by Russo, Jessa
I felt peaceful.
I curled up beside him, snuggling closer until his arm tightened around me, and his leg pulled me closer into the curl of his body.
“Mmm,” he sighed. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” I whispered back, my face pressed into his bare chest. I ran my fingertips up and down his side. “I don’t want to get up.”
“Then don’t.” He pressed his nose into the top of my head, then squeezed me even tighter. “You let me kiss you again.”
I giggled. “That I did.”
“I’m glad. I like kissing you.”
I smiled, then closed my eyes and wished my life was normal…wished this was a normal day where all I had to worry about was what to wear to class, where Jessie and I would eat lunch, and which resident advisor was hottest. But, oh no, that wasn’t my life. My life was sand in an hourglass and just about done.
I sighed, not realizing I had until Toby leaned up on his elbow to look at me.
“What is it?”
I raised one eyebrow. “What isn’t it?”
He smirked. “Yeah. That was a lame question.” He ran his thumb over my bottom lip, then his smirk pulled into a smile. “I have a plan.”
“Dammit!” I sat up, turning around to face him and crossing my legs. “I knew you’d hatch some crazy plan, Toby, but I meant what I said. I’m not letting Frankie die again, and I’m not jumping into that freaking ravine. End of story.”
“What about option three?”
I tilted my head. “What do you mean, option three?”
“What if we made them think we were going to turn you in, but we convince them to allow us to wait until the very last minute?”
“Okay,” I said, wary of his plan messing up mine. “Then what?”
“I don’t know, but at least I’ll have more time to figure something out. Like, maybe if Ted and the other Originals could help us delay this, give us at least until your nineteenth birthday like Ariadne—”
I sighed. “Toby…we don’t need more time. I want you to turn me in,” I said, not meeting his gaze. “I want you to use my soul to lessen your sentence. I want it to be you.”
“Ever.”
I didn’t look up at him. I knew he’d disagree with this part of my plan, but he didn’t have to agree with it—he just had to stay out of my way when I acted on it, and that was something I’d figure out when the time came.
“Look at me.” He sat up and reached for me, placing his thumb and forefinger on my chin. “You’re so stubborn,” he whispered, shaking his head. “I’m not turning you over to anyone, and I’m sure as shit not claiming the value on your soul. God, I can’t believe you’d even think that was an option.”
That option has been my plan all along.
“We’ll find a way to delay this, and will figure it out. I’m not losing you. I meant that.”
“Rise and shine, sleepyheads!” Ariadne’s voice preceded the door to our room flying wide open.
We both jumped, startled by the loudness of her voice, and her sudden presence in the room.
“Shit, Ari,” Toby growled. “Knock next time!”
“Aw, so sorry, Tobias. Were you guys being…intimate?” The word dripped with sarcasm, and her lip curled up in disgust. “Also, my house, my rules. I don’t have to knock.”
“Good morning, Ariadne,” I said with a yawn. “You weren’t interrupting anything. Of course, had you come in last night…” I trailed off, surprised by my own rudeness. Although, the widening of her eyes was worth saying something so bitchy and out of character for me.
“T. M. I., Eleanor. T. M. freaking I,” she growled.
“Wait,” Toby chimed in. “Did you just say this was your house? I highly doubt that.”
Ariadne’s smile grew. “Possession is nine-tenths of the law,” she said with a shrug. “Squatters rights and all that.”
“Oh my God,” I muttered, shaking my head. “Who lives here?”
“Does it matter? They’re not here now, are they?”
My mouth dropped open, and I looked to Toby for some sort of explanation.
He rolled his eyes, clearly not shocked that Ariadne would stoop to breaking and entering.
I opened my mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again…but words failed me. I flopped back onto the bed.
“What’s your plan, Ari?” Toby stood, then stretched, drawing the attention of both girls in the room.
“Damn, Toby. You look just as good as I remember.”
“Back off, sis.”
Ariadne winked. “Relax, little girl. I’m with Ridley now.”
“Then you should start acting like it.”
“Well, well, isn’t that the pot calling the kettle?”
My jaw tightened in response to her words.
“I mean, really, Ever, who is your boyfriend these days, anyway? I could have sworn it was Frankie, but look at you two…were you guys having sex in here?”
“We haven’t…I didn’t…we weren’t…”
“Ugh. Stop stammering, Eleanor—”
“Ari,” Toby warned, as he grabbed a change of clothes from his duffle bag. “That’s enough. What’s your plan? You got us into this mess, so I assume you’re working on a way to fix it.”
“I already told you how to fix it. Ever has to die. Or Frankie can—it’s really not up to me.”
I jumped from the bed, fuming, and strode to where she still stood in the doorway. “Am I really supposed to believe that you care nothing about me? That you found out we’re actually sisters, and that means nothing?”
Ariadne’s eyes widened for the slightest of seconds, so quick I almost missed the action, then she narrowed her gaze. “Just because our dads fucked the same woman does not make us sisters.”
I heard the smack of skin on skin as I slapped my hand across her face before I even realized I’d moved.
Her palm flew up to her cheek, a look of horror pulling her blazing eyes wide.
Toby jumped between us, and Trey appeared out of nowhere to restrain Ariadne—who looked like she was about to rip me to shreds.
“You bitch,” she snarled. “Get out! Get out of here right now! I don’t care what happens to you, you useless little girl! Do you hear me?” Trey pulled her out of the room, tugging until her fingers released the door jamb—“Out! You too, Tobias! We’re done here! Ugh! Get your hands off of—”
Toby slammed the bedroom door, cutting off Ariadne’s rant. “So, you want to get going then?” he asked, barely able to restrain his smile.
“This isn’t funny.”
“Oh, I beg to differ. The look on her face—”
“Toby,” I moaned. “Be serious. She just kicked us out, and I made her an even bigger enemy than she was before. What are we going to do now?”
Toby took my hands in his, amusement still tugging at his lips. “We’re going to leave. We’ll get back on the road, continue on our way, like we planned before Ari complicated our lives once again. We’re still set to meet up with your mom and Ted, so that’s what we’ll do.”
“Just pretend this never happened?”
“Yes. But not the part where you let me kiss you and then slept in my arms.”
Damn my red cheeks. I felt them heat up, then watched Toby’s gaze flick from cheek to cheek, then back to my eyes. He smiled, then bent to brush his lips across mine. “Let’s get ready to kick rocks.”
“Kick rocks?”
“Yeah, you know, bail.”
I shook my head. “Okay, just don’t say kick rocks again.”
He bent to quickly kiss me once more. “Fine. Anything for you.”
“Mhmm,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’m going to shower. Give me twenty minutes and I’ll be ready to kick rocks.”
An hour or so later, we were packed into Toby’s Mustang, with Trey in the back, heading north on our original route once again.
“How’s your face feeling today?”
“How’s your face feeling today?”
“It looks like shit.”
I whipped my head around to glare at Trey, who just shrugged.
“Um, thanks a lot?”
“Sorry, babe. I should have warned you—Trey says whatever’s on his mind.” Toby shrugged. “No filter.”
I quickly glanced back at Trey, who smiled, then focused on the book in his hands.
“But it doesn’t hurt too bad?” Toby asked.
“Nah.” I shrugged. It could have been worse, I guess, and I figure that had I been kidnapped for real, things could have been way worse than some road rash. “I can’t believe she had me kidnapped! I mean, ugh, who does that?”
Toby shook his head. “I can’t even begin to try to understand that chick, or why she does what she does.”
Because she’s an effing psychopath, that’s why.
“She’s a nutjob, Tobes. Seems simple enough to me.”
I glanced back and flashed a smile at Trey. I liked him already. His shirt choice today was something I didn’t quite understand. Not that I’d understood the bicycling Bigfoot, but still. a melting Rubik’s Cube. Melting? Nope. Definitely didn’t get it.
Once we made it out of the winding mountain roads and back onto Interstate 5, my stomach growled. We were just northwest of Weed—the Hi-Lo Café long behind us—and I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually eaten a square meal. We’d snacked a bit last night, but Ariadne didn’t have much more than crackers and cheese and some Gatorade she’d sent her lackeys to the store for. Before that, I’d been about to eat my patty melt when the Seeker came and killed that poor waitress, then I was faux-kidnapped by my asshole sister, who probably goes down in history as worst sister on Earth. Maybe I’ll get her a coffee mug.
“Hungry?” Toby placed his hand on my thigh and squeezed. “We haven’t had much to eat.”
“That’s for sure. Does she always eat appetizers for dinner?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
No wonder she’s so skinny.
“That’s probably why she looks malnourished,” Trey stated matter-of-factly. “I’m starved. I want wings.”
I grinned. Couldn’t even help myself. “Wings sound good.”
“All right, guys, wings it is.” Toby glanced at the time on his cell phone. “We should be in Medford, Oregon in about an hour. Can you make it that far?” He glanced at me.
“Yeah, I’ll make it”—I pulled out a ream of crackers and a bag of red grapes, then smiled—“Plus, I robbed Ariadne on our way out the door.”
Eleven hours and two restaurant stops later, we arrived in—and drove right through—Portland, even though Trey had practically begged Toby to stop for Voodoo Donuts and a trip to Powell’s bookstore. Truthfully, I’d been a bit interested in stopping for some sightseeing as well, but Toby was right: we had more important things to focus on and there’d be plenty of time for exploring the world later on…after he saved me, of course.
I didn’t tell him that would never happen. Best to keep my agenda to myself, let him think I’d given up on my plan to let him turn me in.
The sun had set a couple hours ago, and I fought to stay awake. Toby, however, was becoming more and more fidgety. I wondered if he was just uncomfortable being back here, back in this area he’d tried so hard to leave in his past, when I remembered—
“Oh, shit. What happens when we hit the border? The Seeker said he’d take my soul as soon as we crossed over into—”
“No.” Toby glanced at me, his brows drawn down over his eyes. “I’ll talk to him. I won’t make a deal with him, but if I can just make him think I’ll make the deal…”
That doesn’t seem like a very good plan.
“That plan is bullshit, bro,” Trey chimed in from the backseat.
I nodded. Took the words right out of my mouth, Trey.
We rode in silence for another thirty minutes or so, but as we neared the Washington/Oregon border, I couldn’t be quiet any longer, and I could barely sit still. My nerves were shot.
“Tell me about your mom,” I whispered, trying not to wake Trey who’d fallen asleep.
Toby glanced back at his brother, then at me, then refocused on the road ahead.
“She was amazing. Strong and confident, and so real…like Trey. She’d just say whatever she was feeling; tell you exactly how it was. She didn’t mince words, or sugarcoat things.”
I smiled, thinking about what Toby must have gotten from his mom. His confidence, most likely, and his directness.
I glanced at a green freeway sign as we passed…one mile left. I inhaled a deep breath, and Toby reached for my hand and squeezed.
“She taught me I could be whomever I wanted, whatever I wanted. But that was before…”
I waited, watching his jaw move as he processed whatever he was thinking about.
“See, my dad became hard to deal with. He started drinking, gambling, using…the whole nine yards. Textbook deadbeat dad shit, you know?”
I nodded, but he didn’t look at me for a response, so I remained silent. Half a mile left.
“I began to see a decline in her. Like someone was chipping away at her edges, if that makes sense. She didn’t shine as much. Didn’t seem as…happy. Or strong. She’d sleep in late some days, and I’d have to get Trey ready for school. Our dad would be out all night, coming home early in the morning. If he came home at all.”
Quarter mile left.
Trey stirred in the backseat, and Toby and I both glanced back there to see if he was awake. We drove beneath a large streetlight, and when the golden glow passed over Trey’s face, his eyes still appeared closed. When he didn’t move again, we turned forward, catching one another’s gazes in the process. Toby smiled, close-lipped, and I reached out to place my hand over his on the gearshift.
I didn’t want to press him, but I wanted to know how she died.
“This went on for years—him spiraling further and further, and her breaking a little bit more with each bit of savings he wasted, each night he didn’t come home. So, when my dad left, I guess I just thought she’d get better, you know? Thought she’d snap out of it and find herself again.” He sighed, then glanced over to me, meeting my gaze briefly. “She didn’t. She never found herself again.”
I held my breath as we crossed over a bridge, officially passing into Washington State.
“She found the bottom of a bottle of pills easily enough.”
I gasped both from the shock of passing over the border and absolutely nothing happening and from Trey speaking up as we did. He’d been awake after all.
Toby briefly closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, buddy. I thought you were asleep.”
“Yeah, well. I’m not.”
I dared look into the backseat to gauge Trey’s expression, but his eyes were closed again, and after a moment, each ear bud was securely tucked into his ears.
“I’m sorry, Toby. I didn’t mean for you to upset your brother, I just—”
“It’s not your fault, Ever. I should have known he’d wake up. He’s never been a heavy sleeper.”
“We’re in Washington,” I whispered, as if saying the words too loudly would call the Seeker to us. Toby had to feel the sweat covering my hand, but as embarrassing as it was, I didn’t dare let go.
He nodded, scanning the world around us as he continued driving toward Seattle.
I didn’t know what else to say. We were in Washington, yet the Seeker hadn’t come to collect my soul. I exhaled a long breath. What did that mean? I shook my head, deciding to go back to Toby’s story, passing the time by learning more about the enigma sitting beside me.
I’d learned that Toby’s mom had killed herself—downing a bottle of pills, of all things—leaving two boys who’d already been abandoned by their father completely alone. I knew Toby had been about seventeen when his mom died, but Trey…
“How old is Trey?”
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“Twenty. We’re two years apart. He was fifteen when Mom died. I’d been doing my best to protect him from the worst of it—lying for my dad, making up stories about my mom so he’d think she just wasn’t feeling well, or had worked really hard on her latest photography assignment, stuff like that. So, when dad left, he was shocked. But when Mom…”
He didn’t have to say anything more; I got the gist. I yawned, a huge yawn that made by eyes water.
“Come here,” Toby said, placing a jacket between us on the bit of carpeting that separated the front seats. He pulled me over so I could lay my head on his lap. “The cool thing about not having a center console.”
I nodded, snuggling up to him and closing my eyes to rest for a minute. The stress of the day and the last stretch of the trip weighed heavily on me, and I felt like I hadn’t slept in days.
“Don’t let go of me,” I whispered.
Toby tightened his grip on my shoulder. I knew he’d have to eventually remove his hand so he could shift, but in the meantime, I felt like him holding onto me would keep the Seeker from snatching my soul while I slept.
“Get some sleep, babe. I’ll wake you when we get there.”
“Eleanor.”
His breath tickled my ear, blowing wisps of my black hair across the skin of my cheek.
“Eleanor,” the raspy voice repeated. “Wake up, Eleanor.”
I sat up, rigid with fear; he’d come for me after all. I searched the car around me, scanning Trey sleeping in the backseat, and Toby still driving, one hand on the wheel and one arm wrapped around my shoulder. I still lay curled up, my head in his lap, but I watched myself sleeping from over here, outside of my body… I looked down at myself once more, sitting beside myself. But not. But…
What the hell?
“Am I dreaming?” I asked no one in particular.
“Yes and no,” the Seeker whispered. I turned my head to the backseat again to see him sitting beside Trey. Well, floating, really.
“Are you here to collect my soul?”