else
to hang me with. I needed to think of something fast, but I didn’t
know what to say.
Eric spoke over his shoulder. “Bring
her the oldest texts you have. She’ll want all four.” Then he
turned back to his desk. Casey looked at me for confirmation with
an eyebrow raised. I nodded, and she trotted off, down the aisles
of towering shelves.
I stepped closer to Eric, wanting to
ask him what he knew about Apryl’s death. All the information was
there in his head. The memories were trapped behind his eyes. All I
had to do was ask, but I couldn’t. I wanted to know what happened
to my sister, but I felt conflicted. Did I really want to know what
happened to her? What if I couldn’t handle it? Would it throw me
back into my past? I nearly lost it when Apryl died. It sent me on
a downward spiral that ended in a demon kiss. The pain of losing
her was too great. It left a gaping hole in my chest. The void was
not filled by sobbing, so I tried to fill it with other things.
Like boys. I was reckless, and made out with strangers to ease the
pain. But, it didn’t really work.
Nothing did.
That was what happened when I learned
of her death and I didn’t have all the details. Would finding out
the truth make it better or worse? And how was he connected? Did
Eric really use me that long? Was I so stupid that I couldn’t tell
who my real friends were? Yes, yes I was. The problem was that I
wanted to believe he was good, but such conflicting words and
actions confused me.
As I stepped toward him, the guards
pressed in around me, shielding Eric from me, like they were
protecting him. I looked at them with hostility flashing in my
eyes. “Move,” I commanded. But, they remained between Eric and me.
The guards didn’t do this to Shannon or Al. I didn’t expect them to
do it to Eric, but they did. Anger burned within me as I looked at
the guards. Being treated like a caged animal was making me act
like one. My fingers curled into fists, ready for a
fight.
Eric turned, and stood. His amber eyes
looked back and forth between the guards, taking in my expression
and stance. A crooked smile formed across his lips. Half laughing
he said to me, “This must be driving you nuts.” I locked my jaw,
staring at him. In a more serious voice, he turned to the guards
and said, “You can leave us.”
The two guards remained where they
were, and stole a glance at each other. One finally answered,
“Sorry, but we were commanded to remain between this person and all
other Martis; especially if she shows signs of
hostility.”
Eric laughed, and put his hand on the
guy’s shoulder. “I’m here to testify for her. She won’t hurt me.
I’m her ticket out of this place.” Eric’s smile was as genuine as
his words. He tilted his head waiting for the guard to respond,
still smiling. There was unspoken guy moment, and the guards
stepped back.
By then, my fists were balls, hidden
in the crook of my arms. I folded them so tightly over my chest
that they were turning white. I hated this place. Being treated
this way for so long was messing with me. It was making me want to
lash out at them. I didn’t think it was right to hate anyone. Live
and let live. Plus, hating people is a waste of time, but I was
feeling the hate right then—for all of them. I wanted to scream,
but I locked my jaw instead.
Eric’s smile faded as the guards
backed away to their normal positions, flanking me from a distance.
“How long have they held you here?”
My eye twitched when I answered,
“Almost three months.” I bit off the words. I sounded bitter,
because I was. Three months of searching for a way to help Collin
and finding nothing. Three months of hostile stares. Three months
of tears no one saw me cry. It was the loneliest, most enraged time
of my life. And now the guy that killed my sister was standing in
front of me like everything was fine.
But it wasn’t.
His eyes widened a little, before he
turned back to his desk, and kicked out the chair
to hang me with. I needed to think of something fast, but I didn’t
know what to say.
Eric spoke over his shoulder. “Bring
her the oldest texts you have. She’ll want all four.” Then he
turned back to his desk. Casey looked at me for confirmation with
an eyebrow raised. I nodded, and she trotted off, down the aisles
of towering shelves.
I stepped closer to Eric, wanting to
ask him what he knew about Apryl’s death. All the information was
there in his head. The memories were trapped behind his eyes. All I
had to do was ask, but I couldn’t. I wanted to know what happened
to my sister, but I felt conflicted. Did I really want to know what
happened to her? What if I couldn’t handle it? Would it throw me
back into my past? I nearly lost it when Apryl died. It sent me on
a downward spiral that ended in a demon kiss. The pain of losing
her was too great. It left a gaping hole in my chest. The void was
not filled by sobbing, so I tried to fill it with other things.
Like boys. I was reckless, and made out with strangers to ease the
pain. But, it didn’t really work.
Nothing did.
That was what happened when I learned
of her death and I didn’t have all the details. Would finding out
the truth make it better or worse? And how was he connected? Did
Eric really use me that long? Was I so stupid that I couldn’t tell
who my real friends were? Yes, yes I was. The problem was that I
wanted to believe he was good, but such conflicting words and
actions confused me.
As I stepped toward him, the guards
pressed in around me, shielding Eric from me, like they were
protecting him. I looked at them with hostility flashing in my
eyes. “Move,” I commanded. But, they remained between Eric and me.
The guards didn’t do this to Shannon or Al. I didn’t expect them to
do it to Eric, but they did. Anger burned within me as I looked at
the guards. Being treated like a caged animal was making me act
like one. My fingers curled into fists, ready for a
fight.
Eric turned, and stood. His amber eyes
looked back and forth between the guards, taking in my expression
and stance. A crooked smile formed across his lips. Half laughing
he said to me, “This must be driving you nuts.” I locked my jaw,
staring at him. In a more serious voice, he turned to the guards
and said, “You can leave us.”
The two guards remained where they
were, and stole a glance at each other. One finally answered,
“Sorry, but we were commanded to remain between this person and all
other Martis; especially if she shows signs of
hostility.”
Eric laughed, and put his hand on the
guy’s shoulder. “I’m here to testify for her. She won’t hurt me.
I’m her ticket out of this place.” Eric’s smile was as genuine as
his words. He tilted his head waiting for the guard to respond,
still smiling. There was unspoken guy moment, and the guards
stepped back.
By then, my fists were balls, hidden
in the crook of my arms. I folded them so tightly over my chest
that they were turning white. I hated this place. Being treated
this way for so long was messing with me. It was making me want to
lash out at them. I didn’t think it was right to hate anyone. Live
and let live. Plus, hating people is a waste of time, but I was
feeling the hate right then—for all of them. I wanted to scream,
but I locked my jaw instead.
Eric’s smile faded as the guards
backed away to their normal positions, flanking me from a distance.
“How long have they held you here?”
My eye twitched when I answered,
“Almost three months.” I bit off the words. I sounded bitter,
because I was. Three months of searching for a way to help Collin
and finding nothing. Three months of hostile stares. Three months
of tears no one saw me cry. It was the loneliest, most enraged time
of my life. And now the guy that killed my sister was standing in
front of me like everything was fine.
But it wasn’t.
His eyes widened a little, before he
turned back to his desk, and kicked out the chair
Similar Books
