Two weeks had passed since that party where Toska left me not knowing a soul. The guy who walked in with me went back to his friends, so I ended up leaving at three in the morning after sitting alone all night. When I walked to the car, I saw him one more time sitting by himself with something in his hand. I didn’t care what he held, only that he’d looked up and smirked at me. It was the first time I’d seen anything other than a straight-lined facial expression on him. That smirk scared me.

The next day was even more confusing. The house where I sat alone all night was all over the television, and my father was out there investigating a crime. Someone killed four people who lived there at four in the morning, which was not long after I’d left. I rang Toska repeatedly until she answered me. She sounded hungover, so I hung up. It was a relief to know she hadn’t been killed. But my thoughts stayed on her brother, and I wondered if he was alive. Though I barely knew him, a part of me knew he wouldn’t be taken down so easily. I assumed there was a reason why people were scared of him, therefore I realized he could handle himself if the situation arose.

***

MY FATHER WAS GONE when I got up, which was normal. He never asked me what I was doing. I knew I was of age, I got it, but he stopped caring about me a long time ago.

I think that all started the day my mom died. She was a stay-at-home mother, and I was their only child—five years old. My memory of that day is now a fuzzy blur. Certain aspects stood out, though—the blood being the main one.

I brushed my teeth and slid on a dress and walked out to the porch. My mother’s rocking chair was still in the same position it had been when she passed—everything was. My father never moved on, time escaped him and stopped just like the house did. Everything was trapped in its own time capsule. He could never watch me for long. I looked too much like her, I knew I did. The photos told me so, even if he never did.

I needed to leave. This place wasn’t good for my soul anymore, but I just couldn’t seem to do it. I still held onto the hope that one day he wouldn’t go to work and he’d tell me he loved me. I hadn’t heard those words uttered to me since I was five. We had no other family, all I had was my father and we’d both turned cold.

Love? What was that?

As far as I was concerned, love was just a word.

“Jaya, Jaya,” our neighbor, Betty, called my name and waved in my direction. For someone so old, she sure as shit had tons of energy. Her gray hair was up in a floral head wrap, and too much jewelry adorned her wrists.

“Yes, Miss Betty?”

She waved me over, and I stepped off the porch through our perfectly manicured lawn, thanks to the gardener. I put on a fake smile as I reached her.

“Don’t Miss Betty me, Jaya. Something’s changing, can you feel it?” Her eyes looked down then up at me. “You’re changing, and it’s all to do with someone new in your life.” Her voice dropped to a whisper as her eyes darkened. “Be careful, Jaya. Those who play in the dark carry handfuls of acid ready to eat away at your heart.”

Her words never made sense to me and I tried not to pay too much attention to her theories. She was old and losing her mind. My father always told me to stay away from her. Betty had told him not to go to work that day twenty years ago, but he never listened.

“I’m always careful, Miss Betty. Haven’t you met my father?” I joked with her. She stood up tall, her eyes taking on sunshine and not seeming so dark, as she turned to pick up the shovel and got back to her gardening.

“Stephen works too much...” she paused and continued, “... I worry what that’s done to you.”

I smiled, but it was forced. Betty would sometimes watch out for me when Dad had to work late. After my mother died, he only worked during school hours. But I didn’t see him more. Instead, he locked himself away in his office.

“I’m fine, Miss Betty. Enjoy your day.”

She nodded, looking down at her garden and dismissing me. I planned to go shopping today, but that plan entirely vanished when my cell rang, and it was Toska. She wanted me to come to her house, and I wanted to tell her no. But I also wanted to see him again.

***

IT WAS A SMALL COMPLEX where Toska lived—four houses were joined together, and hers was at the end. Toska opened the door with a cigarette held in her lips and bottle of wine in her hand. She smiled when she saw me.

“You left the other night.”

I nodded as she stepped aside for me to follow her in. The place was dark and empty, only one couch sat in the middle of the room with the television on the floor.

“You want a glass?”

I shook my head in answer. She sat on the floor on a large bright pink pillow, crossing her legs in front of her. She tipped the bottle of wine to her lips and drank.

“I haven’t seen you for ages.” My words dripped, my eyes scanned her as the cigarette touched her lips again as she placed the bottle on the ground. A smirk played on Toska’s lips.

“I was off being bad, so very bad.”

Before I could ask her how, the front door opened and Syler stepped in. He was holding a bottle of wine and a pack of cigarettes. Toska jumped up, snatching both from his hands, then walked to the open kitchen behind where she was sitting. My eyes were glued to him, as his eyes were firmly focused on me. It seemed to be our game, to stare at each other to see who would crack first.

“He wants to fuck you,” Toska said, watching him. As her words sunk in, I blushed. My cheeks heated quickly, and I wanted to scream at them for being so childish. “The tension’s so thick that if you two don’t fuck, I’ll have to find someone to fuck.”

His eyes left mine to move to her. He was dressed much like he was that night. Black suits him, obviously.

“Aren’t you meant to be working today?” I asked her. My eyes were off Syler and back on Toska.

She lit another cigarette and smiled. “Yep.”

“Do you want me to take you?”

His movement was quiet, and he disappeared without a word, the only thing I saw was the door shut when I turned.

“No,” she answered as I looked back to her.

“What does your brother do?”

A smirk danced on her lips. “He’s a hacker. There’s all fancy shit in there. I’m never allowed in there.” She studied me, her eyes squinting as she did. “You’re crushing on him, aren’t you? You don’t just want to fuck him, you actually like him.”

“Why must everything be about fucking?” I asked her. She was always telling me about her latest conquest. It could be very tiring.

“Because, baby girl, to fall for the madman you must first taste the devil.” Her words made no sense. Then again, sometimes she didn’t either. She pressed a few buttons on the television remote and then pulled out a little black pouch. I watched her, having no idea why I was there, and I realized pretty quickly that I didn’t want to be.

I should have been anywhere but there.

But instead of leaving, I sat on her dirty couch and watched as she placed the needle to her skin and inserted it straight into a vein. My heart hammered as I watched her, but I didn’t do anything to stop her either. I never even said anything. Toska was her own person and she knew her own mind, and if she chose to stick needles into her arm who the fuck was I to say anything to the contrary? It might not be my choice, but it seemed to be hers.

Turning to his door then glancing back at her, her eyes rolled back, and the needle dropped to the floor as she fell backward. Crawling over to her, I placed my fingers on her neck to check if she was alive. Her breathing was deep, and she was definitely alive.

I stood, walking to his door.

I thought about telling Syler I was about to leave, but right at that second, his door opened and his green eyes darkened as they locked with mine. His hand skirted out, pushing me against the wall just outside of his door, my back slamming into it. He leaned forward, his face coming extremely close, his nose running the length of my collarbone, his hands trapping me on either side.

Closing my eyes, I begged him to kiss me, to feel whatever power he would hold over me. I wanted to know the touch of his lips. But it never came. Instead, I opened my eyes to find him watching me intently.

“Run, little Mouse.”

His words made me jump, his voice was so deep, so intense. It shook me so much that every bone in my body knew who said it. He lifted his hands, releasing me from his clutches.

It was then I started to fall for this sea green-eyed devil.

It was then that my choice was made.

It was then that fate had me in her clutches.