DARK SOULS (Dark Souls Series) by Ketley Allison Read Free Book Online Page B

feet smacked against the wet sidewalk as I followed her, uncaring of what disease I could contract—because let’s be honest, I probably already contracted one. My mind raced, paused, and then raced again as I tried to understand.
    Instead of questioning Macy further, I decided to remain silent. I needed to sort out my own thoughts over what just happened before asking anyone else about theirs.
    As I watched Macy try to flag down a cab, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had just somehow mentally forced Macy to forget about not only taking me to the hospital, but about everything else that she’d seen, too. And that I’d done the same thing to Rob before I killed him. Or had I killed him? Was it a hallucination? Monsters aren’t real. They live in imaginations, created under beds, pictured huddled in dark closets. Not in my life. Not in real life .
    And to add even more confusion, Macy was acting like Rob Morrow never even existed. Did I actually make him up? I couldn’t help but think about my mother. Was this what it was like during one of her bad days? Am I going to start having bad days now, too? I clenched my jaw at the thought, accidentally biting the inside of my cheek and drawing blood, but the coppery taste didn’t distract me. It only served to remind me.
    Did Rob ever even exist? Or was Macy just too drunk to pay attention?
    I didn’t think I could survive myself if I started hallucinating about monsters in people’s bodies trying to kill me on a daily basis.
    Against my will, my mind shot backwards, instantly recalling the one and only time I saw my mother after that fateful day, when I had just turned ten and was coaxed by my family trauma counselor and my aunt to see her. Not even Aunt Sandy will ever speak of the moment when my mother’s eyes landed on mine. I was forced to watch as her eyes, initially vacant, fill with such violent hate that I instinctively took a step back and pressed against my aunt. I couldn’t look away as my mother’s face twisted into a mask of horror, her lips peeling back from her teeth as she opened her mouth to scream.
    “ GET HER AWAY FROM ME!” she shrieked, “ GET THAT FOUL BEAST OUT OF MY SIGHT!”
    My hands trembled and pattered against my sides as I tried desperately to get my thoughts under control.
    What is happening to me?
     
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
    No. Stop.
    The sheets were tight and damp as they tangled around me, my legs kicking out into the empty air, defending. But I couldn’t defend myself, not here, not while laying prone in bed. Because it was all happening behind my eyelids, the images as jarring as entering the light of day after hiding in the dark pit of a cave…
    Trying to drown out the voices roaring in her head, she let the stream of water pound hard onto her back. The water was so hot she could barely stand it, but she forced herself to stay in the spray, to let it heat her skin so much she could practically feel her blood boiling underneath.
    The high temperature normally calmed her, relaxed her. But not tonight. Tonight, it only managed to suffocate her and provide the constant reminder that she was alive, even though her mind kept screaming at her that she was dead.
    Tilting her head back she let the rivulets slide down her face, the water slowly running down the planes of her cheekbones before nestling at the corners of her mouth. She tasted salt.
    Tears were mixing with the scorching dampness. She didn’t even bother to quiet the wrenching sob that echoed throughout the tiled bathroom.
    No longer able to stand on her own, her left hand grasped the slick wall and she leaned heavily against it, her breath short and laboured. Knees buckling, she tried to force herself to keep standing, but couldn’t do it. Falling on all fours and trembling, she curled up into a twisted ball, shivering violently despite the cloud of steam surrounding her.
    And that was how he found her.
    Clenching his hands hard at his sides, he looked down at her and