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