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I spotted her the second we walked in, my eyes drawn to her like moths to a flame.
An uneasy fish out of water…but an angel, no less.
God, you trash a few hotel rooms in a fit of grief, and suddenly you’re the poster child for mental instability.
see black jeans with holes in the knees. A Sex Pistols hoodie beneath the denim jacket and a single silver chain peeking out from the neckline, bright and shiny against more tattooed skin.
no comment
Aiden James. My former idol, back when celebrity worship was my favorite pastime.
“The fun,” Aiden says, letting his gaze drop to my mouth, then lower and back up, “is that I know what to call you when I collect my dues.”
“You weren’t for sale to him, angel, because I already paid for you.”
Okay. I can work with a four-year difference. “I see. Are you off to college in the fall, then?”
WHAT IS THE AGE GAP 19&23??
update… 18 and 22
When he looks at me, I don’t see the apprehension or sadness that people who know me usually have, and I like the way his gaze doesn’t leave me hollow.
“Fate.” He gestures between us. “It’s working right here, right now.”
But for right now, I want to stay here. At least for a little while.
It’s the warmest expression she’s had all night.
“What’d you get tonight?” “A halo.”
“But all I saw was you.”
“What, and be like those little SoundSky rappers? You know that’s not sustainable.” SoundCloud, I want to say, but I just drag my hands down my face and stay silent.
Lol
It’s stupid, I know, but I can’t shake the feeling that maybe she’ll come looking for it.
Except, it’s not just her in the photo; I’m there, too, sitting on a bench at the park, watching her like she’s the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen.
Dr. Kal Anderson looks like Hades himself,
MY MAN
Unfortunately for her, my obsession hasn’t lessened.
And when an artist has a muse, even if that muse is toxic and life-ruining, they don’t stop seeking them out.
That kissing her felt like coming home after a lifetime of not even realizing you’d been missing.
Somehow, he doesn’t look spooked; he looks like someone who lives in an abandoned house because of the spirits. Like he’s been expecting me.
A phoenix sits at the center, its fiery wings spanning across his pecs and the tail wrapping around his belly button.
It’s not romantic, so much as it is Aiden asserting his dominance over the situation.
“My mother would disown me if I didn’t correct the golden boy’s mistake, so apparently I’m making you breakfast.” Glancing at me over his shoulder, he lifts an eyebrow. “Be a good girl and help out, hmm?”
“She doesn’t look at me the way she looks at you.”
He sighs, and I hear the fussing of his daughter somewhere in the background. God, it’s weird to imagine that soulless man with a child.
least when you’re on fire, you know you’re alive.
“Insanity,” he whispers,
“I’m afflicted, and I think you’re somehow both the cause and the cure.”
I continue to where the word angel is etched into her hip.
“Three suicide attempts by the time I turned fifteen.”
“You have scars, but they don’t have you.”
“And you, Riley fucking Kelly, are beautiful in a way that’d make the constellations weep.”
And while I’m sitting with her, I know it isn’t going to last.
you became my business.”
“Actually, no. When you let me tattoo my name for you on your skin
three years ago, you became my business, Riley.”
“Only one that mattered.”
It’s obsession. Addiction. I’m a fucking addict. A fiend for this pink-haired angel.
“How come you always taste like peppermint?”
“It’s a Riley fixation.”
“All I want is you, Riley.”
“Oh my god, it is! An authentic New York City bagel.”
Standing on the other side of the threshold is a tall tattooed man who looks an awful lot like the girl behind me. Only a thousand times angrier.
“They’re all dead, Riley. Anyone who ever might have come back to hurt you. I spent the last three years hunting them down and destroying their operation. No one is ever going to come after you again.”
All’s well that doesn’t end well.”
“Were you always planning to leave?” I nod, not wanting to add lies to my list of offenses. “I was supposed to ruin you.”
The idea of keeping Aiden sounds good in theory, but he’s a rock star and I’m a social pariah from Maine. He’s a bad guy, and I’m a traumatized girl who finds solace in his depravity.
Star-crossed doesn’t even begin to cover our story.
