Dead End: Midnight Hollow by Penn Cassidy (free novel 24 TXT) 📗

now, Jason, but you need to get your hands off of me. Stop blaming me for everything.” I struggled once more to get free of him. “I had a choice to leave you dead or alive, and I don’t care what you think about it. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I’m glad I fucking did it!”

He squeezed his eyes shut as he ground his molars together, and it wasn’t just anger I saw on his face. It was also a sort of bone deep pain. If I could reverse time, I would do it all over again, because the memory of them lying there cold and sightless would play in my mind for years to come. I couldn’t go through that pain again, and I wouldn’t let it happen on my watch. I saved them, and they could hate me for it all they wanted.

“I had plans, you know,” he whispered, face sobering. “Plans that didn’t involve getting stuck in a town full of nightmares. And you were never supposed to get hurt.” His voice was so quiet, I could hear the creaks and groans of the old manor over each word. It was like he didn’t want to say it, but this moment was real and raw.

“I’m not in danger, babe,” I said with a small smile, breezing past the endearment. “And I’m not hurt. I have everything I could possibly need right here.” I didn’t mean to spill my guts right now, but watching the bone deep worry flicker in his eyes had it all spilling out.

Taking a chance, I hesitantly lifted my hand and stroked over his short five o’clock shadow, the bristles tickling my fingertips as he leaned into my touch. It suddenly felt like old times, where we could just be. Tears pricked my eyes, but I fought them. I wanted to savor this moment—just him and I, without all the hatred and memories.

“You don’t understand,” he breathed wearily, shaking his head. “This wasn’t just some freak accident. Can’t you feel that? Someone or something caused our bus to crash on Halloween night, at midnight exactly. It’s too much of a damn coincidence!”

He shoved up on his forearms, holding himself over me. I stared up into his eyes, but drew back, hissing a breath through my teeth. Those weren’t Jason’s eyes anymore, not the stomy greys I knew. They were bright yellow and slitted like cat’s eyes. He stared down at me without blinking, observing my every heavy breath.

“Jason?” I asked shakily, afraid to move or even exhale. “Jason, what’s going on?”

His whole body started trembling and shaking, while his head whipped left and right rapidly. He was only a blur, almost to the point that I couldn’t see his features at all anymore. I tried to scream, but it was like my voice was stuck in my throat. I just watched him with wide eyes as he spazzed out, wondering if I needed to punch him or hit him over the head with the candlestick by my bed.

He stopped moving in an instant, chucking darkly, making my skin crawl with unease. He looked like himself, but didn’t. A completely transformed Jason was gazing down at me. Two small, black horns grew from his forehead at his hairline, and his wide lips stretched into a devious grin that I’d never seen on him before. As if that wasn’t enough, my eyes bugged nearly out of my head as a forked tongue slithered out and…licked my cheek.

“My, my, you are divine.” Jason clicked his tongue seductively. “I can see why your man can’t stop thinking about you.”

I watched in stunned silence as Jason’s lips moved, but a British accent came out instead. He still sounded like him, but again, didn’t at the same time. What the fuck was going on?!

My hand had a mind of its own as I drew back and swung until the slap echoed off his cheek and my bedroom walls. Laughing yellow eyes started down at me in amusement. He was utterly unfazed by the admittedly hard slap. A part of me felt guilty, but then again, he did look like Satan right now.

I slipped out from between his body and the bed and kept my back towards the wall, my hand reaching behind me for the doorknob. I was so out of here.

“Where are you going, beautiful? Let’s have a chat, yeah?” he purred, gracefully moving his big body off the bed. A little too gracefully for a basketball player his size, all six foot four of pure muscle.

My back hit the wooden part of the door as I fumbled for the handle, but he moved fast, so inhumanly fast, his body was covering mine before I could stop him.

It’s not Jason. Ignore the hot demon. Ignore the muscles rubbing against your body like a slip and slide. Snap the fuck out of it, October!

“Wha-what do you want?” I squeaked out, hating to show any sign of weakness. But hello, a freaking demon took over my enemy's sexy body! If anyone was going to take over Jason’s body, it was gonna be me!

Wow, where did that come from?

“Just a tiny favor, luv. First, tell lover boy his new roommate is real. No, he’s not losing his mind, and yes, he should really listen to me when I’m talking. I’ve been telling him for over two hours to wake you with a kiss, then ravish that delectable body, but nope. He had to argue with himself, something about morals and such. Anywho, name’s Damon. I’m his familiar. This is going to be so much fun. More entertaining than Hell, that’s for sure.” He grinned knowingly at my blank stare.

Honestly at this point, nothing should surprise me, but the fact that Jason was possessed by an actual demon, whose name was Damon, really did a number on me. Christ…

Oh my god…can I even say the word ‘Christ’ in his presence? Will he poof away into smoke and ashes if I