Into the Stars (USC Series Book #2)

chapter eleven

INTO THE STARS
———
MALACHI

Thankful doesn't begin to describe what I feel right now. Look, I love Winona and Troy but sometimes, on days like today, I just need my space. Today I just know they would spend the day with their noses stuck in photo albums, tearing up at the bittersweet memories they still have.

Lucky for them, they don't have the memories I do. The police gave them a rundown on what had happened to her, but they didn't see it. They didn't see what I saw. They only experienced the aftermath.

Today marks ten years. Fucking mind-blowing how time works. I relive that day almost daily through the monsters in my head, yet it has been ten years since I experienced it.

I don't want to think too much about it. The lack of sleep is already haunting me and I hope to God I don't have another hallucination. They are fucking terrifying and I have been trying to stop them from occurring by forcing myself to sleep, but alas, no luck.

The entire night I have been awake, attempting to fall asleep to no prevail. It was snowing all night, and I spent a solid two hours sitting in the freezing cold, staring as the snowflakes fluttered to the ground. It was boring at first, but I grew accustomed to it after about fifteen minutes, finding the slow fall of each individual snowflake soothing.

I heard every person wake up this morning and make their way downstairs. After I had grown tired of the frigid air that I am sure could've turned me into an icicle if I stayed out there long enough, I came inside, explored the cabin a little more until I found somewhere to sit and question my life a little more.

I do admit, this house is stunning and there are so many places tucked away, out of sight, I have yet to discover.

During my little exploration last night, I found a greenhouse on the left side of the house, on the opposite side from all the bedrooms and living areas. It was peaceful in there. Sitting in there, listening to music as I watched the sunrise over the mountains in the distance, was captivating.

It didn't take long for that peacefulness to dissipate as my roommates came downstairs and the house grew nosier and nosier with each well-rested person.

Now, with the fireplace crackling with flames and the TV playing some of the most boring shit I have ever seen, I do some research online. I really hope they have a tattoo parlor nearby or else everything I have scheduled for the day will go to shit.

Everyone else is spending today on the mountain, either snowboarding or skiing. I think Brooklynn is the only one who doesn't know how to ski or snowboard, so I think Aidan is going to teach her the basics today and go from there.

They extended an invitation to me, but my plans for today should be prioritized.

Since attending USC, I have told no one about my past. None of my roommates knows and neither do my friends from my old town.

Word traveled fast in my childhood town, so by the next morning after everything went down, the whole town knew and was talking about it. I hated that. I didn't need everyone to know what happened and what Kohen and I were enduring, what I witnessed. The police team was shit, though, and didn't give a single fuck to what Kohen and I needed. We were children and didn't get to have a say in their investigation. And the citizens were gossip-crazed, taking any piece of information released and spinning it into a web of lies.

I got my escape from that town, but not into a much better one.

Finally, after a thorough search, I find one trustworthy website that gives me the location of the nearest tattoo parlor. Making my way upstairs, I get dressed and leave the house before anyone can question me about anything.