They exchange a small glance, before Hell pulls his hand from his jacket pocket and passes Noir a set of keys.
“Trailer 666,” Hell states, his voice devoid of any emotion.
Noir pulls her head back, her face morphing into horror, and Hell lets out a soft snicker.
“Sicko,” she mutters, followed by a frown, turning her nose up at him, but his amused grin doesn’t fade.
“You know what that attitude does to me, Noir,” Hell responds, his tone low but charged. “Keep going.”
Noir rolls her eyes dramatically before heading toward me. She leans down and grabs a bag at the bottom of the stairs. Hell gives me a nod, his eye lingering for a moment before Noir opens the door, and we both step out into the chilly night.
Chapter Four
“This is the one,”Noir chirps beside me as we approach a dark, secluded trailer nestled just beneath the edge of the woods.“You’re not too far from Blush, which makes me feel better.”
Something in her voice tugs at me and I stop, reaching for her arm, my fingers curling gently around her wrist. She turns to face me, eyes searching mine as I confront her.
“Look,”I say, my voice quieter now and much steadier than I feel.“I know you think I’m fragile. And I won’t lie, I feel that way tonight. But you don’t have to worry about me, Noir. I’ll be back to myself in no time.”
“And what’s your normal self, Ara?”She asks, tilting her head, eyes narrowing like she’s trying to decipher me.
I inhale deeply, my spine straightening, chin lifting.
“I’m just me. And trust me, I won’t take shit from any man, any place, ever again.”
A smirk creeps across her lips, devilish, cunning, but then, her expression changes, and she grips the tops of my arms, her hands firm, her face suddenly serious.
“Hell might kill me, not literally, but...”She sighs, hesitating before continuing.“Tomorrow, I need to warn you about some things. About this place. It’s not your usual cirque or carnival, Ara. It’s...”
“Horror.”I finish for her and her face falls. “I could smell it the second I walked into this place, Noir. It fucking reeks of it. And then that crazy dude? Wrath? He only confirmed it.”
“It’s horror, yeah, but it’s a bit more than that. It’sextreme,real-life horror. There’s a night here once a month called Dark Night… and it’s designed to push every fucking boundary you’ve got.”
I nod, her words sinking into me like stones in water, heavy beneath the fog of exhaustion.
When she releases my arms, I glance around the shadowed landscape while a rumble of thunder rolls in the distance, hinting a storm is looming.
“Well, maybe, just maybe, this is exactly where I need to be then.”
Her shoulders sag in relief before she slides an arm around mine, pulling me closer.
“It’s definitely taught me some things. Lesson and strength. But only in the best way,”she says as we move toward the trailer.“This place? It’s not normal. Not to the real world, and it sure as hell isn’t for the weak. It’ll chew you up if you allow it.”
She pauses, a far-off look in her eyes before her voice softens.
“Hell taught me a lot about myself. His way. And for that... I can’t thank him enough. I owe him everything. He saved me in more ways than just one.”
To be honest, I have a lot to thank Hell for too, and I will, but for some reason, my mind jumps to Wrath before I can stop it. The way he looked right through me as if he already knows me. The way he just threw me over his shoulder like he fucking owned me. I get the feeling he’s the only person here who could become a problem for me.
“And Wrath?” I question as we reach the short steps leading to the door and Noir pauses, shrugging a shoulder.
“Honestly? I don’t know much about him. All I do know is he’s mute… and possibly worse than Hell.”
I blink blankly at her.“Mute?” I echo.
She nods.“He doesn’t speak.”
The thought stills in my mind as she pushes the door open. I’ve never met a guy who doesn’t talk before. That makes things far more complicated. Or does it? After everything I’ve seen, after everything I’ve endured by the hands of men, I know exactly what they’re capable of. Time and time again, they’ve proven it. Their words, their promises, their fucking lies. To be honest, I’d be happy to never hear a man’s voice again.