I have to hang on, try and wait for this vicious ride to fucking end.
And right now, more than anything, I want everything to end.
WRAITH
The wracking sobs coming from the bathroom are tearing my insides apart. I want more than anything to waltz back there into that shower and hold her. Let her know I can take her pain away instead of causing it. But I can’t be that guy.
I can’t be Zero’s best friend, VP, and be here for Prinie in the way she deserves.
As I sit, my stomach clenches with every painful wracking sob that echoes through the room. And all I can think about is how much she’s suffering.
I should leave.
It’s the right thing to do.
But I can’t.
I need to know when she comes out of that room, she’s going to be okay.
So, I sit on the edge of her bed, internally dying as I listen to her gut-wrenching sobs slowly die down to a gentle crying, then they stop. She’s been in the shower for almost an hour, letting all her anguish out, and I’ve been here, on the outside, listening to it all.
Maybe this is my punishment.
I sit back a little further on her bed, finally feeling like I’m able to breathe as the sounds of her getting dressed echo from the other side of the door. I can only imagine how wrecked she must feel.
I have to know she’s okay.
Then I will leave.
Like I always do.
My stomach churns remembering all the times I’ve left her. It’s a wonder she even talks to me, let alone is still attracted to me. I have no idea what Prinie sees in me. I can’t fathom why she could fall for someone like me. A beast. An animal. I’m no good for her, that much is perfectly clear.
The handle to the bathroom door starts to jiggle which snaps me from my thoughts as I glance up. As it swings back, the bright lights from the bathroom illuminate making her glow like a fucking angel. It makes my heart thud harder, and I gasp as she stands still. Her puffy, red eyes focus on me as she jerks back in shock.
“Y-You’re still here?” Her voice is broken, just like her.
I pat the edge of the bed. “Just needed to make sure you’re okay.”
Prinie clears her throat, then slowly steps over to the bed moving in next to me. She smells amazing—all fruity and fucking perfect. It’s taking everything in me not to act on my impulses right now. My cock throbs in my jeans as I clench my eyes tight trying to rein him in. I don’t need to get hard right now. This is most definitely not the moment for that.
“Are you okay?” Prinie’s tone is curious as I open my eyes to see her assessing me.
I sharply inhale as I take in her beautiful face. Even though she’s puffy and red around the eyes, I can’t imagine anyone else being this beautiful. “I’m sorry this is happening to you, Prinie. I wish I was a better man. I wish I could help you mor—”
“You being here, helps more than you know.” Prinie places her hand on my wet jeans. A weak smile lighting her face. “You must be freezing. You told me off for being wet, now here you are an hour later still in your wet clothes. You could have gone and gotten changed, Wraith.” She stands rushing into the bathroom.
“I wanted to be here when you came back out.”
She fusses about in the bathroom, then rushes back with a dry towel. “If I’d known you were still here, I would have taken a lot less time.” Prinie hands me the towel which I bring to my hair and scruff it, though it’s almost dry. It’s my clothes that are soaked through.
“You needed it.”
She hesitates, then sits next to me. “You… you heard me?”
I nod, my face scrunching unintentionally from my own inner pain.
She turns away, seemingly ashamed, but I reach out, my fingers on her chin forcing her to look back at me. “Don’t ever be embarrassed around me. I know you better than most people around here. You don’t ever have to hide around me.”
She jerks her face away from my hands with a scoff. “You’re never around me, not lately, anyway.”
Ouch.
“I can’t please you and Zero, Prinie.”
“So, you choose him over me?”
“It’s not that simple. He’s not only my best friend, he’s your brother, and my president. It’s complicated.”
“You just don’t have the balls to stand up to him.” She turns away from me with a huff.
My nostrils flare. I grip her arm, forcing her to me. “Prinie, you know it’s not just that. Zero has a reason not to want us together, and you’ve seen it firsthand. What I can do to you. I can’t risk doing it again. It’s how I am. It’s what makes me tick. It’s how I… get off.”
She stands abruptly, running her fingers through her hair. “You have self-control, more than you know, you’re just too chicken-shit to try.”
“Too chicken-shit? Prinie, I want to wrap my fingers around your throat. The need crawls under my skin. I think about it so often it haunts my dreams. I’m so scared of fucking hurting you. It. Terrifies. Me.”
Prinie turns back to face me, throwing her hands up in frustration. “Then do it, Wraith. Fucking do it! Wrap your hands around my neck and squeeze the life out of me because I don’t want to be here, anyway. I may as well die at the hands of someone I care about.”
I stand, grab her shoulders, and shake her. “Shut the hell up. How fucking dare you say shit
