by Alyssa Cole
The boredom was bad, but the worst side effect of our new lives in the era of the unknown was the lack of privacy. With all of us drifting aimlessly through the house with no set schedule, Gabriel and I hadn’t had a moment alone since the interlude in the cellar. Every time we stumbled upon each other in the kitchen or hallway, either John or Maggie would pop up, oblivious that they were engaging in massive levels of cockblocking.
As disappointing as it was for my libido, on some level I appreciated the unasked-for chaperones and unintended sexual sabotage. Making out with Gabriel had been hot as hell, and I wanted more of that, but our lack of alone time meant that instead of just jumping on each other and sucking face, we actually had to get to know each other.
I kept waiting for him to say something that would render him completely unattractive to me, like a revelation that Atlas Shrugged was his favorite novel or that he enjoyed eating belly button lint. Instead, I learned that the only time he’d ever been reprimanded in school was for decking some jerk who’d harassed John for weeks, and that he spent his time between shifts—the time when he couldn’t force himself to sleep—reading to patients in the children’s oncology ward. Was he kidding me with this shit? He wasn’t perfect, but the anecdotes from his siblings and our own interactions proved one thing to be true: resistance was futile. The better I got to know him, the more I wanted him. That wasn’t usually how things worked out for me, and it was new and frightening territory.
Trying to make the most of my time, I spent hours working with Maggie on her guitar playing. I pushed her until her fingers bled, but it gave us both something to focus on besides the fact that life without Wi-Fi sucked. In addition to being a handy diversion, it was kind of fun having to remember how to play songs without the benefit of prewritten tabs and chord progressions at our fingertips.
“That was close, but you’re letting your brain get ahead of your fingers,” I said one afternoon, readjusting Maggie’s fingers on the frets of her guitar. “You have to play slowly before you really learn a song. It’s not going to sound perfect the first few times, and rushing doesn’t help.”
“You’ve told me that like five times already,” she griped.
“Okay, enough of that for the day,” John announced as he ran into the living room and snatched the guitar out of Maggie’s hands. There was only so long we could play before driving the Seong men up the wall, and apparently that limit had been reached. I tried to grab it back, but he jumped away from me and held it toward the fireplace.
“Don’t think I won’t,” he said. “We’re running low on kindling and this would kill two birds with one stone.”
“You’re such a jerk,” Maggie growled, not deigning to chase after him.
I picked up an old magazine and ignored him, and he glumly returned the guitar to his sister.
“You girls are no fun,” he said.
“We’re women, John, not girls,” Maggie said, and I smiled. I was rubbing off on her, it seemed.
“You’re not a woman,” Gabriel said as he strode into the room, bringing a blast of heat with him that seemed to affect only me. “And if any guy tries to tell you otherwise, introduce him to me and I’ll set him straight.”
“Ugh, both of you are jerks!” Maggie grabbed her guitar and stomped out of the room. A few moments later, her door slammed.
“I thought she’d be good for at least another ten minutes of harassment. Now who are we going to antagonize?” John asked before turning his gaze toward me.
“Don’t even think about it, buddy,” I said. “I’ll break you over my knee and throw you on the woodpile.”
John picked up the metal fire poker and pointed it in my direction. I pretended to lunge at him, and he flinched, dropping the poker and narrowly avoiding stabbing himself in the foot. Gabriel laughed, and I tried the same move on him, but he didn’t even blink. He simply rocked back in his chair and crooked a finger in my direction.
“Bring it on.”
I knew he was joking, but his voice made me press my thighs together even when he was being a jerk. Actual flirtation brought on the urge to jump into his lap. My cheeks blazed and I looked away quickly.
“I always lost the flinching game when we were kids.” John looked dejected, as if this was high on his list of regrets. “But I was really good at hide-and-seek. I think I’ve only been found once in twenty-four years. That has to be some kind of record.”
“Longest time spent hiding in the closet?” Gabriel quipped. When John gave him an unamused stare, he threw up his hands. “Hey, you set them up, I knock them down.”
“I liked you better before you developed a sense of humor,” John said, pressing a hand to his chest and glaring at Gabriel in disdain.
“I’ve never really played hide-and-seek before,” I said with faux casualness. “Maybe a couple of times when I visited some cousins. When your parents are almost old enough to be your grandparents and you’re an only child, you spend a lot of time watching public television and going for quiet strolls in the park. I can quote every episode of Miss Marple, though, so I have no regrets.”
I’d always dreamed of having brothers and sisters, a ready-made group of friends who would love you no matter what. Of course, it wasn’t always so simple; spending time with John, Gabriel and Maggie had illustrated that well enough. But the ease they had with each other, even when they argued, sometimes made me so envious of the little things they took for granted.
“And here I thought I knew you, yet I never would have guessed that you’d led such a deprived childhood,” John said. “Did your parents feed you gruel for dinner? Were the dust bunnies under the bed your only friends?”
I shot him a glare.
“Well, there’s no time like the present,” Gabriel said, standing and striding to the wall. He crossed his arms against the wood paneling and rested his forehead on them. I tried not to stare at his ass, outlined by the clinging material of his sweatpants. They didn’t say “juicy” across the back, probably because that would have been redundant. “I’m going to count to one hundred. You guys go hide.”
“Seriously?” I leaned forward in my seat. Hide-and-seek was a kid’s game, and nothing I had learned about Gabriel indicated he was into frivolous wastes of time.
He shot an annoyed look at me over his shoulder. “You got anything better to do, Arden? One, two—”
I looked over at John, who was grinning like a fool. Just like that, we were five years old again, scrambling out of our seats and tearing through the hall, bumping into each other while we tried to navigate who would claim what part of the house for their hiding spot. I felt giddily happy as I pushed past John and rushed up the stairs.
Maggie’s door opened.
“We’re playing hide-and-seek!” I whispered. She shook her head in teenaged disgust and closed the door in my face. Undeterred, I continued on and opened a door to a room I hadn’t been in before. As soon as I did, I realized I wouldn’t be hiding there. I would abide by the rules of every childhood game—the parents’ bedroom was off-limits.
I crept down the hall, Gabriel’s booming voice alerting me that I didn’t have very much time left. I had a sudden memory of the last time I’d played the game: me stumbling in a blind panic and eventually hiding behind a coat tree. I’d sucked at hide-and-seek, which was probably the real reason I hadn’t played.
“Ninety-three! Ninety-four!”
How had the time passed so quickly? It’d been going slow as molasses all day. In a complete state of panic, I jumped into the bathroom, leaving the door open just a crack to throw Gabriel off my trail. No sane person would leave the door to their hiding spot open, would they? I congratulated myself for my craftiness and scanned the bathroom for a good place to stash myself.
I considered jumping into the bathtub and pulling the shower curtain, but that was way too easy. A large bathrobe hung from a hook on the wall, its hem hovering just over the floor.
Jackpot, I thought as I slid behind the wall of flu
ffy terry cloth. I felt a bit foolish in the silence that rang through the house after Gabriel stopped counting, but only because of the anticipation that thrummed through my body. The object of the game was to avoid detection, but my heart beat rapidly at the fact that Gabriel was searching for me and at the thought of what could happen if he found me.
I had no idea how long I hid under the robe—it seemed as though I spent a century straining to hear the creak of stairs or some other sound that would indicate that Gabriel was near. I was starting to chide myself for expecting anything more than an afternoon of fun when I heard the hushed glide of the bathroom door opening. And then the click of it closing and locking.
He couldn’t know I’m in here. I willed my heart to stop beating so loudly and my breath to come more quietly. You’re probably about to be subjected to someone’s post-kimchi intestinal distress.
I thought about revealing myself, but I could feel Gabriel’s presence when he moved in front of me. I knew it was him—my nipples hardened and my sex tightened like some kind of erotic emergency alert system. It was no surprise when the robe was lifted and he stood before me, his mouth curved in a triumphant grin.
“Well, what do we have here?” His gaze was intense as he looked down at me, and I realized I had pressed myself back against the tiles like some unlucky sheep that had been cornered by the big bad wolf.
We were finally alone.
Something hot and primeval surged through me as he dropped the robe over the edge of the tub and lowered himself onto it, sitting with his legs wide.
He didn’t say a word, but his eyes communicated well enough. Hunger. Desire. Need. My body thrilled with mirrored responses, and I stepped between his legs as if he’d commanded me to. He placed his hand against the small of my back and pulled me close to him, and just like that, nothing else mattered. There was no need for foreplay or teasing—we had endured days of that already. There was only this stolen moment together, away from family and friends, taking what comfort we could from each other.
My fears for the future disappeared with the whisper of his hand sliding under my shirt and caressing my skin. The uncertainty about my parents’ fate faded into the background as my fingers raked through his thick hair. The fact that when and if life went back to normal was completely out of our control didn’t matter when our mouths met in a desperate tangle of tongues.
His hands skimmed up my torso, his rough palms smoothing over my waist and stomach. When he moved them up to cup my breasts, I deeply regretted my decision to wear a bra that morning. But his questing fingers wouldn’t be denied, and he tugged the cups down to expose my pebbled nipples to his touch. I gasped into his mouth as he rubbed his fingertips over them, sending waves of pleasure pulsing through me. I pushed my chest forward into his hands, needing more than the languid strokes he was teasing me with.
“Fuck, Arden.” His whisper was harsh against my lips, but he got my message—he didn’t stop. He pinched at the hardened peaks, his groan matching my sharp gasp. His hands dipped down to grab the edge of my shirt and raise it, and then his tongue was circling over my breast, teeth scraping over my areola as he nipped and sucked.
Wild, wicked sensation slashed through my body and I fought to stay quiet, biting my lip to keep from moaning aloud. There was something thrilling about not being able to make a sound. It provided a signal boost that amplified each warm passage of his tongue over my pebbled breasts. Gabriel felt the thrill, too, it seemed, since he was doing his damnedest to make me break my silence.
His hand drifted to the waistline of my pants and his gaze locked with mine, asking permission. I wanted to say yes, but before I got the chance, reality intruded on our hedonistic escape once again. A loud noise from outside made us both freeze in place and reduced my ardor to cold ash. I knew we were both thinking the same thing: this is it. Someone’s come for us.
We scrambled from the bathroom and down the hall, bumping into Maggie when she came flying out of her room. She gave me a look when I tugged at my bra, adjusting it through my shirt, but fear won out over curiosity as we raced down the stairs.
There was another crash from outside as we touched down in the foyer, and my blood ran cold at the imagined hordes encroaching upon our safe haven. I didn’t want to fight, but when I looked at Maggie’s wan face, I knew I’d rip the throat out of the first person who tried to get through that door.
We stood tensed, listening for something that would indicate what kind of danger awaited us outside. Finally, Maggie began to advance, arm outstretched as if she was ready to swing the door open and let in whoever lurked on the other side.
Gabriel grabbed for her and shook his head, but she tugged free and pointed toward the peephole in the door. Without waiting for his permission, she ran and peeked through.
“Oh my God,” she said, turning and sagging against the door.
“What is it?” Gabriel growled.
“Deer.” She unlocked the door and flung it open. “The freaking mother lode of deer.”
Dozens of deer filled the woods surrounding the house. They milled about, foraging for food and generally paying us no mind. Fawns cantered around their parents’ hooves, and a four-point buck used his antlers to shake snow from a bush before nibbling on it.
“What the fuck? Is this normal?” I asked. I didn’t consider myself a city girl, but this was above and beyond anything I’d ever seen.
“I don’t think so,” Maggie said. “But usually they’re stuck in one place unless they want to get run over trying to cross the highway. Maybe they’ve already started adapting to life without us humans messing up the natural order.”
“You know, you’re not making this less scary,” I sniped, staring out at the herd.
“Hey, you asked,” she said, shutting and locking the door. I glanced at Gabriel, who was deep in thought.
“At least we have an alternate food source nearby if they don’t travel too far,” he said, because of course that was what he’d say. “Once there’s room in the freezer, we’ll go hunting.”
“If things aren’t back to normal by then,” I added, although no part of me believed that normal would be happening anytime soon.
John strolled into the hallway then, yawning widely before leaning on the banister. “I fell asleep in my hiding spot. What did I miss? Did Gabriel find you, Arden?”
Oh he found me, all right.
“Your hide-and-seek champion record is safe,” I hedged, hoping I wasn’t blushing too hard. “And you missed a pack of rabid deer surrounding the house and scaring the shit out of us.”
John looked through the peephole and shuddered dramatically. “Do you think they’re Russian spy deer?”
The keening cry of a doe came from outside, as if in answer.
“Canadian,” I said, hoping to lighten the mood.
A deer cried out again, sounding startlingly like a human scream.
“Let’s hope so,” Gabriel said, coming to stand beside me. “At least they’ll be polite when they eat our faces off.”
I burst out laughing, leaning into him a bit. Just like that, I wasn’t so afraid anymore.
Chapter Ten
“Kids in Europe start drinking when they’re, like, ten,” Maggie said when John passed her over while pouring rice wine at dinner that night. We were all still a little shaken up by the great deer invasion of early afternoon, and those of us over the age of twenty-one handled it like adults—by purposefully destroying brain cells.
“Send me a postcard from Europe when you arrive,” John said, placing the bottle down on the wooden table.
Maggie took a sip of her diet soda and looked around the table conspiratorially. “We should do something tomorrow night.”
“Something like what?” Gabriel asked. His gaze flicked to my face for a second, and then back down to his food. He hadn’t spoken to me since we’d sat down at the table, but I kept catching him looking at me. I played it cool¸ but my stomach fluttered each time I caught his searing gaz
e directed at me, however briefly. I couldn’t stop thinking of his mouth and hands on me and wondered if he was having the same problem.
“Like a game night,” Maggie said.
“That sounds like fun,” Gabriel said. “What kind of games?” I could see from the crease in his brow that he was already catastrophizing, as if she was a toddler and not a teen. “Like, are you talking a scavenger hunt in the woods or board games?”
His helicopter brothering made sense. Although we’d had several talks about being more vigilant, he hadn’t told John and Maggie about the footprints near the bodies to my knowledge. A plan that involved heading into the woods wouldn’t be the craziest thing for a teenager trapped in a house with her annoying siblings to come up with.
“A casino night,” Maggie said, brightening up as if selling us on the concept. Gabriel relaxed a bit. “Mom and Dad have a poker set, with chips and everything. It could be fun.”
“You know how to play poker?” I asked.
“I’m Korean,” she said, the “duh” heavily implied by her tone.
“I taught her when she was still in diapers,” John corrected, although he was smiling at his sister in adoration.
“And I want to make dinner again, since my Spam casserole didn’t turn out so great the other night. I need a pen and paper, so I can make an itinerary for tomorrow,” she said excitedly, jumping up from the table.
“Do you really need to—” Gabriel started, but I interrupted him.
“Go get the pen and paper so you can write down everything you’ll need. We can help you plan your dinner menu too,” I said to Maggie.
He gave me a confused look, but instead of arguing he stood and started collecting the empty dishes.
When Maggie returned, she sat and wrote “Casino Night in Purgatory” in loopy letters at the top of a piece of paper. “We were reading Dante in English class,” she explained when we groused about the title.