The room was filled with her personality. A cozy pink bed, books, fashion sketches, and pictures of SpongeBob. That odd little cartoon…
He walked farther in, his gaze landing on the bed as he recalled their moments together-how he’d held her close and slept soundly beside her. He rarely slept well, but with her, it was different.
He exhaled. He shouldn’t be here. As he turned to leave, something dropped behind him. He looked back at the big brown book, open on the floor.
He went to pick it up, frowning as he read a line.
“Dear diary, Klaus hurt me again’
He glanced at the book’s hard cover. Her diary. Curiosity gnawed at him. What secrets did it hold? No, he shouldn’t invade her privacy-she’d warned him herself.
He set it down and walked to the threshold. But after a moment, he turned back and picked it up again.
He sat on her bed and started reading.
Each page only made his eyes grow wider.
Ava was starting to doze off when the front door suddenly slammed shut. Her eyes shot open, looking around the living room.
She heard the rain outside and thought it might have been thunder.
Rubbing her eyes, she locked the door and went to her room to sleep.
___
[Morticia’s dorm]
“Come on, Valerie, tell us more about yourself,” Rhea pleaded, while Morticia only smiled.
Rhea and Valerie’s presence was lifting Morticia’s spirits, distracting her from thoughts of Klaus. After she’d told them what happened, they’d decided to spend time with her, making her promise not to cry.
Valerie scratched her head, regretting that she’d agreed to talk about herself. But since it would keep Morticia from hiding away and crying, she had no choice.
“Fine, ask me anything,” Valerie gave in. “And I’ll answer.”
Rhea grinned and nudged Morticia. “Ask her.”
Morticia smirked. “You know what I’m going to ask.”
“What?”
“What happened between you and Sienna? Why do you hate her so much?” Morticia asked. Valerie’s face turned a bit sour, and the girls thought she might ignore the question, like she usually did. But…
“Okay, I’ll tell you,” Valerie said, and Morticia and Rhea glanced at each other, sitting up like kids ready for a bedtime story.
“Sienna and I used to be close. So close that people even called us twins. We ate from the same plate, went everywhere together, slept in the same room… She was the first to know about my first boyfriend, Zade. A guy I loved so much, I thought about him all night. We smoked, drank, had sex, hit different bands together, cuddled, sang on stage together. We were like two souls that couldn’t be separated.”
Morticia was stunned. Valerie had fallen in love before? It was surprising, even to Rhea, who still found it fascinating.
Valerie continued, “It was my birthday, and some of my relatives, friends, Zade, and my sister threw a party for me. I was so happy because no one had ever done that… but Zade did…”
She paused, taking a deep breath. “That night, we were all drunk, bottles, cigarettes, and paint strewn all over the floor. I woke up in the middle of the night, needing the bathroom. As I walked down the hall, I heard moans. Moans I could recognize.”
She clenched her fists. “I thought it was just the alcohol, so I decided to check. The sound got louder as I walked down the small hall toward the room…” Valerie paused for what seems like forever, her expression tense. “I pushed the door open and found my sister bouncing on Zade’s cock naked… I could still hear the sounds, the sight of Zade burying his face against her as she let out those moans.”
The color drained from Morticia’s face, and she looked at Valerie in shock, mirroring Rhea’s expression.
“They both blamed it on the alcohol. But I wasn’t going to accept that… I almost lost my sanity,” Valerie smiled bitterly.
“Bunnie!!!”
A yell came from outside, barely audible over the rain. The trio glanced at the door, frowning.
“Bunnie!!!” The yell came again.
“Klaus?” Morticia jumped up, staggering out of the room. Without thinking, she ran into the rain and saw Klaus standing some distance away.
His chest was heaving, his clothes soaked as he locked eyes with her. He raised a book wrapped in a transparent cover and held it up. Her eyes widened.
Her diary.
“How did you…”
Her words were cut short as Klaus strode fast toward her. The world seemed to slow down as he closed the distance, pulling her into a tight hug. Morticia froze.
“I didn’t know,” he said, his voice barely audible in the pouring rain. “I had no idea how much I was hurting you. I can’t bear the thought of you walking out of my life. I’ve been a blind, selfish idiot, Bunnie, and I’m sorry.”
Morticia’s eyes filled with tears, not from the rain but from the weight of his words.
He hugged her tighter.
“I’m a monster to everyone else, but with you… I want to be something more. Something better…. I want to good for you”