I was failing.
Yet again.
I had loved this place. The diner was my safe place while I had been here, it had been my unconventional office, but now it was fast becoming the scene of my worst nightmare.
My back was pressed against the wall of the booth as I tried to get as far away as possible. I knew I was locked in and at any time he could move and I would be caged in like an animal.
When I turned to face him, a cold, vindictive smirk etched over his face while beady eyes narrowed in on me. If hatred had a human form, it was sitting across from me in the form of Chris Edwards. I had absolutely no idea why he hated me so much, why he continued to appear out of nowhere, but when he slid in across from me, I realized he knew everything about me.
“It’s about time we had some one on one time.” Even his voice sounded like pure evil. “Your boyfriend just wouldn’t piss off.”
“He isn’t my boyfriend,” I choked out.
“Answer me this. Do you fuck him? Does he eat your pussy? Do you sleep in his bed?” he hissed while his eyes flashed with hatred. “He is your fucking boyfriend.”
Ky.
Beautiful, dependable, life-changing Ky.
“What do you want from me Chris?” I questioned hesitantly. I watched the flicker of consideration flash in his eyes before they rose and looked over my shoulder, sending a shiver down my spine.
“Someone wants to come and say hi.”
The moment the words left his mouth, the intense fear that had disappeared since I’d been with Ky rushed back like flooding water. I didn’t need to turn around to know. I felt it in the way my body froze, the way the terror ran down my spine at being so close to him. My dread was soon replaced with anger. Douglas had promised me that I would be safe, that Jeremy wouldn’t get to me, that there was no way that I would come face to face with evil but here I was. Jeremy Davis.
“Eden Rivers.” My name curled on his tongue. “You are looking fucking delightful. Love seems to be treating you well.” He leaned over the table, inching close enough that his breath smacked me in the face. The darkness of his eyes threatened me. “You and Ky are in love right? Like a modern day fucking Romeo and Juliet.”
“What do you want Jeremy?” I asked, finally finding my voice.
“How bout I get straight to the point. Tell me Eden, do you really know who Ky Crawford is?” His voice was laced with the intent to shock and cause unmeasurable damage. I didn’t understand why he was talking about Ky? How he even knew of Ky? My eyes darted away from his as I looked around for an escape. I didn’t want Jeremy Davis tainting something that was developing so beautifully with Ky. I couldn’t allow that. Ky was quickly becoming my sanctuary, my beginning and existence and hearing his name spat from the lips of the creature that almost destroyed me stabbed me a million times in my already fragile heart.
“I am going to take your silence as a no.”
What kind of question was that anyway?
After spending every day with Ky over the past month, I assumed I knew him. From the moment he brought me to his apartment, things shifted. He saw me through my nightmares, my insecurities, my fears, and my new beginnings. He saw me at my best, and he still wanted me at my worst. He broke down every barrier I had put up and he completely owned every part of my body. Nothing had been left untouched.
Jeremy kept staring at me, waiting for me to answer. I sensed that I was about to have my idea of Ky shattered into a million pieces and thrown in my face without regard. Jeremy's smirk said a thousand unspoken words.
What did he really have to lose?
Nothing.
Absolutely fucking nothing.
What did I have to lose?
Everything.
“I’d like to think I do,” I returned. It came out weaker than I wanted, and it seemed to fuel his desire to torment me even further. “Just get this over and done with Jeremy.”
He leaned in, his elbow sliding along the tabletop until his chin rested in the palm of his hand. He just sat there, staring. Both of them just stared. Chris Edwards and Jeremy Davis. I felt myself quickly becoming unglued, but I wouldn’t cry. I couldn’t let Jeremy win again. Seeing them side-by-side hit me hard. How hadn’t I noticed the similarities?
They both shared shockingly similar physical features—the sharp nose, the strong definition of his jaw, the almost black-colored eyes, and the thin athletic build. How could I have been so blind? Chris noticed the moment realization hit me and that familiar evil vindictive smirk filtered over his thin lips. I instantly felt like I was going to be sick.
“Oh sweetheart, are you only realizing now? I’m Jeremy’s baby cousin.”
Jeremy didn’t care about anything. He just wanted to go on the attack. “You think you know Ky Crawford do you?” Jeremy hissed and shot a look of delight to Chris.
“This is going to be fun,” Chris taunted.
“Your boyfriend was there the night I fucked you. Ky motherfucking Crawford almost wrecked the whole damn thing when he tried to be a hero. Thank fuck he pissed off when he did because I needed to have a taste before he did and boy did you taste good. He was so whipped over you, the pretty girl from the coffee house. It fucking made me sick. He became this motherfucking wimp when it came to you. Wouldn’t say shit to you, didn’t have the balls to even ask you out. Ky fucking Crawford, became tongue-tied because of a pretty little brunette.”
“What?” I choked. The contents of my stomach rose and sat precariously in my throat, ready to explode onto the table that separated us. This couldn’t be real. The fact that he was blatantly reliving the whole experience in his head didn’t scare me or fill me with fear; it was the admission of Ky and the mere mention of his name.
“You heard me. You precious little boyfriend was there. Did he not tell you that we were best friends or that we had a bet to see who could have you first? Well my dear, he fucking lost.”
No. No. No. This couldn’t be real.
There was no way this wasn’t a fucked-up nightmare that I hadn’t woken from. On instinct my nails dug into the tender skin of my palms hoping this wasn’t reality. That wasn’t the case. The pain shot through my body as small drops of blood appeared on my skin through my broken skin. This was very real. Ky was there. Ky knew everything about me, a fact that hid from me.
I couldn’t believe this.
Not Ky.
“The look on your face tells me you had no clue.” His piercing eyes narrowed even further and his voice dropped. “He isn’t fucking prince charming now, is he?”
Everything froze.
My head shook in defiance, and I heard myself whispering no repeatedly; a gleeful look spread across his face.
He knew he had me.
Again.
“Did you hear me? Your prince fucking charming, the guy who you have been fucking was there the night I fucked his precious little crush from the coffee house.”
My heart thudded in my chest to the point of pain and my throat constricted, halting my breathing as panic roared to life. My brain couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. Ky knew me? He knew everything about me yet he chose to pretend he didn’t have a clue? He comforted me when I told him the story of my past all the while he knew? He had hidden behind the truth, a truth that was now destroying me with every breath I took. What I couldn’t understand is how he could do something so cruel. My world was quickly shifting around me. It was constricting and jamming me into a reality that I didn’t want to live in. I suddenly felt like a sideshow freak, a pawn in some sick and twisted game, a game that was now my life.