A Want So Wicked (A Need So Beautiful #2)(61)

I take a steadying breath, pulling myself together. I glance toward my window, wondering if I should try to escape. I’m not sure I’ll even make it across the lawn before he catches me.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I freeze at the sound of an impatient finger on the door. “Elise,” he says. “You know I can just come in, right? That your lock won’t work?”

“Please don’t,” I say. “Just leave me alone.”

I hear him exhale. “I wish I could. You should have come to me willingly.”

“Please . . .”

The door opens smoothly, like it was never locked in the first place. Abe stands there, still dressed in black, but now his face is different. It’s no longer handsome. It’s dead and gray, fine cracks in it like the dried desert floor.

He seems almost offended as I recoil. “I tried to charm you first, querida. It’s your own fault that you have to see me like this. The others never fight.”

“Why are you doing this?” I ask. I think of Onika and how she never let others see her—only me. But Abe hasn’t hidden himself. He’s still acting out his old existence.

“I’m not done,” he says simply. “My life was taken from me, as was yours. As was Lucy’s. As were all of the Forgotten’s. I made the choice to stay, and Elise—” He steps closer. “I plan to do just that. Stay. Take what I want. And what I want . . . is you.”

“I can’t help you now,” I say. “I can’t guide you or bring you into the light.”

“I know that,” he shoots back. “But you’re filled with more light than any Forgotten I’ve ever met. You can handle the Shadow, you can stay bright, even next to me. You make me feel warm. When the time comes, I won’t let you cross. You’ll learn to love me back, and then we can spend the rest of time here. It will all be ours.”

I stare at him, amazed that he believes this. Light and Shadows can’t mix, but he obviously missed that memo. His eyes are earnest, as if having me by his side will make up for all the horrible things he’s done, things he will do. He’s a Shadow—by definition he spreads misery.

“No,” I say. “I don’t want you anywhere near me.”

That seems to wound him. “I was kind to you,” he snaps. “I made it as easy as possible. I was careful.” The cracks in his skin widen as his anger grows. And before I realize what’s happening, a vision from Abe’s mind slides in.

It’s late at night in the desert, the remains of a campfire glowing red, the tents silent around it. I see Abe approach one of them, his shoes quiet on the sandy ground. He pauses, as if waiting for someone. Just then, Marissa stumbles out. She looks as if she’s been crying.

“You came back,” she says.

“I always come back. You know that.”

She nods and crosses over to him, putting her arms around his waist and hugging him. Abe brushes his fingers through her hair.

“You love me so much,” he whispers. “You love me so much that it makes you sick.”

At that moment, Marissa turns away, retching and convulsing. Abe smiles. “Remember that time,” he begins, “when you told me that I didn’t have a chance with someone like you? When was it? A year, two years ago?” She slowly lifts her head to meet his gaze. “Then you started dreaming about me,” he continues. “You tried to run. But I got you back. Next thing you knew, you were calling me, following me. You were completely crazy for me. You let me do whatever I wanted to you.”

Tears run down Marissa’s cheeks. “And what do you want now?” she asks.

Abe shrugs. “You’ve outgrown your uses, Riss. And now I just want you to jump off that cliff. It’s so much easier, don’t you think?”

“No,” Marissa murmurs, tears wet on her cheeks. “Please, no.”

“Shh . . .” Abe hooks his finger under her chin as he beckons her up. When she’s standing, he kisses her softly, almost sweetly. When he pulls back, her eyes are glazed over, almost dreamlike. “You were a fun toy,” Abe says affectionately. “But you’re broken. I need something new, and I won’t have you ruin that for me. Now”—he opens his arms wide and steps back—“go on and jump.”

My eyes flutter open and I gasp, horrified by what I’ve seen. “You killed her,” I say, fresh fear pulling at my chest. “You killed Marissa.”

“I had no choice,” Abe says. “As Marceline would say, she was my Want. I was compelled—had been for a while. If anything, she should have been grateful. She’d been meaning to kill herself for months.”

“You’re a monster.”

“Not completely. But I will take you by force, if I have to.”

Abe reaches out and grabs my wrist, wrenching me painfully closer. He stares down into my eyes, the lines in his chin smoothing until he’s handsome once again. “I can make you believe anything I want,” he whispers. “But I know you hate being manipulated. So this once . . . I won’t. Just so long as you don’t fight.”

And then he leans forward to kiss me.

I’m wearing a winter jacket but still shaking uncontrollably as I get into Lucy’s car. It’s nearly three in the morning and my father never came home. I’m hoping he fell asleep on the couch in his office. I don’t want him anywhere near our house right now. My fingers almost can’t turn on the ignition, but when they do, I back out of my driveway—lucky my sister left her car behind at all.