Caged in Darkness by J. D. Stroube Page A

awkwardly and went back to sit at the table.
    I didn’t know what was wrong with my body,
but I felt warm. My spine was tingling from when he had kissed my
nape, and my chest felt weighted down.
    I vaguely wondered what Ash had meant to get
from the kitchen, as I moved to sit across from him at the wobbly
table. Before I could ask, Maye entered in her normal bubbly
mood.
    “Morning!” She stopped at the counter and
poured her morning cup of coffee, took a testing sip, while gazing
at us over the rim of the mug. “Did I interrupt something?” Her
eyebrow arched in a way that always reminded me of Ash.
    Ash quickly responded, “Nope.” He shoved the
last bite of Frosted Flakes into his mouth and moved to bring his
empty bowl to the kitchen sink.
    I grabbed an apple, from the bowl of fresh
fruit Ash placed on the table earlier and watched as he leaned back
against the sink behind Maye.
    “What were you two chatting about then? The
room feels positively frigid.” She feigned a shiver.
    “I believe we were talking about how I am a
klutz and Ash is bull headed, or something like that.” I jumped up
from the table and walked to the dining room side of the counter. I
looked at Ash innocently, expecting him to comment, but he didn’t.
Instead, he looked away and began to leave.
    I frowned at his back, but he stopped in the
veil between the kitchen and the hallway leading to the front of
the house. He looked over his shoulder and said, “I promised
Griffin I’d meet up with him and I’m already late. See ya later.”
Ash then looked me directly in the eyes and disappeared into the
hallway.
    “Bye!” Maye and I shouted in sync.
    “What was that about?” I asked Maye, though
I don’t know why I thought she would have the answer.
    “You tell me. I wasn’t the one in here
talking to him. Did you sleep well?”
    “At first, no. Later I did though.” I
polished off my apple and addressed the elephant in the room. “What
time are we leaving?”
    Maye paused between sips. “We are going to
leave as soon as I finish my cup of coffee. Be a dear and fetch my
shoes. The black flats with the little swirls on the side.”
    I headed to the room in search of her flats.
While sorting through the debris of shoes tossed haphazardly into a
pile at the back of Maye’s closest, I came across an album.
    On the cover of the album was the name
“Cross”, which was my line. I opened the album to the first page to
find a family tree, which dated back to the original members. When
I continued to turn, the family tree was replaced by drawings, then
portraits, and eventually pictures of people. I grabbed the album
and the shoes.
    After placing the album beneath the covers
of my bed, I jogged downstairs to greet Maye. She was waiting at
the door with her car keys in her hand and a large tote over her
shoulder.
    “Good, you found them!” She beamed and sat
to place the shoes on her feet.
    Our ride to my parents’ estate was riddled
with silence. Too many emotions overwhelmed me and Maye seemed
tense. It wasn’t long before we pulled up in front of the house. I
sat still in the seat after the car went silent and built the
courage to go inside.
     
    Ash
     
    I climbed into my SUV, but didn’t put the
car in drive. I looked out the windshield at my house. When
Savannah fell against me it had been difficult to pull away. Our
noses touched and I felt a pounding need to close the space between
our lips. I wanted to taste her.
    I shook my head; trying to wipe the thoughts
from my mind. When she first came to live with us, I was protective
of her, but over the years we had become closer. She began to
eclipse everything in my world, which is why I needed to stop these
kinds of thoughts.
    Last night, I woke to Savannah’s nightly
screaming, but it was worse than usual. In response, I tried to
quiet her. She had been in a deep, fitful sleep and remained
unaware of my presence when I slipped into her room.
    Careful not to wake her, I eased