Page 133 of Firefly
Then his expression softens again while brushing blood from my cheek gently. “Crazy fucking girl,” he murmurs quietly.
“Yeah, I am, and I’m so fucking mad at you,” I growl, and he sighs, pulling out his phone.
“Clean up time.” he says, then fifteen minutes later, the twins arrive.
“Holy shit.” Ryker stops dead in his tracks, probably not expecting me to be the one covered in blood beside a dead girl.
Ryder blinks slowly. “Did… did Ophelia kill somebody?” he asks, like I’m not fucking standing right here.
Hayden folds his arms proudly. “Sure did.”
“I HATE YOU!” I yell, and they all burst out laughing.
“Nah, this is iconic,” Ryker states.
“She’s traumatized,” Hayden mutters.
“She caved that girl's face in!” Ryder says, sounding impressed, and once again, speaking to each other like I’m not right here.
“Okay,” Hayden sighs. “Less commentary. More clean up.”
While the twins handle the body, Hayden quietly asks, “How's Kayla doing?”
Ryker’s expression softens slightly. “Better.” I wonder what happened, but then the buzzing in my pocket takes me right out of my thoughts, and I see it’s Brayden.
Brayden:
Where are you?
Brayden:
Answer me.
Brayden:
OPHELIA
While Brayden continues to blow up my phone nonstop, Hayden helps me onto his bike. “You wanna go home?” he asks, but I shake my head.
“No.” Home doesn’t feel safe anymore anyway.
He nods once. “Okay.”
The second we get back to his apartment, he walks me straight into the shower fully clothed. Warm water pours pink around my feet while he carefully washes blood from my skin. Every touch feels gentle, like he’s trying to piece me back together silently.
“You okay?” he murmurs while kissing my shoulder softly.
“No.”
Honest answer.
Hayden presses another kiss against my neck anyway. “I got you.”
And somehow… I believe him.
Later, he burns my bloody clothes in a barrel outside his apartment while I watch, wrapped in one of his hoodies.
Evidence turning to ash beneath the night sky.
