The Psycho Is Innocent | ꪜ

Chapter 25: Unraveling His Inner Demons

A R I E L

SUNLIGHT STREAKED THROUGH the blinds and directly on my face, forcing me into a sitting position. I hadn't a second to collect my thoughts before the events of last night came rushing back as if they were waiting patiently till my defences were down. I cheated on Tobias and I can't exactly say I'm surprised that I did it. Though I was caught off guard, I could have pushed him off of me but instead, I kissed back. Larson was always right. I am tethered to Tobias to the point where I can't let him go.

I can't. I made a promise and I never go back on a promise no matter the hurdles thrown my way. Larson is another hurdle that I might have to get rid of if he continues stumbling in my way. What I need to do is stop giving him ammunition, but how can I when he's doing that all by himself? When I made it downstairs, Larson was stood before the stove, flipping what appeared to be eggs. I thought by the time I'd have gotten up he would be at school, but I guess he won't leave till he sees me off. "Good morning," I mumbled as I lowered myself down onto the stool.

Ignoring him will only make things worse. "Ariel," he mumbled as he turned the burner off. "I'm sorry. You didn't give me a chance to say how sorry I was last night. It was wrong of me to kiss you when you're with Tobias and clearly in an emotionally vulnerable state. All I saw was an opportunity and I took it. I treated you as if you were a prize to win and that was wrong. You told me to blame it on you but I can't. Regardless of if you kissed back, I initiated it. And god knows if you didn't pull away I wouldn't have stopped. I may hate Tobias but he didn't deserve that."

"I told you," I sighed as I lowered my head down onto the island table, "what's done is done. There's nothing to apologize for. You kissed me, I kissed back but we're still standing on our two feet, right? Tobias isn't freed, right? Nothing has changed because our lips touched. You're still my friend, yeah? Just–we just can't let that happen again. Okay?"

"How could you say that with a straight face? Aren't you afraid Tobias finds out? What happens when he does?" Why is he making this into a bigger deal than it really is? Does he think Tobias will murder me? I'd love to see him try, "Larson if it makes you feel any better I'll tell him myself. Granted that he's out of prison to hear it, okay? You know I wouldn't lie to you. To free your guilty conscience, I'll confess." Tobias is many things but I can't deny that he's a sweetheart. We've hurt each other many times, but never behind the other person's back.

Larson does not know the extent of Tobias' and I toxic relationship. I guess we have a lot of dedication towards one another but we didn't get to this point on a smooth sailed boat. We had many ups and downs, ones that should have sliced through the string keeping us tethered. But misery loves company and we came crawling back towards one another despite the fact that all we did was hurt each other. That's the reality of our relationship and it's also why I'm not as worried about kissing Larson. Knowing Tobias, he'll be fuming but eventually, he'll let it go as if it never happened.

"I'm craving pancakes, we should make pancakes." I ignored Larson's penetrating gaze and began to gather all the utensils that I needed. He just watched me in awe, possibly still trying to wonder why I was acting so nonchalant. "Are you helping or not?" He snapped out of his reverie and stumbled around the kitchen grabbing ingredients.

We worked side by side silently. I couldn't help but let my mind drift off to the times where I'd spend the afternoon over. We'd bake together and usually had the world to talk about but now things have changed. There's so much tension between us it's hard to breathe. I was once a simple girl with a simple boyfriend in a cliche but a simple relationship. Now I'm the girlfriend of a felon who's digging her way through something she had no business being involved in.