Insatiable （The Edge of Darkness, #1）
Leigh Rivers
DEDICATION
For the good girls who like to dance in the dark while being watched by the devil.
PROLOGUE
KADE
SIX YEARS AGO
Ifucking hate people.
Especially parties.
It might be my fifteenth, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to participate in the celebration like my twin sister keeps insisting. I don’t like the attention or being around groups in general.
Mum told me we could have a joint party; we’ve been doing it this way for years. But fuck that – I hate it. And if I hear the song “Single Ladies” one more time, I will lose my shit. Most of the people here are fourteen still and have a crush on anime characters, for fuck’s sake.
I had to escape to my room like I always do.
Locking my room door is mandatory, because sack having any of them tell my mum I’m smoking out on my balcony. Ewan, my stepfather, caught me last week while having a draw in the pool house and said if I did it again, he’d tell her.
No one wants that woman yelling at them, scary bastard that she is.
I like my privacy, my own space where I’m unbothered. I have my key jammed in the hole, the latch on and a chair against the door. No chances of anyone ruining my peace.
I’d rather fill my lungs with smoke.
It makes me feel weird, to be honest. People might think it’s great to be the centre of attention when they walk into a room, but I can’t stand it. I’d rather be invisible. I’d rather no one knew who I was, or my family history, or do everything they can to talk to me.
They don’t want to know who I am, not really.
You’d think living in one of the largest manors in the west of Scotland, they’d struggle to find my room, my wing, but unfortunately, they have, and if one more person knocks my door, I’ll put a cig out in their eye.
I should go to the party before Mum or Ewan can bang on the door and give me shit, but I can’t seem to move from the balcony.
Because I’m preoccupied.
She has no idea I’m watching her.
Away from the rest, away from the party, a girl with long dark hair, wearing a little black dress, sits on the edge of the pool with her feet in the water .
Something about her intrigues me, so I keep my eyes on her.
I like to watch people from afar. I’ll study the way they act, their facial expressions and body language in certain situations, the tones of their voices. I intentionally make people uncomfortable just to see their reactions. My teachers are forever complaining to my parents.
Mum tells me to stop it, but it’s a great way to pass time and try to understand things that don’t come naturally to me.
I tilt my head to the side and stare at the girl with intense fascination.
Why is she not at the party? And who the fuck is she? I’ve never seen her before.
I can’t stop looking at her – I don’t want to stop – unable to tear my gaze away as she stares at the starry sky. She must be cold, surely. September is nothing short of fucking Baltic.
Maybe I should take her down my hoodie and…
What? Shut the fuck up, Kade.
I stub out my smoke then toss it into the ashtray hidden under my balcony ledge, keeping my eyes on the mystery girl while I shove on my trainers.
Mum will come for me at any moment for the birthday cake. I waft the smell of cigarettes from my room and cover it up with air freshener.
My phone dings in my pocket, and I quickly pull it out while I brush my teeth. The group chat I have with my two best friends pops up. Dez is pissed he isn’t here. And Base asks if I want to go to a real party followed by Russian words I don’t understand.
Before I can reply with a yes, I hear footsteps .
My shoulders slump. Here we go.
“Kade!” Mum bellows from the other side of my door.
I roll my eyes, place my toothbrush back in the holder and switch my phone screen off.
“Are you in there?”
I kick aside the chair and pull the latch. “Yep.”
When I swing it open, I’m met with her scowling at me, arms crossed, tapping her foot on the ground. She’s smaller than me, with blonde hair that’s nothing like my dark. Similar eyes, blue and sleepy, but hers are glaring at me while I look at her, giving her a bored expression.
“Were you smoking again? I can smell it from the stairs.”
“No,” I lie, dodging her and making my way down the spiral staircase my stepdad Ewan designed for me.
“Your sister was looking for you. You missed the cake.”
I pull up my hood and tighten the strings, burying my hands into the front pocket as I grunt. Luciella has always been the golden child, the favourite, the one who doesn’t give my mum and Ewan any problems. They both worship the ground she walks on. I get it. I’m not like them. I’m not like my twin sister.
Luciella would never be caught smoking or drinking at the age of thirteen, and definitely wouldn’t be brought home by the police after punching an officer.
He deserved it.
I’m sure everyone sees me as the bad kid. The one the family dreads when they get together. I used to give a fuck and attempt to fit in, but now I prefer my own company – the loner. They keep their distance, and so do I .
Mum does try though, probably too much.
She thinks I didn’t hear her crying to my dad over the phone about my “mood swings”， begging him to help her deal with their “unfeeling” teenage son. But I’m not a completely emotionless robot. I care about Dez and Base, and, when she isn’t a pain in my ass, Luciella. I just don’t see the point in following stupid rules or talking about feelings I don’t really get.
There’s nothing wrong with who I am. Even Dad tells me I’m special and never to take offence at how others view me.
He’s probably the only person on earth who truly understands me, yet he lives thousands of miles away in a mental institution – he’s committed numerous crimes and is deemed too dangerous to live amongst the public.
It’s pretty fucking promising for me that he remembers feeling the same way I do.
The famous Tobias Mitchell, American psychopath. The insane killer who took over every news channel in the world. He’s labelled as ruthless and unpredictable. Dangerous. A threat to life. Yet, when we visit the institution, he’s a caring dad who wants to know everything that’s going on in our lives. He tries to be involved as much as he can and looks at my mum like she’s the only woman in the world, full of complete adoration.
Even though he tried to kill her.
Yep. He can keep his crazy; I have my own.
My stepdad has been in my life since birth and does what he can. He takes me for boxing lessons in an attempt at some father–son bonding, like he did with my stepbrother Jason. But he’s grown up now and has his own life, so it seems Ewan has moved on to me .
I finish pouring a drink of juice and walk around the table.
Some of my sister’s friends are giggling, whispering between them while openly watching me, and it makes me uncomfortable. The mystery girl by the pool isn’t here though.
Not that I’m looking.
I make a quick escape by pushing through the crowd and going out onto the grounds. The glow from the spotlights leads the way to the pool house.
When I reach the end of the path, I glance over my shoulder to make sure no one has followed me before continuing. The ripples from the water reflect on the glass door of the pool house, and I lean against it, pulling out a cigarette.