The last bit of blood remained in his mouth when he lay the woman on the ground. Almost tenderly, he closed her wide-open eyes. She didn’t have to suffer anymore.
Brenik took off in a rush to get back home to the painting. Throwing open the door, he hurried inside while the blood stayed in his mouth and mixed with his saliva.
Above the dresser, the painting, as usual, seemed to be studying him. Avoiding its gaze, he spat the blood into the palm of his hand and pressed the red liquid onto the picture. He watched as the portrait drank it away.
A shift in him happened immediately, and he felt as if he was being sewn back together with pieces he didn’t know were already separating—everything tightening back into place.
Running his clean fingertip against the outline of his face in the painting, Brenik then turned to the mirror. He moved his eyes back and forth, more and more infatuated with the image of himself.
Brenik had to turn away from the reflection as he became more and more hypnotized. There was now a way that made it possible for him to feed and not feel completely haunted. Collapsing onto the floor, he pushed his back up to the dresser and closed his eyes. At that moment, Brenik knew he was losing parts of himself.
16
Bray
Over the past week, Bray had spent most of her time writing in one of Wes’s spare spiral notebooks. When the boys were at work and school, she would read but found she enjoyed writing, too.
She had started working on a story for kids around Luca’s age with fantastical creatures that existed on Laith. Not that anyone would have to know about that, except for the three of them—and Brenik.
Brenik still hadn’t returned, and she was beginning to get worried. What if he never came back?
The doorknob turned while Bray was in the middle of her reverie, and she thought for a moment that it was Brenik. But it was only Luca.
She gave him a warm smile. “Hey, Luca. How was your day?”
Tossing his backpack beside the doorframe, Luca shut the door. “It was awesome. Miss Alvi said the whole class did such an excellent job on their tests, that we got to have a movie and popcorn party at the end of the day.”
“Cool! What movie did you watch?” Bray asked as she folded one of the pages over in her notebook.
“FernGully.” He smiled deviously.
She blinked. “Don’t even say it.”
“Crysta definitely looks like you if you were to cut your hair off.”
“Too bad her wings are clear and a completely different shape.” They looked nothing like Bray’s.
“Still, a very close resemblance.” Luca laughed as he headed for the fridge and poured himself a glass of milk—drinking it in only a few gulps.
Bray closed her spiral notebook and set her pen on top. She would work on her story tomorrow. Tossing her braid over her shoulder, she met Luca in the kitchen.
“What time are you going to your friend’s house?” she asked.
Luca was already on his second cup of milk, finishing it up. “Right now. You want to walk with me?”
“Okay.”
The night before, Luca had begged Wes to let him stay the night at Kyle’s house. Wes said no way at first, since it was a school night. But Kyle’s mom guaranteed the boys would be in bed by nine and she’d take them to school in the morning. He ended up giving in to Luca and telling him just this one time.
“Let me go get my bag for the night,” Luca said, starting for his room.
“Wes wanted me to make sure you finished your homework before you left. Do you have any?” Bray yelled down the hall.
Luca rounded the corner with his overstuffed bag. Bray wasn’t sure what he had in there since he was only going to be staying at Kyle’s for one night, but she let him do as he pleased.
“I didn’t have any today since I finished all my math questions in class.” Luca snapped both of his fingers, extra proud of himself.
“Great. Let’s go.”
When they stepped outside, a slight breeze ruffled Luca’s hair. Kyle’s house was only seven down from theirs, so it wouldn’t take long to walk him.
“What are you going to do with me gone for the night?” Luca asked.
“Probably watch one of your movies.” There were still a lot of them she hadn’t seen.
“FernGully?” He waggled his eyebrows.
Bray tapped the tip of his freckled nose. “No, not that one. I want to watch a movie I haven’t seen.”
“Maybe a scary one, so you can tell Wes to hold you tight.” Luca wrapped his arms around himself in a pretend hug.
Bray threw her head back and laughed. “Whatever, I can hold my own self tight. And I don’t get scared during movies.”
He shut one eye and stared up at the bright blue sky, scrunching up his face. “I’ll think of a good one to watch this weekend, and I’ll bet you a hundred bucks it’ll scare you.”
“I don’t have any money, and I am sure you don’t have a hundred bucks either.”
Luca rubbed at his chin for a moment. “Chores. If I win, you can do my chores.”
“And if I win, you can read me a really long story.” She would be reading her own story to herself while he was gone.
“Deal.” He stuck out his hand, and she shook it.
They stepped onto the beginning of Kyle’s driveway. “Have a good night, little beast.”
“See you tomorrow, Bray.” Smiling, Luca turned and headed for his friend’s door.
Bray waited until a boy with red hair, who must have been Kyle, answered. Waving goodbye to them, Bray walked back home and headed through the gate to her tree. She climbed the branches to check inside in case Brenik may have popped up. Her stomach sank when she realized nothing had changed—he wasn’t home.
Plucking a plump peach, she climbed back down the branches and brought the fruit to her mouth. Right as she swallowed her first bite, she heard the engine of Wes’s work truck pull into the driveway.
She ducked down behind the gate, chewing more of the peach as she waited for Wes to approach. The pounding of his shoes tapped against the pavement as his steps drew closer.
“Surprise!” she yelled as she leaped from behind the gate and threw her arms up, waving them side to side.
“Jesus Christ, Bray. Seriously,” Wes hissed, taking a step back with a hand covering his forehead.
“I promise I won’t do it anymore.” She smiled and put her hand against her chest, where her heart was buried beneath.
Wes stared at her hand, looking unimpressed. “Are you trying to do the pledge of allegiance? Besides, you told me that yesterday.” Indeed, she had said that when she sprung out at him in the hallway the night before.
“I am serious this time.” She meant it at that moment, but her mind could change.
“Uh huh. I’ll believe it when I see it.” He smiled and strode for the front door.
Closing the gate, Bray followed behind him. “Luca already went over to Kyle’s house. He had already finished all his homework at school.”
“Good. Thanks for checking with him on that. Hopefully, they actually go to bed when Kyle’s mom tells them to. But I have a feeling they’ll try to stay up late. It’s something I would do.”
She was pretty sure Luca and Kyle would probably try to play video games with the sound of the TV on mute.
“I don’t mind at all. It’s the least I could do for you after allowing me to stay in the house,” Bray said.
He paused to look at her after opening the door, appearing almost grateful. “You’ve really helped me out. You keep the house clean, even though I don’t ask you to. So, now I don’t have to hire a maid. Really, it’s like I’m saving money.” He crinkled his nose and looked a little scared for a moment. “You know you don’t have to do that stuff, right?”
Bray liked doing it, though. Especially when she could blast the music from Wes’s stereo. “I know, but I want to.” She smiled.
“Let me hurry and take a shower before I contaminate any o
f your freshly cleaned floors.” He grinned.
Bray reached for her notebook and plotted some more ideas out. She was in the middle of making a list of character names, when she heard the shower turn on and the clank of feet entering the ceramic tub.
Something about being in the house while Wes was showering felt different than usual. He didn’t have any clothes on. Of course he doesn’t have clothes on, she thought. He’s in the shower!
Usually when Wes got home and bathed, Luca was already there, or she was outside and not focused on what he was doing. This was Wes she was thinking about. Yes, he was beautiful. She had been aware of his good looks since the first time she spotted him from the tree. I have to stop, she thought.
Going outside to get some fresh air helped clear her head. There was a splash that swished in the direction of the birdbath. A blackbird was happily flapping its feathered wings in the clear water—she had changed it out earlier.
After trying to distract herself for what had to have been enough time, Bray went back inside, finding Wes in the kitchen preparing a frozen pizza.
He wore his usual fitted black t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts, his wet hair curling on the ends.
Wes glanced at her as he placed the pepperoni pizza on a pan. “Hungry?”
She stared at the pizza with longing. “I’m famished.”
“Can you survive twenty-five minutes?” he asked.
“Maybe? How will you keep me entertained?”
“Possibly music or a movie,” Wes answered, placing the pizza in the oven and setting the timer.
Bray went into the living room and pulled out Wes’s huge CD case from the shelf beside the TV. She had listened to a lot of the albums while he was gone, but she hadn’t made it through everything.
So far, the Cure and the Smashing Pumpkins were her two favorites. Ruth had mostly listened to the oldies, so Bray had to catch up on music from the past couple of decades.
Wes perched down beside her on the floor and watched her flip through the plastic pages. He shot a hand forward and plucked out a disc from the sleeve.
“Have you listened to this one yet?” he asked, balancing the perfectly round disc with his index finger through the hole in the middle.
Peering down at the CD, Bray read the words: The Cranberries. “No, but it sounds delicious.”
“Oh, it is.” He grinned and popped the CD into the big stereo beside the TV, pressing play.
Bray lay back on the carpeted floor as the first song began to play—a slow yet powerful melody that pulled at each and every one of her nerve fibers. Wes lay down beside her, his arm brushing hers.
Her eyes were closed, and she didn’t look at him as she absorbed each beat, each note, each breath from the female voice—it was breathtaking.
She almost forgot where she was for a moment. The only thing that kept her grounded was Wes’s arm still firmly pressed against hers. Opening her eyes, she turned her head to look at him. He was watching her with something new burning in his eyes: part intense, part sweet.
The next song started, and she knew it—not the name of it—but she had heard it in a movie somewhere.
Before Wes could react, Bray was on her feet and reached her hand out for his. “Dance with me?” she asked him, bouncing happily.
“You want me to dance?” He laughed and looked at her like she was insane.
“Yes!” She waggled her hand out in front of him again. He closed his eyes and shook his head but grabbed her hand anyway, trying not to smile.
She was terrible, he was terrible—but they were terrible together. His entire body was too stiff as he nodded his head and shuffled his feet side to side. She was overly energetic as she hopped around in circle after circle, not feeling the least bit exhausted.
Once the song came to an end, Wes went to sit back down, and she stopped him. “Just one more. Please?”
“Since you said please and all, okay. But let me pick the song.”
“Okay!” she said eagerly.
Wes pressed the next button on the stereo several times and stood back in front of her. “The last song already tired me out, so I picked a slower one this time,” he said as the next track started to play. “I’m only twenty-three and feel so old.” He chuckled.
Wes held his hand out to Bray, and she placed hers in his. They talked and swayed, and he attempted to spin her in a circle. That didn’t work out too well, but it made them laugh. Then he pulled her closer to his body—the closeness doing something to her insides—something jittery.
Bray’s eyes were drawn to his mouth, then up to that small pale scar on the side of his upper lip. Her gaze finally met his as he stared down at her. They watched each other for what felt like hours when in reality the moment only lasted a few minutes.
Without thinking, she looked back at his scar and reached her hand up, brushing her finger delicately against the skin. His eyes automatically closed, and she asked, “How did you get that?”
He snapped his head forward and softly bit her finger. It didn’t hurt the slightest, but she yelped out of surprise. “Got ya. You’re hard to scare,” he whispered, and she playfully narrowed her eyes at him. “There isn’t a battle wound story for me to tell you. I got it when I was learning to ride my bike. When I fell on the grass, a sharp piece of glass cut me. My mom freaked out, but it wasn’t bad enough to need stitches or anything.”
“You’re right, that was a lousy story,” she said mockingly.
“Was it?” he challenged, pulling her closer.
“It was,” she said with no real force, her face drifting up to his.
“What a shame,” he drawled. Then his mouth was on hers, just as the oven timer went off, letting them know the pizza was ready.
17
Bray
The pizza is ready. Startled, Bray left her mouth glued to Wes’s, even with the annoying buzz of the alarm going off.
Wes pulled his mouth back from hers, a gleam in his eyes as he gazed at her. “Screw that pizza,” he said, and his mouth connected with hers again. His mouth caressed hers, lips moving in sync, then he stepped back. “Okay, wait right here. Don’t go anywhere.” She wasn’t sure she could move.
Darting for the kitchen, Wes flung open the stove with an oven mitt already on and grabbed the pizza. The pan landed on top of the stove with a loud clank.
Bray watched him with amusement.
The kiss was magical—she could barely remember the other guy she had kissed. Bray didn’t want to remember it either, because they had been drinking, and she did it all just to forget about Ruth. This … she didn’t want to forget this moment.
Wes stood back in front of her and lifted a hand to her cheek. “I don’t think it would’ve been a good idea to let the house burn down.”
She giggled and pressed her lips softly against his, and then moved her mouth a hairsbreadth from his ear, smelling his clean scent from the shower. “No, it wouldn’t have been, but I have a good idea now.” She pressed her lips softly to his neck, right below his earlobe.
Wes’s arms trailed down the sides to her lower back, tugging her closer against him. “What’s the idea?”
“I’ll show you,” she hinted.
His mouth was on hers again, slow and sweet as she walked him down the hall. He knew the way without the slightest stumble, scuffing his feet backward until they were in his bedroom.
The back of Wes’s legs hit the bed, and he fell back, pulling her down on top of him. His hands moved to her face, the intensity of the kiss increasing. He tasted sweeter than anything she’d ever had, and a part of her wanted to kiss him forever, never losing the taste.
Bray’s heartbeat sped up as his tongue slid into her mouth and tangled with hers. A soft moan escaped her when they rolled to the side. She wrapped a leg around his waist, pushing forward so his lower body was firmly against hers. He let out a groan when she began moving against him.
She wasn’t sure how far she wanted to take it, but she knew she wanted to fe
el more skin—his skin—against hers. Her fingertips grasped the edge of his shirt, and she lifted it up and over his head, tossing it on the carpet.
Bray didn’t want to wait for him to take off her shirt, so she took it off herself. She felt his smile when her lips collided with his—in a secret wish, a solid hope, and a remarkable silent song that only they could hear. And they were both listening.
Reaching down in between them, Bray unbuttoned the top button of his shorts and slid down the zipper.
His mouth pulled back from hers. “I don’t know how far you want to take this, but we can’t go all the way.”
“Why not?” Even though she wanted more of him, she didn’t mind slowing down.
“I don’t have a fucking condom,” he groaned.
“So, you’re scared of the rabies?” she joked and nipped his lower lip, running the tip of her tongue where her teeth had grazed him.
Wes pulled her closer. “No, the babies. Luca is enough at the moment.” He laughed and flipped her to her back. She didn’t want any babies right then either.
“There are other things we could do,” she said as she tugged down his shorts, and he kicked them to the floor.
“You want to show me? Or shall I show you?” he asked and pushed down her shorts.
Wes settled back between her legs, and she felt all of him against her. Reaching behind her, he undid the clasp of her bra, and moved his lower body against hers. She needed something to happen, and he must have sensed it, because his hand drifted down between her legs. On instinct, she arched up toward him, and the kissing became sloppy and daring at the same time.
His hand slipped into her underwear, and she gasped when he started to move his fingers. It built, and it built, and it built, until an uncontrollable feeling swept through her entire body.
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