He’s acting weird, avoiding eye contact, and seeming super twitchy—feels super twitchy. I want to ask what’s wrong—if it was because of the whole making-out-in-the-shower thing—but he’ll barely look at me.
Finally, I abandon the bathroom to go change. I take my sweet time peeling off my bra and underwear, tossing them into the trash. Then I put my shirt on, grimacing when I realize my nipples are showing. To fix the problem, I slip on the plaid shirt I had tied around my waist earlier and do up a couple of the buttons. Then I pull on my shorts, splash some cold water on my face, and glance at my reflection in the mirror. At first glance, I look the same: pale with freckles splattered across my nose, and my long, brown hair is its usual tangled mess of waves. I lower my gaze to my collarbone and frown at the bite marks dotting my skin.
“West marked me?” I brush my fingers along the marks and shiver from the memory of his teeth sinking into my skin.
Since when do I get all shivery over a guy? God, I’m getting pathetic. Here I’m only worried that I can feel West’s emotions when clearly something greater is wrong with me.
Shaking my head, I step back to leave the bathroom so I can get some answers, but then I pause when a tiny spark of light flickers in the center of my pupils. At first, I figure it’s the reflection of the light, but as I slant closer to the mirror, I realize it’s coming from inside my pupils.
I jerk back, my breath rushing out.
“Calm down.” I grip the edge of the counter. “It could just be a side effect from all the drugs you’ve been exposed to today.”
One thing’s for sure: it’s time to get some answers.
Alexis
A few moments later, I march into the living room, prepared to demand some answers. But my fiery determination hits a hiccup when I discover Blaine is the only one occupying the room.
He has his head lowered, his gaze glued to the phone.
I slowly back up, not ready to face him yet. Sure, he got the antidote that saved me, but that doesn’t erase what happened at Masie’s earlier today.
Unfortunately, my aim is a bit off and I end up walking into a floor lamp.
As it crashes to the floor, Blaine’s gaze snaps up and his eyes widen. But the shock quickly dissolves as he leaps to his feet and crosses the room toward me.
“You’re okay, right?” He stops just short of me and rolls his eyes. “You know what? Forget I asked that. Of course you’re not all right. You’re probably freaking out.”
“A little bit,” I admit. But oddly enough, not as much as I probably should be.
“That’s totally understandable.” He brushes my hair off my shoulder and frowns when I stiffen. “Lex, you don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m still the same guy I’ve always been. You just know more about my job now.” He completely misreads my reaction.
“I’m not afraid of you,” I say truthfully.
His brows dip. “Then, why did you just tense when I touched you?”
I give a half-shrug. “I don’t know.”
He drags his teeth along his bottom lip, a move he does when he’s deeply contemplating something. “Is it because of what happened between Masie and me?”
I shake my head, even though it’s sort of a lie. But I need to get over that. After everything that’s happened, Masie and Blaine kissing should be the least of my worries.
He leans in and lowers his voice to a soft whisper. “Then, what’s the matter?”
I nonchalantly shrug, despite how wound up I am on the inside. “It just feels like I don’t even know you anymore.” That’s the truth, too. Between discovering what he really does and finding out that he apparently knew for weeks that I liked him, I feel like the guy I once thought of as my best friend doesn’t exist anymore. Maybe he never did.
His shoulders slump. “But you’re not afraid of West, and he has the same job as I do.”
“It’s not just about the job,” I say through a sigh.
He searches my eyes. “Then it is about me kissing Masie.” I start to shake my head when he steps toward me. As I promptly move a step back, he freezes, his expression plummeting. “Will you please stop moving away from me? I’m not going to hurt you.”
Maybe not physically but emotionally he very well could—and almost did earlier today. “I just need some space right now.”
He smashes his lips together, eyeing me over before nodding. “Can I just say one more thing?”
I want to shake my head and leave, but I find myself nodding. “I guess.”
He rubs his lips together, considering something. “I didn’t kiss Masie because I want her. I kissed her because of my job.”
I slant back. “What?”
His lips part, but words never come out as West, Steel, and Ellis file into the room. West takes one look at how close Blaine and I are standing and frowns. Then he quickly shakes off the look, plastering on a fake grin.
“So, you guys are back to getting along again, huh?” he says, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his back jeans. His blond hair is still damp from the shower and his face is a bit pale. “That’s awesome.”
Yeah, I can feel how un-awesome he thinks it is by the irritation flowing off him.
I raise my brows at him. “Yeah, you sure sound like it is.”
His eyes are like ice, his smile still plastic. “Why wouldn’t I think it’s awesome?” He drapes one arm across my shoulder and the other across Blaine’s. “My two friends are BFFs again.”
I roll my eyes and step out from underneath his arm. “BFFs? What are you? A teenage girl?”
He drops his hand from Blaine’s shoulder, his eyes narrowing at me, but his lips threaten to turn upward. “Hey, I’m betting I’ve used that word way more than any teenager girl. In fact, I think it’s most popular amongst charming and handsome nineteen-year-old guys.”
“Charming and handsome?” I bite back a smile. “Is that how you see yourself?”
He drags his teeth along his bottom lip, his eyes sparkling as he inches toward me. Then he leans in, putting his lips beside my ear. “Don’t smile. If you do, your tough girl act is going to go to shit.”
I shake my head, unsure whether I’m annoyed or amused—perhaps a bit of both. “Then you better keep on fake smiling or your I-don’t-give-a-shit-about-anything façade is going be ruined.”
He touches my arm, and my pulse quickens. “You know that’s not true. I care about stuff.” He skims his thumb along the outside of my arm and desire pulsates through him again. “I care about you—”
Someone clears their throat.
“All right, you two, save the flirting for later,” Steel announces. “Right now, Ellis needs to examine the three of us over and make sure no one’s going to be permanently damaged from the breath of ease.”
“We weren’t flirting,” I protest, even though we might have been.
Steel rolls his eyes.
West slants back, giving me an intense look before turning toward Steel. “We probably need to call in a cleanup crew, too.”
“Already have.” Ellis makes his way toward the sofas with a leather bag in his hand. “Steel, West, Alexis, please come sit down.”
“Why?” I ask, eyeballing Ellis’s bag as he sets it down and opens it up. What the heck does he have in there? Please don’t let it be more drugs.
“Because he’s going to play doctor.” Steel winks at me before plopping down on the sofa.
West gives a weighted sigh then takes a seat beside him. I start to follow when Blaine captures my arm.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he whispers lowly. “You seem … I don’t know … sort of off.”
“I’m fine,” I lie. No, the truth is I’m far from fine. Something is wrong with me. Has been since I was doped up by the kiss of evil.
“You sure?” Worry floods his eyes as he assesses me.
I hate it when he looks at me like this—like he cares. It makes my feelings for him rise to the surface, reminding me that I care about him.
“Well, if I’m not, I guess I’m about to find out.” I slip my arm from his grip and sit down on the chair across from where West and Steel are sitting.
West catches my eyes, staring at me for a heart-slamming beat of a second before looking over at Blaine. “You can probably go now.” His tone isn’t necessarily cold, but it isn’t friendly either.
Blaine stuffs his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “I’d rather stick around and make sure she’s okay.”
“She’ll be fine,” West assures him flatly. “Besides, Steel, Ellis, and I were assigned to watch her. Not you.”
Blaine’s expression hardens. “Sounds like you’re trying to claim your territory over Alexis or something.”
West’s lips part. “Maybe I am—”
“Hey,” I warn them both. “I don’t—and never will—belong to anyone. And both of you have known me for long enough that you should know that.”
“Sorry,” they both mutter, remorse flickering across their expressions.
“But I’m staying,” Blaine states firmly, then sits down on the end table near the chair I’m sitting on and crosses his arms.
West’s jaw ticks, but his lips remain fused. We sink into silence as Ellis begins taking various medical tools out of the leather bag, including a syringe.
“No more drugs,” I protest, covering the bruise on my arm.
“The syringes are just something I carry on me,” Ellis promises. “I promise no more drugs for a while.”
I relax a smidgeon. “Thanks.”
He offers me a small smile then starts giving me an examination, checking my blood pressure, my heart rate, and my body temperature, which is all normal. It’s when he gets to asking me about any strange symptoms that things take a turn for the crazy.
“Back in the tub,” he says, sitting down on the edge of the coffee table in front of me, “when you first sat down in the breath of ease, did you feel anything odd? Like maybe pain or a tingling sensation?”
“No, I just felt cold and kind of grossed out. Well, until …” I chew on my thumbnail, glancing between the four guys who are all watching me intently.
“Until what?” Ellis presses. When I hesitate, he leans forward and places a hand over mine. “Whatever it is, you can tell us.”
I swallow hard. “But it might sound crazy.”
“It’s okay.” Ellis gives my hand an encouraging squeeze. “I promise that whatever it is isn’t going to sound crazy to us.”
“It might, though,” I say then sigh. The truth is, whether it makes me sound crazy or not, I need to tell someone what happened and about what’s going on with me right now. “When I got into the tub, I had this memory of drowning in heavy water and I couldn’t breathe. Then, suddenly I really couldn’t breathe.” I release an uneven breath. “Then I sort of went into this dream …” But, was it even a dream?
“What sort of dream?” Ellis asks cautiously.
“I was standing on this dirt road in the middle of nowhere. At first, I thought maybe it was the mountains near Honeyton, but … I don’t know, the sky was this weird shade of purple, and the moon was silver. And then there was this girl there and this monster …” I press my lips together and shrug. “I guess it doesn’t really matter. It was just a dream … Although, it felt real.” I whisper the last part.
When Ellis skims his thumb along the back of my hand, I realize I’m shaking.
I withdraw my hand from his, flop back in the chair, and fold my arms. “But yeah, anyway, that’s what happened.” I shrug.
“What happened while you were there?” Ellis asks, resting his elbows on his knees.
“Why does it matter?” I wonder, watching him closely. Why does he seem so curious about a dream I had? “It was just a dream.”
He momentarily studies me then casts a quick glance at Steel and West.
“What’s going on?” Blaine asks the question burning on the tip of my tongue. “And don’t try to feed me any bullshit. I know West well enough that I can tell when he’s lying. Plus, I’m part of the agency, so I understand that cryptic, silent looks between team members always have a meaning.”
West blasts him with a death glare, but then he grimaces and pushes to his feet. He drags his fingers through his hair, his gaze settling on me as he winds around the coffee table and crouches down in front of me. He sets his hands on my thighs, and the instant his palms touch my bare skin, his worry floods my body.
“Remember how I told you that we shut down facilities that create dangerous and unheard of drugs?” Wests asks, and I nod. “Well, what I didn’t mention is that these facilities use humans to test their drugs on.”
My eyes widen in shock. “Seriously? That’s disgusting. And awful. And …”
Remember …
Remember …
Remember …
I wince, but West doesn’t seem to notice.
“It is both of those things,” he agrees. “Which is why we work so hard to shut down the facilities. We’re not just stopping the drugs from being made, but we’re also freeing test subjects.”
“So, you save them?” I might have a newfound respect for West. And Blaine, too, I guess.
But then West wavers. “We save some. But there are some who are un-savable.”
“Some die?” I ask quietly, an abundance of pain weighing down on my shoulders.
I’ve never felt so much pain before, except maybe when my parents died. But I’m not certain if all the pain I’m feeling belongs to me.
West swallows hard then nods. “Some do. And some … well, the experimental drugs have put so much of a toll on their minds and bodies that they have to be permanently hospitalized.”
“That’s horrible.” Vomit burns the back of my throat.
So much pain. So … much … pain … Remember?
“I’m sorry this sort of stuff happens, and I’m sorry you feel guilty about it.” Because I can tell he does. I place my hands on his, trying to alleviate some of the guilt pouring through him. Surprisingly, my touch seems to help a bit. “But … what does this have to do with me? Unless the breath of ease and kiss of evil messed me up worse than you guys are saying and now I have to be hospitalized.” The realization that perhaps that’s the truth crashes down on me.
“That’s not why I brought it up.” West stares down at my hands over his. “I brought it up because … because when you were in the tub … when we …” He shakes his head and mutters incoherently under his breath. “I don’t think I can do this.”
“That’s because you care about her too much.” Steel rises to his feet, shaking his head. “You should let someone else tell her.”
“Don’t be harsh with her,” Ellis warns Steel. “I’m serious. This is a lot to take in, and she’s not used to our world.”
“She can handle it.” A challenge dances in Steel’s eyes as he locks gazes with me. “Well, maybe.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I can handle anything.”
His lips kick up into a smirk. “Good.” He makes his way over to me, stops beside my chair, and crosses his lean arms. “After you got into the bathtub, you disappeared, so we started asking around to find out why. And while we’re not positive, we’re fairly sure you were once in an experimental drug facility. And not just any drug facility, but one that focused on a drug that could send someone to The Afterlife, a place that’s supposed to be between life and death.”
“Holy shit,” Blaine breathes out, his eyes widening.
Me, I start to laugh because … “Are you fucking joking right now? Because it’s not funny.”
West threads his fingers through mine, drawing my attention to him. “Baby, we’re not lying to you. You vanished while you were in that tub, and then you just reappeared.”
“Yeah? So what?” I tug on my hands, trying to get away from him, but he only holds on tighter. I growl in frustration. “You guys are all crazy. I’m not from some stupid drug facility. I was raised by my parents. I had a nice life. I’m normal.”
/>
Are you?
“You may have forgotten the time you spent there,” Steel explains. “Some test subjects do.”
“I didn’t forget,” I grit through my teeth, tears burning my eyes. “And I remember most of my life.”
Steel carries my gaze. “Even if you remember most, you don’t remember everything. And perhaps the stuff you’ve forgotten is the stuff you’d rather not remember.”
Remember …
“You sound like a messed-up nursery rhyme,” I mutter, looking away from him to hide the fact that I’m on the verge of crying. But that only aims my gaze at Blaine, who more than notices the tears in my eyes.
His expression softens and fills with pity. I feel so lost and confused and like I’m about to fall apart.
Get it together, Alexis. This can’t be real. This is all a bad dream. In a bit, I’m going to wake up and be back home in bed, and I’m going to realize this awful day was just a dream.
“It’s normal not to remember every single detail about your life,” I whisper, staring at the wall to avoid any of their gazes.
“I know,” Steel agrees. “But it’s not normal to vanish into thin air for over an hour, and then simply reappear. You need to understand that. That you’re not normal—I knew that the moment I met you.”
West’s gaze snaps up to him. “Chill out. You’re being too harsh.”
“I’m being harsh because the truth is harsh, and she needs to realize that.” He steadily holds my gaze. “When I first saw you, I thought I recognized you. And not from around Honeyton, but from a darker part of my life.”
I swiftly shake my head. “Until today, I’ve never seen you before.”
“Well, I think we’ve already established that your memory might be a bit untrustworthy,” he states bluntly, a drop of fear fleetingly flashing in his silver eyes. It looks so odd on him, so out of place, and honestly, it’s kind of terrifying knowing something can scare someone as scary as him. “Mine’s much more accurate. And my memories are telling me that, at some point during the time I spent in an experimental drug facility, I crossed paths with you.”
The Other World_A Reverse Harem Series Page 14