Page 47 of Ash and Poison

I know the monster in the woods will catch up. He always does. And yet I run.

Hurts. It hurts so much.

I’m always calling your name, begging for you to save me, but… he says that you won’t ever come. That… you won’t come until I break myself, until I cut myself and offer you my flesh.

A pound, two pounds, more?

He says, you’ll come only to collect the broken parts of me.

Will you only come then, Asher?

Why won’t you come?

Please.

Riley.

12

HUNT AND HUNGER

DIYA

It was just past two in the morning when I slipped out of my cottage. Everything was eerily still when I opened the back gate and snuck into the asylum.

I let out a sigh of relief when I reached Asher’s room.

I glanced around, letting my eyes adjust to the dim light. Everything was neatly in place, exactly where it belonged, unlike the mess he had left at The Gates.

I switched on the light, noticing his backpack resting in the corner.

I turned toward the bed with an excited smile.

“Hello, Maddox.”

Even unconscious, his body was stiff. His fists were clenched, as if he was preparing for a battle, fighting wars in his dreams.

I understood how it felt, to live like that, to look over your shoulder every second of every day. Never letting your guard down, never resting, never stopping to trust another person.

Pulling his hands above his head, I cuffed them to the metal headboard before slapping him lightly on his cheek. “Hey there, sleeping beauty. Wakey, wakey, it’s time for you to learn some manners.”

His eyes fluttered open, and his mouth became a big O as his befuddled eyes searched the room until they met mine. Anger soon followed confusion. “You… you poisoned me?” he groaned, blinking up at me.

“I didn’t poison you. You wouldn’t be alive if I had. I just drugged you.”

“You… what the fuck’s wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me? Let’s talk about what’s wrong with you. You stalked me and broke into my hotel room after I clearly warned you. I’m not happy about that,” I said, staring down at his helpless form with a chuckle.

“You weren’t even in the room. You were with Vincent,” he spat out, eyes dangerously dark. “How do you know I was there?”

He wasn’t even trying to deny it anymore.

“I implanted a tracker in your ass.” I licked my lips when his eyes went wide. His stoic mask broke, and I loved how shocked he looked, how appalled. He wasn’t as unshakable as he pretended to be. “I knew you’d pull something like that.”

“You did NOT…” He moved his ass up and down, thrashing against the handcuffs, as if he wanted to check if the tracker was still in his ass.

“Your fucking face.” Laughing, I traced his chin, making him shudder. “Calm down. I didn’t insert it in your ass.”