Except he was never caught for those murders.
“Ladies, this is Sibby,” Zade introduces tiredly, waving a hand at her before coming over to my side. I tense as he nears, splitting my attention between watching the space between Zade and me close while keeping an eye on the crazy girl.
The four men she murdered doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the number of people she’s killed. For five years, she stayed in that haunted fair and went on a spree. Whoever she deemed as evil was killed in very gruesome ways.
I’ve had enough experience with murderous girls, and I really, really don’t want any more.
She waves her hand animatedly at us, excitement twinkling in her brown eyes. Then she turns them to my house, slowly taking in Parsons Manor.
“Wow,” she breathes. “It’s creepy in here. This is so perfect.” Her head whips back to me, and I’m not proud of the not-so-subtle flinch. “I hope you don’t mind my henchmen and me staying for a bit,” she says.
“There’s more?” I ask Zade, turning to him with pinched brows. He sighs.
“Some people say they’re not real, but they are,” Sibel explains, not looking the least bit ashamed of admitting she sees people that others can’t see.
Zade meets my stare, a grin on his face.
“Sibby is crazy,” he says.
She stomps her foot, shooting a glare at him. “I’m not crazy, Zade. Just because you can’t see what I see, doesn’t mean
I’m the weird one.”
I cock my head, completely baffled at how she’s even here. Last I heard, she was locked up in a psych ward awaiting trial.
“She escaped,” Zade supplies, noting the confusion on my face.
“Oh,” I say, because I have no idea what the hell else to say.
“That’s… good?” Daya chips in, sounding wholly unsure if that is actually good.
Zade sighs for the millionth time. “Sibby is on the Most Wanted list. She took matters into her own hands-” Zade pauses to send a scathing look her way- “and broke out of the psych ward. Considering she took the fall for something we both did, I felt that it was only fair I gave her a place to stay.
Temporarily.
“
She nods once, as if Zade summed up her entire life story perfectly.
“I’m going to take her back to my place. I’m not expecting you to let her stay here-“
“But it’s so creepy here!” she exclaims, as if that’s a good reason to stay. And well… it kind of is.
“-so, I’ll be dropping her off soon. I just wanted you to properly meet her since I’m…” he trails off, glancing at her. “Stuck with her,” he decides, turning to look back at me. “I’m most definitely stuck with her.”
Sibel frowns, opening her mouth to say something, but Daya cuts in.
“Uh, wait a second, took matters into her own hands how
?” she questions, sending Sibel a suspicious look.
“I killed my therapist,” she answers, her smile dropping. “I didn’t want to kill her. She smelled like pine trees, so she wasn’t a demon. The first and last person I’ve ever hurt who wasn’t deserving, I promise.”
My mouth drops. “Zade,” I whisper, my discomfort growing. Sibel looks to me, noting my deepening fear.
“Please don’t be scared of me. You smell like the most wonderful flowers. I would never hurt you.”
“She’s not going to hurt you, baby,” Zade reassures quietly. I look up to meet his gaze, mismatched eyes full of sincerity.
“I would’ve discussed this with you first, if I had any idea this was going to happen,” he swears. “I was meeting up with Jay when the news broke that Sibby escaped. She happened to be hiding out in the area. Helicopters and shit everywhere. I went looking for her and found her trying to get into a sewer drain. It was a split-second decision.”
“Okay,” I say, offering a tight smile to let him know I’m not angry. Despite Sibel’s presence being a little disconcerting, I understand why Zade made that decision.
She took all the blame for what they both did, and she never ratted him out. That’s something very few people would do, especially when they owe you nothing. And that, I can respect the hell out of.
Sibel holds up a wicked, pink knife. “And he got my knife back! The police had it as a murder weapon, and Zade got it out for me.”
“She was literally losing her mind over it, and didn’t give me much choice,” he clarifies dryly.
She shrugs, content with having her knife back regardless of how it happened.
I stare at her and toss around an idea in my head, a little hesitant but deciding it’d be easier for Zade to only be in one place. He’s pretty much moved in with me, and it’s been oddly comforting. The selfish part of me doesn’t want to give that up.
“There’s plenty of room here. Sibel can stay.”
She yips loudly, bouncing on her toes and clapping her hands like a little girl. Her reaction makes me feel slightly better, only because it’s a little cute.
“My friends call me Sibby,” she says, and based on the eager look on her face, it seems like she’s hoping I’ll consider her as one.
“Or demon slayer,” Zade cuts in. She pins him with a sassy look in response.
“Okay, Sibby. Welcome… home.”
Her dark eyes snap back to me, pure delight radiating from them. A wide smile takes over her face, resuming her bouncing once again, and it eases my concern a little more.
“Addie, you don’t have to do that.”
I wave a hand. “It’s fine. She said she’s not going to hurt us, and if you trust her, that’s enough for me.”
He looks like he wants to kiss me, which makes me a little nervous, but he quickly smooths out his expression and offers me a simple, appreciative smile.
“The second you want her gone, she’s out. No questions asked.” While Sibby doesn’t look too thrilled to hear that based on how she stops bouncing and glares at him, Zade clearly gives no shits.
I nod, the last of my tension bleeding out.
“Sibby is already really good at fighting. Partly because she’s-“
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.