Chapter Thirty Two

||MASKY||

Who the fuck does she think she is?

I almost changed my mind once I'd left, to go back and finish what I started. It's not like she could ever stop me. But I was pissed.

Not only was she getting close to other guys the minute I'm away but also she's acting like she doesn't want me around, the total opposite of what she said before we left Zalgo's "Hotel".

I grinned at the memory of that pretentious kid she'd felt so comfortable getting coffee and donuts with.

How long had that been going on?

I'd only just gotten back today but she was probably cozying up to him the instant I was gone. Or maybe she knew him before. I could get those answers later.

Who even cares? She was mine now and that meant I'd do whatever it takes to keep it that way.

It had been a while since it was this noisy in my head. Ever since Slenderman had contacted me a few nights ago, the voices have come back with a vengeance.

I had run some errands for him and it felt like I was finally getting back to my old self. Whether that was a good or bad thing I couldn't tell. All I know is that I badly needed something more than the hit this nicotine provided.

I ashed the cigarette I was smoking on the doorstep of the house I'd visited earlier before, pulling my mask back over my face and pushing the door open then closing it behind me.

It was warm and homey inside and I stepped over the two lifeless bodies laying on the living room floor, their blood pooling together, the elderly lady still gripping the house phone she'd tried using to call the cops when I first came in while the middle-aged man was facefirst in a bowl of noodles, he'd been unaware of the intrusion and had made it easy for me to take him down.

I climbed the stairs, passing by framed photographs and medals, a snort leaving my lips. As if those pieces of metal meant anything in the real world.

Once I got to the top of the landing I headed directly to the back of the hallway, pulling the string that hung from the ceiling which yielded another set of stairs.

Up in the attic, the smell of dust and years of neglect was strong but it hardly bothered me at all.

I was too excited.

I broke out into a grin as I pulled up a chair before the body that was strewn up, hanging by his wrists that were bound and blue, struggling to manage his body weight.

Blood that was running down the side of his face earlier had dried and his head was bowed dejectedly, I guess he'd given up fighting.

I gave him a few smacks on his cheek to wake him up and watched as he struggled to figure out what was happening.

He started to whimper when he finally realized where he was and I smiled under my mask.

"So, where were we?"

His lips moved like he was trying to say something but nothing I could discern.

"C'mon speak up," I sat back against the chair, watching him.

"W-why are you doing this?"

I tilted my head at his question, looking at him through the eyeholes of my mask and wondering if this guy was an idiot.

"Why? I'll tell you why," using one hand I grabbed a fistful of his hair and tugged his head back looking directly into his eyes, "you went after my girl."

A series of emotions flashed across his face before he settled on confusion, "wh... I don't-"

"You don't...?"

"I don't know what you're talking about..." He sounded so defeated, his eyes wide and the crusted blood on the side of his face was flaking up.

My expression darkened and I let go of his hair, letting his head drop, "let me refresh your memory then. Prettiest brown eyes you've ever seen, about yay tall," I placed a hand up my chest, "you got coffee and donuts together earlier. Shit choice for your last meal."

Now things seemed to make more sense to him. He shook his head, a sob escaping, "fuck I'm sorry man. I swear it wasn't like that."

"Wasn't like that? You think I'm stupid?"

"I thought she could use a friend," he continued, "I... I could tell she wasn't doing so well," he paused for a moment before his eyes met mine, "you're the one who did that stuff to her. All those scars, the reason she always seems fucking terrified, it was you wasn't it?"

I tilted my head again, wondering if this pathetic thing strewn up before me like cattle realized who it was talking to. I didn't feel like using my crowbar this time. The stainless steel blade I had strapped to my waist should do a far better job.

He visibly recoiled, tugging at his restraints, "you're sick! Let me go so I can kick your fucking ass!"

A deep laugh left my lips, "Yeah? You sure about that?"

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you do that to her man?"

I got to my feet, fists clenched at my sides.

How would he know what she deserves?

I had half a mind to cut his throat open just then but instead, I cut the rope that bound his wrists. Watching him fall to his knees before me, Islid the knife back into its sheath.

This pig had no idea what she was really like under that innocent-looking exterior and there was no way in hell I'd let him get close enough to find out.

But here he was, ready to defend her.

I didn't mind the challenge. It had been a while since I'd gotten into a real fight. Watching him struggle to get to his feet though, I sighed. It didn't seem this fight would be challenging, or fair, at all.

"You think you know what's best for her?" I asked.

"I know it's not you," he was glaring at me, crouched over as he used a chest that was perched atop a small wooden table, to steady himself.

I chuckled, "and who is? You?"

Instead of answering he took the opportunity to attack, coming at me with his shoulders hunched and his head down.

I let out an "oof!" as he tackled me to the ground and I immediately blocked a blow from him as my back hit the floor before slamming my knee into his ribcage.

Using the initial shock from that move I grabbed the collar of his shirt, headbutting him and letting him go. He staggered backward and crashed into a full-length mirror leaning against a cobwebbed wall, the shards splitting the back of his shirt and littering the ground as his body slumped across the wall, blood leaking from his mouth.

A satisfying crunch sounded as I landed a kick to his jaw while he was still out of it, watching the way his head twisted from the impact and he spat out more blood, and teeth, curling over with his face now buried in the filthy hundred-year-old carpeting.

I used a hand to grab him by the hair, lifting his head so I could look at his shattered face. A masterpiece, if I ever saw one.

"She deserves a beast," I unsheathed the knife and pressed it against his throat, "she deserves me."

He was struggling and before I could dig my blade into its new victim I felt a slicing pain erupt in my leg. I looked down to see that he had grabbed one of the glass shards and used it to stab me. It wasn't a large wound but it sure fucking hurt.

"Motherfu-" I gritted my teeth, wasting no time stabbing my blade into his throat, ripping it open to watch the blood spurt out onto my shoes.

I tossed his body to the side, sucking in a breath as I felt pain surge through me once I put a bit of pressure on my right leg.

Fuck.

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I groaned in annoyance looking up at the window where the soft lamp glow caused Kit's frame to be silhouetted as she looked down at me, arms crossed.

I'd been tossing pebbles for a while now but she refused to open the window.

If my leg wasn't injured...

I watched her glare at me through the glass, a bonnet over her head, before she tightened the straps of her robe around herself and slammed the curtains together from either side, effectively blocking my view of her room.

Fine, I'll use the front door then.

I could tell everyone was asleep by now but I knew if anything she didn't want me to make contact with her cozy little family, so that's why—

As soon as I pressed the doorbell could hear her tripping over herself to get down the stairs and she almost slammed into the door from what I could tell by the sounds. The door swung open and she was glaring at me with the scariest expression I've seen her sport thus far.

"What the hell do you think you're do-?" I was braced against the wall and as her eyes roamed down my body seeing the blood splatters, the words died on her lips.

"Help me up to your room."

She was close to shaking her fist at me but I saw her clench her jaw and came to offer herself as support, taking my arm across her shoulder.

"Ugh, you weigh like 400 pounds," she grunted under her breath, helping me over the threshold and using her foot to close the door behind us. As she helped me up the stairs she mumbled angrily under her breath about the blood I was tracking through the house.

Once we got to her room I sat on the edge of her bed while she closed the door behind her and flipped the lights on, crossing her arms as she directed her anger at me.

Now, this is sexy.

She was talking but all I could focus on was the way her chest heaved and her lips glistened under the lights.

"-seriously trying to ruin my life?" she looked at me like she was expecting a response, hands over her head. What did she ask?

That wasn't important now anyways.

"I need a first aid kit."

"Wow, you suck."

I sat there expectantly, fingers clasped until she sucked her teeth and left the room.

When she returned she was carrying a medium-sized first aid kit and she locked the door behind her, making her way over to the bed. I held a hand out for her to pass the kit to me but she took a chair and pulled up next to the bed so she could do it instead.

I watched as she used a small pair of scissors to cut away the material of my pant leg then poured peroxide over the wound.

I licked my lips, seeing her little face scrunched up in frustration. She is mad at me, isn't she? Yet she was taking care of me, gently at that. Not that I was in much pain.

And after what I did.

It was necessary though. How could I let anyone else experience this? Experience her.

Since the voices came back they'd been filling my head with negative ideas but I wouldn't pay them any mind.

I knew what I wanted.

"You're good at this," I watched her pause at the unexpected compliment before she continued working, using a pair of tweezers to pull the glass shard out of my leg as I winced. The skin around the cut was bruised and blood trickled out that she dabbed away with a cotton pad.

"I wanted to be a nurse at one point," her soft voice was a welcome change from the sassy tone she was using earlier and as she stitched me up all I could now think about was her, in a nurse's outfit.

A candy striper, nothing under the little skirt. Cuffed to something- a hospital bed? Duct tape over her mouth and-

I watched her gaze go from what she was doing to my evident erection that was now straining against my pants but she pretended not to notice and continued.

Once the stitches were done she wrapped my leg in a fine gauze and secured it in place before she started cleaning up.

I sat back against the bed watching her, "you could be my nurse."

She seemed to blush at my words but still managed to land me a stern look, "don't think you're off the hook. Once I'm done cleaning up I need to talk to you."

"Mm," was all I could manage to utter. She really was cute, even when she tried to be upset.

After she left the room I shrugged out of my jacket and rested my head against the leather headboard of her bed, staring up at the bright overhead lights.

It was quiet again.

I'm not used to the silence.

I listened to her moving around outside the door before she finally came back after a few minutes, locking the door behind her one last time.

"So, will you actually listen to me now?"

"I'll try but it's kinda hard to do with your tits fallin' out like that," I grinned under the mask as she looked down, realizing her robe was coming undone, her breasts spilling out over the lacy underwear she was sporting underneath.

It's like she was trying to seduce me.

She quickly adjusted herself, steaming from the ears as she glared at me, "why did you have to go after him. Masky?"

"Who?"

I watched her angrily strut across the room, grabbing the gift box I left her earlier and shaking it in my direction as she whisper yelled, "who? This is who!"

I used a hand to stroke my bare chin, "Oh right, the guy you were flirting with."

"I wasn't flirting with him."

"You went out for coffee. If you weren't interested you'd have never accepted his offer in the first place. Were you so starved for attention that any random guy could get you to go out with them with just a simple offer of coffee and donuts?"

She looked wounded, "you need to stop this okay, because now you're assuming things that aren't even true and you're hurting innocent people."

I could tell she was hurt by her tone but I wasn't one to spare anyone's feelings.

She knows what she did.

"I just say it how I see it, Curly."

She pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose before looking up again, "you can't just go around killing everyone I talk to. I told you I wanted my life to go back to normal and there you go ruining it before it's even been a week."

"I just did what I had to do."

"You didn't have to do anything," she rolled her eyes, "you only care about yourself though so I'm not even surprised."

"I care about you," I watched her cross her arms again, "that's why you're still alive right now."

She looked away, contemplating my words. She knew I was right.

After a moment of her staring at the wall in silence I bent a finger at her, beckoning her forward, "c'mere."

She seemed torn, wondering if it was wise to get any closer before she decided against it, looking away from me coyly, "I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"I just..."

"Spit it out."

She chewed on her lower lip anxiously before stuttering out, "I think w-we need to consider something."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"I know we don't usually talk about stuff like this but if we're going to be together then we need a way to communicate when things are getting too much so-"

I cocked my head to the side, wondering what she was getting at.

"I think we need a safe word."

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