Dead End

by C. P. Rider

  "Heard you told your dad you're staying in Dead End." Samuel said.

  I nodded. "He understands."

  "Sounds like you don't need to work on stabilizing the rippers anymore." He pulled a paper napkin out of the aluminum holder at the head of the table and began folding it into symmetrical squares. I didn't think it was for any purpose other than to keep his hands busy.

  "I promised I'd help you get to the Other to find your sister." I put my palm on top of his and he stopped folding. "I meant it."

  He pulled away, continued with his napkin. "We made a mutually beneficial deal. There's no benefit to you now. You have everything you want."

  "But my friend doesn't."

  He blinked at me. "Your friend?"

  "Maria, the rippers are still dangerous," Cindy said, "and you saw what happened with the worms when you stabilized them."

  "She's right."

  "The rippers are dangerous, true. And they can bring dangerous things to town, also true. But as long as there are doorways to other universes, like this place—" I swept my hand around in a small circle to indicate the café. "—there are possibilities. And I'm going to help you find them."

  "Thanks." Samuel's mouth remained a straight line, but his eyes smiled at me.

  "Well, I want to hear about the chair." Cindy angled her head so she could peek around Samuel's arm to see his face. "Tell me about it?"

  Samuel relaxed a little. "Sparky here should tell it."

  "Sparky? Not cool, Sam," Aedan said. "It's not that big of a deal."

  My eyes narrowed. "I'll ask you one last time. What did you do?"

  Aedan rubbed his side. "You have bony elbows. They hurt." He glanced at Samuel, then at me. "Fine. I accidentally zapped one of Samuel's dining room chairs this morning."

  "Zapped?" Cindy asked.

  "Like static electricity," Aedan said. "A tiny zap."

  "Tiny?" Samuel jabbed a finger at Aedan. "This wasn't one of those walk-across-the-living-room-rug-and-touch-a-light-switch sort of zaps. You set the chair on fire."

  "It wasn't that bad."

  "Really? If I hadn't walked in when I did, who knows what might have happened. You could've burned down my house!"

  Aedan cringed. "I'm sorry about that. Really I am."

  A but was coming. I was as sure about that as I was that Aedan would be standing on my grandfathers' porch tonight, begging for a place to stay.

  "But you were kind of asking for it with that weird rug in the living room."

  "Here we go again." I lowered my face into my hands.

  "I could've powered the whole town with the static electricity I picked up from that thing," Aedan continued, apparently enjoying the taste of his own foot.

  "I want to hit you in the face." Samuel closed his fist tightly for emphasis.

  With a loud clatter, a plate of bacon was set on the table and we looked up to see Laverne standing there, arms crossed and brow lowered. She didn't speak, but the effect was a lot scarier than if she'd started yelling.

  Cindy, Samuel, and I sat up straight, flashing our best-behavior smiles. I kicked Aedan under the table, and he sat up, too.

  "Sorry, Laverne," Samuel said.

  "You know the café rules."

  "Yes, ma'am. No violence allowed in the One Way Café. Won't happen again."

  Laverne gave us a final, suspicious look before turning and heading back into the kitchen.

  We let out a collective sigh of relief, except for Aedan, who clearly didn't see he was the one at fault in all this.

  "Well," Samuel said, "on that note, I better go. I need to see if I can salvage what's left of my chair."

  "What's the chair made of?" Cindy asked.

  "Oakenwood," Samuel replied.

  "Oak?" Aedan asked.

  "Oakenwood from an oakentree." Cindy sat up in her seat as she spoke. "It's a tree grown in sustainable forests at the base of the Beyond Mountains between Dead End and Track's End."

  "Please tell me it doesn't scream," I said.

  "Scream?" Aedan leaned back in the booth as Toby stomped across his lap and leapt off the bench seat. "Ouch. Trim that dog's nails, would you?"

  "Don't bother Laverne," I warned Toby.

  "He's fine," Laverne responded.

  "Harvesting oakenwood isn't painful for either the trees or the harvesters," Cindy said, leaving me to wonder if there were trees that caused pain to the people who cut them down. I decided to ask later. "The trees barter their branches for water and fertilizer to wood harvesters for industrial use. Some oakentrees are quite highbrow, and will sell only to artisans who pass a series of tests."

  A huge grin spread across Aedan's face. "I can already tell I'm really going to like living here."

  40

  "See you guys around." Samuel stood.

  "Wait. I just thought of something that might help you." Cindy rummaged in the bag she'd brought with her. I'd convinced her to stop carrying odd creatures and stinky liquid from her mom's garden in her sweatshirt pockets, so she'd taken to carting them around in one of her dad's old satchels.

  Samuel slowly sat down again. He stared at Cindy when she was turned away, and lowered his eyes to his hands when she glanced up.

  Aedan and I exchanged a look. He waggled his brows, and I stifled a laugh.

  "What's funny?" Cindy pulled a pad of paper and a pencil out of the bag and began sketching.

  "Maria burped. What are you drawing?" Aedan asked, as I kicked him under the table.

  "Instaurabo. It's a plant my mom grows. If you prepare it with alcohol and the crushed leaf of a meridian tree, you can use the tincture to repair any oakenwood surface. My mom uses it all the time on our furniture. Dad gets clumsy when he's focused on work."

  "You're really good at things like that." Aedan tapped the edge of the paper with a French fry. "You were amazing with those worms."

  "Thanks." Cindy's cheeks pinked. "I learned it from my mom and grandmother."

  I didn't even have to look to know that Samuel was frowning big time at this exchange. I was also sure that was part of the reason Aedan was doing it. Samuel was an easy target when it came to Cindy.

  "Do you think the tincture will work on Samuel's chair?" I asked.

  "I'd have to see how severe the damage is."

  "Then it's settled. You go with Samuel to see the chair and help him put the Insta-whatchamacallit stuff on it," Aedan announced.

  Samuel's head whipped around. "Huh?"

  "Instaurabo." Cindy turned to Samuel, tucked her hair behind her ear. "Would you like me to? Come over, I mean."

  Samuel opened his mouth, then closed it again.

  Cindy cleared her throat. "If it's too much trouble, I can just—"

  "Yes-I-want-you-to-come-over," he blurted. Was he sweating? The café had to be sixty-eight degrees inside.

  "Okay." Cindy smiled. "I have to stop by my house first. I can meet you in an hour."

  "I'll walk you home and we'll go to my place together." Samuel made it sound like a command. He seemed to realize this, because he added, "If that's okay with you."

  Cindy nodded, and they slid out of the booth together. Samuel tossed his café card down on the table.

  "Use this for the bill. And only the bill, Sterling."

  Aedan winked. "Love you too, bro. You kids have fun."

  Samuel gave him a seething stare as he ushered Cindy out of the café.

  "Why do you insist on antagonizing him? You know he could very easily kick you to the curb," I said.

  "Nah," Aedan swiped the last fry from my plate and tossed it into his mouth. "Sam's cool. He yells and threatens to beat me to a pulp, but at the end of the day, he won't do it."

  "I don't have your confidence, so I'd suggest you don't push him," I said. "Also, behave yourself. He's doing a nice thing letting you live with him."

  "I know, I know. I'm still getting used to everything here. It's a lot to process." He sat back in his seat and exhaled, his shoulders relaxing. I hadn't noticed it
before, but he'd been tense the entire time the others were around. He knew what people thought about him when they heard his name, and he hated it.

  I rested my hand on his forearm. The muscle tightened beneath my fingers. "You aren't your father. None of us think that."

  His silver gaze slid over me. Apprehensive, at first, but it soon softened.

  Aedan picked up my hand and slipped it into his, intertwining our fingers. We sat in the booth in comfortable silence, absorbing everything. I knew without a doubt that I would recall this moment later in my life whenever I heard dishes rattling, smelled French fries cooking, and tasted soda that was close to, but not quite, Dr. Pepper.

  It took me back to the days before Dead End, when I only knew Aedan as a ghost. Before everything flipped upside down in both our worlds. The hours spent in cramped motel bathrooms, communicating through fogged mirrors, sharing our deepest secrets. Hours falling slowly in love.

  It felt like so long ago.

  Abruptly, Aedan slipped his hand from mine and slid from the booth, grabbed Samuel's card and took it to Laverne.

  "Table's already been taken care of," Laverne called. Aedan stopped short, pocketed the card, and headed for the exit.

  "Aedan?"

  He ignored me and walked out.

  I sat in stunned silence. This was exactly like what he used to do when he was an astral projection. Disappear on me with no notice, no explanation, no apologies. I'd almost forgotten that.

  A moment later, Aedan knocked on the window beside me.

  Startled, I jumped away from the glass and scowled at him. "What are you doing?"

  He breathed onto the window, fogging it up. When it was opaque, he began writing on it with his index finger.

  "Aedan?"

  He wrote: What's shaking? It was backwards, but I could read it just fine.

  "You are such a weirdo." I laughed.

  His eyes crinkled at the corners as he shot that smug Aedan Sterling grin back at me. My heart skipped a beat.

  Sliding close to the window, I waited till his message disappeared, then fogged it up from my side. My stomach was fluttery, and my heart beat a little faster. I couldn't wait to see his expression when he saw what I wrote, but I also dreaded it. What if he didn't feel the same? What if he couldn't read backwards? What if he could?

  I mustered up all my courage and wrote on the fogged glass with my pinky finger so I could fit it all in.

  My ♥. When u r near.

  The smug grin slid off his face. He ran back into the diner, pulled me out of my seat, and dragged me outside. Toby followed, bounding down the steps behind us. Silver eyes glowing with something other than electricity, Aedan took both my hands in his.

  "Do you mean that, Maria? Really?"

  You've already risked most of your pride. Might as well toss in the rest. I took a deep breath. In a clumsy rush, I closed the distance between us, wrapped my arms around his neck. His lips brushed my forehead.

  "Yes, I mean it." I took another deep breath, leaned back, and looked him straight in the eye. "Every word. I like you, Aedan. I like you a lot."

  For once, the guy had nothing to say. He blinked rapidly, cleared his throat six times in a row, shifted from foot to foot.

  Unbelievable. He was speechless. I hadn't been sure it was possible, until now.

  I laid my head against his chest. "Do you like me?"

  "Yes, Maria," he said hoarsely, "I like you."

  "A lot?" My heart was beating so hard I was sure he could hear it.

  "Yeah, a lot. I walked through a ripper for you, remember?"

  "I remember."

  My breath caught as he slid his arms around my waist. Holding my gaze with his, he ducked his head and brushed his mouth over mine. Slowly. Achingly slowly.

  My body felt light and heavy at the same time. My pulse was speeding, my head was spinning, and I couldn't stop trembling. He pressed his lips against mine, a little harder, but still going slow, as if he were waiting for me to catch up. I didn't have experience, but I did have instincts and I knew what I liked.

  I parted my lips, leaned into the kiss, and followed his lead.

  My second first kiss.

  It was everything I'd wanted it to be. I sensed Aedan's excitement in the way he held me, our hearts beating in time with each other, and knew he felt the same way.

  When we finally broke apart, he gave me one of those genuine, crinkly eyed smiles that made my heart beat like crazy in my chest.

  "Why do you like me, Aedan?" I was truly curious, and I wanted to hear it from him while he was being as sincere as he ever got.

  "I told you why that night in the motel bathroom. No one sees me the way you do." He reached over and brushed my hair out of my eyes, tucked it behind my ears. "As someone separate from my father, from his cause. Being with you makes me feel stronger, like I'm … I don't know, a braver person when you're around."

  It was the most romantic thing I'd ever heard in my life. I went up on my toes and kissed him again. And once more after that, just because it made me happy.

  Then I threaded my fingers through his and the three of us walked home.

  Also by C.P. Rider

  SPIKED

  SUMMONED

  EARP & CHANDRA (novella)

  SABOTAGED

  SHATTERED

  EXPIRED

  SHIFTED (July 2021)

  DEAD END with Alex Pitones

  Thanks for reading Dead End!

  If you liked this book, please consider leaving a review on the retailer site where you found it. It helps a lot.

  For a FREE audio recording and updates on new releases, sign up for our mailing list at www.1waycafepodcast.com

  Thanks again for picking up Dead End.

  Acknowledgments

  Special thanks to:

  Mona Enderli, ReAnne Martin, Wendi Sotis, Shannon Gallagher, and Coralie Tate. We're so grateful for your ideas and guidance.

  JeriAnn Stoklas for always being there.

  Our families for your unwavering support and unending love.

  About the Authors

  Alex Pitones is a paranormal and urban fantasy writer and podcaster. Her podcast, The One Way Cafe, based on the cafe in Dead End releases in 2021. You can find her at www.1waycafepodcast.com or on Instagram.

  C. P. Rider writes paranormal and urban fantasy romance. You can find her at www.cprider.com or on Facebook.