Friends

As soon as I stepped out of Aeliana's room, I felt an irritating itch under my skin, like I needed to punch something or set something on fire. "Let's be friends." The words echoed in my head, twisting into something that made my blood boil.

Friends. What the hell did that even mean? I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it, but all I could do was clench my fists until my knuckles went white.

Friends. Sure. Like I needed more friends. Especially ones I wanted to pin against the nearest wall and fuck until she couldn't remember her own name. The thought was as natural as breathing, and that was the problem.

Aeliana had no clue what she was asking for when she said that. Friends. It was like a joke, some cosmic prank, and I was the punchline.