Cassie is self-sabotaging, a dry sense of humour, a sultry melody, a sarcastic remark. She's a dead gaze, smudged eyeliner, a garden of withering red tulips, and... an addict. 

Etienne is indecisive, anxious, classically handsome, a teller of great stories. He's a smile that doesn't reach the eyes, a lit cigarette, an alternative rock song, and a bad friend.  

It all started when they were only six years old. And it hasn't stopped. It keeps happening. They weave in and out of each other's lives, with their strange connection to blame. Their bond is both strengthened and weakened by their shared traumas. Their relationship is a ballad about codependency and the electricity of first love. 

Their lives are an unmanageable mess that sees them dwell in the world of drugs, depression, and the multitude of young women being found dead in the Merseyside Area. They each must confront their faith in second chances, fate, and circumstance. 

                                                         ― ― ― ― ― 

 And he's somewhere in the middle. But you can also find him at the beginning, and he'll be waiting for you by the end. He's everywhere. He is good with ropes, great at sketching, addicted to pornographic content. He hates his wife, hates his son, knows how to avoid leaving fingerprints on his victims.

ON MOUNT EVEREST WITH YOU.

HE enters his home quietly. In the back of his body, he feels the weight of his irritation. A prisoner he has to carry. A burden that does not reach the surface, does not interfere with his facade. 


 His shift at work had finally concluded. Eight long hours gone to waste. He is supposed to be the boss and yet he fails to feel the gratification that normally comes with such power. Because this is limited power. Because it does not even create a dent on the surface of what really matters. He continues to take orders from others on a regular basis. Others who do not possess his level of intelligence, his innate ability to take command. How insulting. How degrading. 


Chapter Twenty.