Sterl
te on Long Island, fortified by hig
here. Suffoca
hadow. Two weeks of trying to sanitize a history of blo
new laptop screen illuminating the darkness as I tried to find a synony
ak door cre
walk
ness." His suit jacket was gone. His white dress shirt wa
this time, the dark crimson didn't
standing up so fast my chai
dark stain was blooming across
e said, his voice
elt around him was replaced by a sudden, ir
tered, but he sank onto the le
bed the kit I had seen earlier. When I came
in the
f muscle. Knife wounds. The puckered craters of bullet holes. Burn marks. It was a
up and saw
voice was devoid of self-pity.
I whis
er and knel
My hands shook as I pressed the gauze against his skin. His skin was scorch
this?"
e watched my hands, his dark eyes tracing
his eyes. "You have enough money. You coul
ough sound that vibra
Aria. You leave in a coffin.
grip was gentle this time, a stark con
k on your ch
thumb to rub the spot on my cheekbone. The frict
d quietly. "You smell like vanilla and old
me go," I
slowly. His eyes d
he said. "N
ist and leaned bac
Aria. Then go to sl
ouldn't type. I could still feel the heat of his skin on my finge
write a memoir. And I wasn't stayi
ding, just in ver
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