by P. Anastasia
“Kareena,” I replied, keeping my hands in my lap. “So, what are you staying here for?” I looked around his room and didn’t see anything that gave away his occupation.
“Business,” he answered. “Not pleasure, unfortunately.” He grinned. His smile was much warmer than Brian’s had ever been. “Kareena.” He sat beside me on the bed and pressed his hand over mine. “I can’t say I’m an expert on giving advice or anything, but it seems like you’re going through something really bad right now. Is there anything at all a stranger like me can do to help you with whatever it is you’re facing?”
I closed my eyes involuntarily at his gentle touch and a flush of heat went through me again.
“Do you have someone you can talk to about it?” he asked as his warm palm cupped my fingers.
“Thank you, but no. There’s nothing you can do for me.” I lowered my head. “And yes, I have people here I can talk to. I mean, the group I’m staying here with. They’re my friends—sort of.
“Sort of?” He got up and slid the desk chair out so he could sit across from me.
“I didn’t exactly choose them as friends, but we get along. One of the guys is kind of a jerk sometimes. He doesn’t take what I say seriously even though I think he should.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that, Kareena.”
He kept using my name as if he liked the way it sounded when it rolled off his tongue. I kind of liked the way he said it, too. It made my heart beat faster. Either that, or it was the alcohol affecting me.
“I should be getting back,” I said, standing on wobbly legs. “They’ll be worrying about me.”
“Oh, alright.” He stood up. “I’ll be here for a few more days. If you want to… um… hang out or talk or anything.” He took a slip of paper from his desk and scribbled something on it. “Here’s my cell number if you want to call. Anytime is fine.”
I chuckled. Hang out? He was hitting on me, in a sweet kind of way.
“Sorry. I’ll probably be busy,” I replied, “but thank you.”
“No problem.”
He walked me to the elevator and pressed the up button for me. The elevator dinged and I stepped inside.
“I’m here if you need a friend,” he whispered just as the elevator doors closed.
“Thanks,” I raised my voice as he was shut out of view.
I looked down at my feet as the elevator ascended.
Taylor seemed nice. David was okay and all, but Taylor was definitely more my type. Too bad we couldn’t see each other somehow. So much drama going on around us and then there were my—
Shit!
I slammed the stop button.
Migraines! But my head wasn’t hurting. Nor had it hurt at all when Taylor had touched me.
I looked at my arm again and brushed a hand over where the open gash had been earlier. David was the only man I’d been able to be with since I’d become a Fluorescent One.
Had things changed? Or… were they, maybe, done punishing me?
I waited for the doors to open and then pushed the first floor button at least a half dozen times until it started to descend. After the ding, I rushed out through the open doors and down the hall toward Taylor’s room.
“Taylor!” I shouted after him. His back was turned. He swerved around to face me and my heart plummeted.
Violet light glimmered in his veins, glowing and flickering through his right hand and up his arm like purple lightning.
“Are you okay?” he asked, jogging over to me. “Kareena?” He took my hand and looked into my eyes. “Kareena, talk to me.” His fingers anxiously squeezed mine.
I closed my gaping mouth and licked my chapped lips. “I-I…”
“What? What is it? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“No. Not a ghost,” I said, shaking my head. His hazel eyes stared fearfully back at me. “Something… worse.”
Chapter 11
I closed the door behind me as gently as I could, pressing a hand up against the lock to dampen the click.
“Where have you been?” David asked just as I turned around.
I couldn’t really see him with the lights off, but I could see his amber glow glittering from the other side of the room. He flipped on the lamp by his bed and got up to walk closer.
“Well?” He looked down at me. “The others are worried about you.”
“I met someone and we started talking. I lost track of time, that’s all.” I crossed my arms and glared at him. “Why? Why do you care anyway?”
“You found him, didn’t you?”
My jaw dropped. Him?
“The purple one?” he added.
“You know about him?”
“Yeah.” He turned away and heaved a sigh. “He’s been here for as long as we have.”
“So you’ve met him already? You’ve met Tay—”
“No. I saw his aura when I went walking the other night. But I didn’t want to say anything yet because I was hoping I could learn something about him first. You know, find out if he’s on our side or not.”
“Why wouldn’t he be?” I scoffed.
“I wasn’t, at first.” He lifted a hand and brushed his fingers over my ear. “Or have you already put that behind you?”
“Seriously, David.” I turned my face, pulling away from his hand. “Is everyone out to get you?” I walked over to the window and pried open the curtains a few inches so I could see the busy streets down below.
“That’s not it.” He came up beside me and tugged the curtains closed. “We can’t trust anyone.”
“No. We can’t. I’m aware.” I shook my head. “Damn it, David, don’t you start trying to control me. Brian thinks he can tell me what to do, but he can’t, and neither can you.”
“That’s not what I’m trying to do.” David’s eyes narrowed. “Kareena, listen to me for a minute.”
I turned and pointed a stiff index finger at him. “You didn’t want to listen to me when I tried to tell you what I saw inside you.”
He bit his lip and looked down. “I’m sorry about that, but I’m not used to getting help from anyone. I don’t trust people. How do you think I’ve made it as far as I have? How do you think I’ve survived all of the shit I’ve had to deal with in my life?”
I shrugged.
“You’ve seen my scars, Kareena.”
Yes…
“Well, they each have a story—pretty shitty ones at that.” He looked into my eyes again. “I’ve spent the last few years trying to right my wrongs, but you know what? Karma’s a bitch, and things like to come back to bite you in the ass. I’m the way I am because I have to be. Because I want to make it out of this damn world alive.”
Hearing all of that made my stomach uneasy. I knew David was independent, but I didn’t know he held such a grudge against society.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice raspy from my throat tightening up. “Can you help me figure out what to do about the new one then? About telling the others?”
“Yeah.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t you get some sleep first?” His fingers drifted down my arm to where my implant once was. He caressed his thumb across my bicep. “You’ve been through a lot of hell yourself. You could use the rest. Clear your mind.”
“I-I guess,” I whispered beneath my breath. “I’m… still shaken from earlier, though. I mean…what the hell, you know? What the hell were the Saviors thinking tearing my… my damn implant out? What the—”
“Kareena, that’s enough.” His grasp on my arm tightened unintentionally and I winced. He immediately let up. “Sorry. That’s enough for tonight. Get some rest, please. We’ll worry about it in the morning.”
. . .
“Hey! You’ve got to… Stop… together.”
The words were mostly inaudible.
My eyes eased open and I rolled over in bed, straining to hear the muffled angry voices coming from the hall.
“
Don’t… what to do… You can’t…”
The voices kept fading in and out. I couldn’t make out who was speaking. Brian and…?
I sat up in bed. Oh, my head. There was a pounding in my temples. A hangover? I didn’t remember drinking that much last night.
“You can’t… Someone’s going to… Stop… an idiot!” More arguing in the hall. David. His accent was a dead giveaway.
I slipped my feet out of the covers and onto the floor. It was freezing in the room. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself as I crept over to grab a robe from off the nearby sofa and throw it on over my clothes. The thermostat had been set low. Maybe David had changed it in the middle of the night.
I walked over to the front door and listened for a moment, pressing my ear against it. It was definitely Brian and David bickering about something. I opened the door a crack and squinted, struggling to focus on the shapes in the hall. My head still ached and their raised, angry voices only made the pain intensify.
“You can’t go wherever you want!” David said.
Brian stood across from him, both hands curled into fists. “And you can’t tell me what to do! You can’t make us stay here forever. How long are we gonna be safe here?”
I opened the door a little more, my fluttering eyelids still fighting the fatigue of a restless night.
“Guys?” It came out slurred. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Guys! What’s going on?”
Brian shot a glare at me and threw up his hands. “This idiot wants us to stay here for a few more days or something, but I said we should keep moving. We’re not safe in one place.”
“We’re safe here right now,” David hissed in a lower tone. “Keep your damn voice down, too,” he added through gritted teeth. “Do you want people to start asking questions?”
Brian narrowed his eyes. “Shut up.” He sneered. “I don’t care what you say, David. Alice and I are leaving and you and Kareena can—”
“There’s another one!” I blurted out, opening the door wider.
“What?” Brian’s gaze met mine.
David’s eyes widened and he shook his head at me, trying to silently tell me not say anything else.
But I had to. Brian and Alice needed to know.
“There’s another Fluorescent One here in the hotel.”
David sighed and looked at me, disappointed.
“Another one?” Brian’s jaw dropped and he unclenched his fists. “Wait. Did you know about this, David?”
David looked away and Brian took a step closer to me. “You knew about this person and you didn’t even bother to tell us?” he asked. The dark shadows under his eyes were more prominent than ever.
I folded my arms and lowered my head as I replied. “Yes, but we were going to tell you. We just wanted to learn more about him first.”
“Him? Well, where is he?”
Alice had already poked her head out of the room and she was now standing in the hall behind Brian, listening to us.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” David said. “We don’t know anything about him yet.”
“You’re one to talk,” Brian added. “You’re the one who tried to kill me before asking any questions. You’re the one they sent to punish us for disobeying.”
“Exactly,” David snapped. “All the more reason to wait before running downstairs to make friends with the new guy who could be exactly like I was… or worse.”
“He’s not,” I butted in. All eyes were on me. “I talked to him last night for a while. He seems okay. Friendly. Hell, he didn’t try to choke me right away.” I shot a glance at David and then looked away. I’d already forgiven him for that.
Alice stepped out from behind Brian. “What does he do?” she asked. “What color is he?”
“Purple,” David and I said together.
Brian’s eyebrows twitched as he mouthed the word to himself.
“I don’t know what he can do, though,” I said, shrugging. “Not yet, at least. I don’t even know if he’s figured that out yet, either. He said he was here for business.”
Brian took Alice’s hand. “We’re going downstairs to find him.”
“Brian. Come on.” David lowered his voice. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. We need to keep our heads down.”
Brian’s lips wrinkled. “You’re not the leader of this group.”
“Neither are you,” I said, without looking him in the eye.
“We’ll be quiet,” he replied. “We’ll play it safe. Does that make you feel better?”
David shrugged and then nodded reluctantly. “Really safe. Okay?”
“I’ll go with you,” I said. “But give me a minute to wash my damn face. I just woke up, for God’s sake.”
“Yeah.” Brian rolled his eyes. “Hurry up, please.”
I rushed back inside my room and went into the bathroom to throw warm water onto my face. My dark circles were apparent, too. Not enough sleep and too much shit going on. A few days into this whole mess and I already looked like hell.
The room door clicked open and then closed.
“Make sure Brian doesn’t do or say anything stupid, okay?” David said, poking his head into the bathroom just as I was patting my face dry.
“I can’t guarantee he won’t say anything stupid,” I replied, “but I’ll try to keep him from doing it.”
“Thanks. Let me know how it goes. I’ll wait here. Three’s already a crowd anyway.”
I heard the TV power on.
Chapter 12
“Let me handle it, okay?” I said, putting a flattened hand up to stop Brian from following me any farther. “He’s already talked to me. I don’t want to freak him out or something. So just let me speak to him first, please.”
Brian’s lips crinkled to the side. “Yeah. Alright.” He backed up and leaned against the wall adjacent to the elevator. Alice did the same beside him.
I took a deep breath and continued down the hall toward Taylor’s room. Last night, I had told him a little about the others and myself, but I didn’t tell him I’d be back with them first thing in the morning.
I knocked gently on the door with the back of my hand and waited. I heard steps and then the door unlocking.
“Nice to see you again,” Taylor said, smiling with his eyes. He had a pretty smile. It made me feel somewhat bad because I hadn’t come to see him for, well, fun.
“Hi. Can we talk?” I asked.
“Of course. Come in.” He opened the door wider and stepped back, gesturing for me to enter.
“Well, I can’t. I’m actually here for another reason.”
“Oh?” His eyes narrowed and he took a step out in front of his door. “Is… something wrong? Do you want to go somewhere else to talk about it or—”
“The others want to meet you. Now.”
“Oh.” His eyebrows lifted.
“I wasn’t going to say anything about you to the others until we had more time to talk amongst ourselves, but… Brian wanted to leave the hotel and I had to say something to get him to stop.”
“I see.” Taylor looked down. “It’s okay. What else could you have done? Really?” A small, understanding grin curled his lips.
“Thanks for understanding. They’re just down the hall.” I pointed behind me. “Do you want me to bring them here?”
“I’ll go with you,” Taylor suggested, turning to pop back into his room to grab a black blazer from the nearby closet. He shrugged it on and then closed the door to his room behind him.
“Don’t be nervous, okay?” I said, brushing my fingers against the back of his hand as we walked. “They might be intimidating at first, but we’re all in this together.”
“Whatever this is,” he added, lifting his right hand—the one where I could still see the purple color inside.
Brian came meandering around the corner as we approached, then suddenly froze in place, his eyes widening. “Oh, shit.” He locked eyes with
Taylor and I watched them both tense up.
“Guys?” I said, noticing Brian make a fist. “Guys, what the hell?”
Brian scowled and bared his teeth a little as he sneered. “You son-of-a-bitch,” Brian growled, his nostrils flaring. He shot a quick glance at me and then went back to staring at Taylor like a wolf about to attack.
Taylor chuckled softly and raised both of his hands as if he were surrendering. “Hey. Come on, man. Chill, alright? I’m not here to—”
“Shut up, Taylor.”
I hadn’t told the others his name yet…
“Taylor?” I pulled on the cuff of his blazer to get him to back off.
“I’ve got this, Kareena,” he said, turning to me and grinning confidently. “Trust me.”
“Okay.” I released his sleeve. “I hope so.”
“Well,” he started, looking Brian over briefly, “you’re certainly not the little brother I—”
“Left behind?” Brian interrupted with an angry huff. I could hear his breaths growing heavier.
Shit. I didn’t know he was Brian’s…
“If you want to call it that,” Taylor replied, shaking his head. “But I call it saving my ass. I got the hell out of there before—”
“You could have taken me with you,” Brian said. “You didn’t have to leave me alone with those… bastards.”
“Who? Mom and Dad? How are they anyway?”
“Dad’s dead. Mom’s not doing much better. She lost her damn mind and tried to kill herself.”
“Damn.” Taylor’s eyes widened. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that, Brother.”
“Don’t call me that,” Brian hissed. “Kareena, go tell David we’re leaving right now.”
“But…”
“Or we’re leaving without you both.” Brian grabbed Alice’s hand and stepped backward toward the elevator, not breaking eye contact with his brother.
“Brian, please.” Taylor walked after them, but Brian took a defensive stance and coiled both hands into fists again.