd gone missing already or if she thought I was somewhere out there, in a bender again.

She and Andrew were probably looking for me. They had to be. They were the closest people I had to family.

We'd all been dumped in the same orphanage, but Sofia and Andrew had gotten adopted, and that gave them a major advantage at life. If it wasn't for them, I would have aged out of the system and to the streets.

I tried to compose myself, but my entire body trembled. Dante filled my mind instead. Why was he so persistent that I be like him? Why couldn't he just kill me and get it over with? But worst of all, why was the sick part of my brain tempting me to go back and finish what Dante had started.

I sighed.

This wasn't me. Dante was trying to dig out the ugly in me, but to be fair it wasn't that far deep. I had just buried it over the years with drugs and makeup. Truth was, I was just a sad pathetic drug addict.

As if the marks on my arms weren't proof enough of my weakness. I'd done anything to get rid of the emptiness I felt in my chest, the loneliness that ate the light from my body.

I had no one. It's the way I wanted my life to be.

Dante showing up just seemed like a final piece to my messed up life. He had come in like a raging bull, set on destroying the already tattered remains of my life. 

The sound of the clock ticking by was mocking me. I wouldn't let him get to me. This would come to an end.

I entered the cold, decaying kitchen decorated with cobwebs and dust. The drawers to my right caught my attention and I opened them.

Empty.

Empty.

Spoon?

Empty. Cockroaches, gross!

Knife.

A creak coming from the stairway made me jump. I spun quickly, looking at the empty entryway. Slowly, I approached it. 

Dante was nowhere in sight.

I made my way to the door. As bad as it was, I hoped he was still with that blonde. My body ached and I sprinted for the exit. Turning the door handle and stepping out.

"Sneaky, Sneaky." He tutted. I was pushed back harshly. The door slammed shut and I found my back pressed against it uncomfortably.

Dante's eyes were red, burning in a never ending field of fire. "And here I thought we were finally getting along."

I laughed. Genuinely. Feeling the blade trapped between my fingers. "Friends don't keep friends hostage."

Dante's smile left his lips. His jaw clenched as he scowled. He pressed me harder against the door with his body. His hand was at my throat again. 

"I prefer the word temporary fuck buddies," he smiled before narrowing his eyes with twisted glee. "Temporary, as in, until I kill you."

"I could kill you first."

Dante laughed. Amusement lightening his burning eyes. His nose came down to my throat. Inhaling my scent like some kind of animal.

"I can smell my blood in you Amra." His hands stopped at my waist, holding me still. "Have any malevolent thoughts lately?" He chuckled huskily by my ear.

My eyes widened in acknowledgment. That bastard! I thought back to the field when Dante had bitten me. When I thought I would die, but then I had tasted a heavy amount of blood in my mouth. He had fed me his blood.

Was that the reason my thoughts had been so twisted? Why I felt an urge for bloodshed? Why I'd responded so eagerly to his touch? Or even why I felt that gut instinct about that blonde woman's wickedness? Because I had a demon's blood coursing through me!

I felt my stomach churn. I hated him! The knife in my fingers slid forward and I threw it at him. Piercing the fabric of his shirt. Buried deep into his shoulder, he tumbled back.

Like a monster, he growled deeply. His eyes, overcome by a threatening inky black. He snarled, coming towards me. The air, freezing. His large body caged me in. My waist seized by his large hands, pulling me toward his broad chest. His sharp teeth bared to me, coming toward my throat and I screamed. Feeling daggered teeth on my neck where he suddenly placed a sensual kiss.

"Fuck, it's so hot when you're angry." He sucked the skin off my neck hard and I pulled back. My heart, racing.

Dante pulled the knife out of his shoulder. His eyes still a murky black. He placed the knife in my hands again. Holding my hands steady. "Next time stab me by my neck it's my sweet spot." He directed me towards the crevice of his neck and shoulder.

As soon as he let my hands go, I dropped the knife. My body slumping down towards the ground.

"Can you even fucking die?!" I shouted.

Dante bent down, holding my chin in his hand. "You seem upset? Are you upset, Amra?" He looked deep into my eyes. The fiery red was slowly returning to his eyes.

I didn't reply. How could I? Stabbing Dante hadn't worked and that bit of hope I had at escape was starting to dim and fall to the back of my mind.

Dante sighed. He slumped down beside me, leaning his head on my shoulder.

"Amra, do you know why I was drawn to you that night you were walking alone?"

"My style?" I raised a brow, knowing damn well Dante would say something equally stupid.

He sat up, turning towards me. Eyes burning like the end of a lit cigar. "It was your emptiness. The drug in your veins. The overbearing guilt that weighed down on your soul. Your blood smelt of sin; More so, of violence. I expected a dead beat. Not you. A young girl with long black hair and innocent grey eyes. I knew the moment I saw you, I wanted to ruin you. To show you who you really are, because deep down you are more like me than you think. And that night you let Cam get away,"

He came closer towards my face. Stroking his thumb down my chin. "That night I tasted your blood, it only confirmed what I knew. You're a murderer. Just. Like. Me." He grinned. "A lonely, lost, little scared pup, afraid of what you really are, but I can teach you to be like me— strong, powerful, feared—"

"I'm nothing like you!" I spat.

I stood up, moving away from Dante. My heart about to beat out my chest. Tears threatening to spill. I bit my lip hard and turned my back to him, walking off. I could hear his mocking laugh in the distance.

One way or another. I would escape Dante's inferno.