Toad

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Toad Page 16

by Cambria Hebert


  She smiled. “Thank you.”

  Violet slid a slice of the gluten-free pizza in her mouth and groaned. After a moment, she glanced at me and blushed. “Why does it have to taste so good?”

  I knew Violet had some kind of illness or something. I remembered seeing the headlines.

  Ten’s girl—incurable!

  Will Ten’s money get his girl better treatment?

  I didn’t know what was wrong with her exactly, though. I never bothered to read the articles. They were probably all lies anyway. Obviously, though, she had some kind of dietary restrictions.

  I wasn’t about to pry. I knew what that felt like. She probably just wanted someone to see her for her and not for what might or might not be wrong.

  “I wish I knew,” I replied, taking a huge bite and groaning, too.

  “Are you two making a porn over there?” Nate quipped. “That’s a lot of moaning.”

  “What the fuck did you just say to my girl?” Ten growled.

  Violet widened her eyes at me, and we laughed.

  “I take it he’s very… um, protective?” I said after a minute.

  “You have no idea.” Violet sighed.

  For some reason, an image of Nate standing over the intruder in my house, brandishing a gun and a dark look, came to mind. Along with it came an intense wave of longing. I wanted to be protected like that. To feel safe with someone.

  “You died!” Nate intoned. “Why did you die?”

  “I need more pizza,” Ten replied, standing from the couch. His dark hair was messy, and he was dressed casually in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt.

  He was more relaxed than I’d ever seen him before. It looked good on him. I wondered how it would look on me.

  “Violet, get over here,” Nate called out. “Come play with me.”

  “I don’t know how to play that game.”

  “I’ll teach you.” He cajoled.

  “Go sit down, baby,” Ten said, reaching around her for some pizza. “Take your cardboard with cheese.”

  “It’s good. Try it.” She held it up.

  He blanched.

  “Please, Stark,” she said sweetly.

  His face softened, and he opened his mouth. She put the pizza in, and he took a big bite. She smiled while he chewed. “See! It’s good, isn’t it?”

  “Soo good.” He agreed, trying not to make a face.

  “Violet!” Nate hollered.

  She took her plate to the couch.

  “She calls you Stark?”

  Ten nodded once. “I’m not Ten with her.”

  “Who’s Stark?” I asked quietly.

  “Me.”

  Nate made a sound and dropped back onto the couch. “Violet! You’re terrible at this game.”

  She threw her napkin at him. “I told you I couldn’t play!”

  “Look, look,” he said, sitting up and holding the controller out in front of her. He began explaining each button, and she just laughed.

  I watched them, my throat tight. “They’re so…”

  “Real?” Ten finished.

  I glanced at him and nodded. “Normal.”

  He half smiled. “It’s strange, right?”

  “Entirely.”

  “You get used to it. And then when you’re around everyone else, you wonder how you never realized just how fake they all are.”

  “Oh, I know,” I murmured. “Can’t trust anyone.”

  The lid to the pizza box closed. “That why you here with Nate?”

  I glanced around at him.

  He made a face. “I know it’s not just work.”

  “No.” I admitted. “It’s not. I needed somewhere to—”

  “Hide?”

  “Something like that.”

  “I’ve seen the headlines. What the hell is going on with you and Will Solberg?”

  “Nothing,” I said swiftly.

  He gave me a quiet look, a look that called me out on my bullshit.

  I glanced away.

  Ten shifted, leaned in closer, and spoke low. “I know Nate acts like an idiot—”

  Instantly offended, I demanded, “He’s not!”

  Ten smiled slow. “So that’s the way it is, huh?”

  “It’s not any way.”

  He made a bland face. “I know all too well the draw of someone like Nate. The chance to be someone other than who you are.”

  My eyes flashed up to his. Was he warning me off his cousin? “I’m not trying to be anyone else.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Right now, it sure as hell looks like you’re trying to be single when we both know you’re married.”

  I felt all the blood drain from my face. “It’s complicated.”

  Ten held up a hand. “You don’t have to explain to me. I understand complicated.”

  “Then why bring it up?”

  His stare went over my shoulder, toward the laughing pair on the couch. “Because he’s my family. Because I know what it feels like to hurt someone you love with lies you never meant to tell.”

  I bristled.

  Ten reached out, laying his hand on mine. I stilled and looked down. He pulled back, knowing he had my attention once more. “All I’m saying is you two look familiar.”

  I blinked, confused.

  Ten chuckled. “You should talk to him. Tell him all the shit you’re scared to say. Starting with that douche Solberg.”

  I felt my shoulders sag. “It’s all such a mess.”

  His hand covered mine again, but this time he didn’t pull it away. “Sometimes it’s easier to clean up a mess when you have extra hands.”

  I glanced down, avoiding his eyes. “I don’t have anyone,” I whispered.

  He squeezed my hand. “Yes. You do.”

  “He’s not going to stick around once he knows how weak I am.”

  A rude sound ripped from his throat. “I see the way he looks at you. He’s not going anywhere.”

  He made it sound easier than it was. My past was a lot more complicated than peeing on a crowd and a stint in rehab.

  “What the fuck is this?” Nate’s voice boomed close behind me. I jumped, surprised, not realizing he was so near. His arm shot out past my body, pointing with accusation at where Ten held my hand. “That’s a hell no!”

  Ten smirked and didn’t withdraw his hand.

  Nate lunged forward as though he were going to go over the tiny island and tackle him. I made a sound of distress and yanked my hand from under Ten’s, placing both on Nate’s chest, pushing him back. “Stop!”

  Nate rocked back on his heels and glanced down at where I touched him. Jade eyes bounced between mine, and beneath my palm, I felt his heart hammering.

  “That was for asking Vi out on a date.” Ten seemed amused.

  I really didn’t think this was funny. Clearly, Ten had no idea what Nate was capable of.

  “Oh my God, Stark! Get over it already!” Violet exclaimed.

  “Not cool,” Nate told him. His voice was all rumbly. It made my insides tingle.

  I started to pull back, but he moved swiftly, covering my hands with one of his, effectively pinning them against his chest. “You know I was just trying to help you out.”

  Clearly, I really needed the story behind Nate and Violet’s “date.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m doing right now,” Ten answered quietly.

  Nate’s stare came back to mine. “What’s he talking about, princess?”

  I worried my lower lip as I wondered what to say. Nate reached out, tugging my lip from the confines of my teeth. “Don’t do that.”

  “We should talk,” I finally said.

  Maybe Ten was right. Maybe I should just spill everything once and for all. Then I’d really find out if Nate could still think of me as a princess, or if, after everything, he too would see me as a toad.

  Nate

  Ten wasn’t interested in Aerie. He was all in with Violet.

  But dude better keep his hands to himself.

  “We shou
ld go,” I said, taking Aerie’s hand and lacing my fingers with hers.

  “You don’t have to leave.” Violet fretted, shifting from foot to foot.

  I stopped but kept hold of Aerie. “It’s all good.” I assured her, giving her a one-armed hug. “We’ll hang later.”

  “But—”

  “They need to talk,” Ten told her gently, tucking her into his side. The pair exchanged a glance. Then Violet nodded.

  “It was nice to meet you,” she told Aerie. “If you ever need a break from Nate, you can come over anytime. He can give you my number.”

  “No one ever needs a break from me.” I reminded Violet.

  She made an unladylike sound.

  How rude.

  “I’ll call you,” Aerie told her as I towed her toward the door.

  She said she wanted to talk. It was the first time I’d heard that come out of her mouth, and I wasn’t about to fool around and wait for her to change her mind. Especially not since, up until a few minutes ago, I thought I was going to have to push her into telling me anything at all.

  Whatever Ten said to her must have had some effect.

  That pissed me off, too.

  Out in the hall, reluctantly, I released her hand. “I’ll be right there.”

  She nodded and went a little farther, knowing I wanted to talk to my cousin. Violet hung back in the room, and Ten propped himself in the doorway.

  “What the hell did you say to her?” I demanded.

  “Nothing much.”

  The stony look on my face told him what I thought about that.

  He made a sound. “I just told her she needed to level with you.”

  “About?”

  “About everything. She’s not like the girls here at Blaylock. She’s from a whole different world, man. A complicated one.”

  “I’m well aware,” I answered, flat.

  “I’m not sure you do.”

  “Really? ‘Cause I thought the night I stared down a gun, then knocked some would-be kidnapper down the stairs, was proof enough.”

  Ten reacted. His body stiffened, and he shot forward. “What the fuck!”

  “I handled it.”

  “It’s too late to tell you to not get involved, isn’t it?”

  I stepped closer and hitched a chin toward the room. “If someone told you that about Violet…?”

  He sighed.

  “I thought so. Thanks for looking out for me,” I told him. I actually really appreciated it. It was sort of proof that the old Ten was back, and he was here to stay. I’d missed him all those years he’d been gone. “But I won’t walk away from this. From her.”

  “Which is why I told her to talk to you,” Ten said quietly.

  “Next time you wanna talk to her, do it while keeping your hands to yourself.” I warned.

  He laughed. “You need anything, just call.” He held out a hand, and we shook. “By the way,” he added, “she got pissed when I called you an idiot.”

  That made me grin.

  She was totally into me.

  I jogged down the hallway to her side, and we fell into step together.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked, curious.

  “‘Course.”

  Inside my Ford, Aerie started to tug off my hoodie. I reached over and stopped her. “Leave it on.”

  “Aren’t we just going to your house?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. We’re going to talk. And you’re gonna need that where we’re going.”

  “Where’s that?”

  I smiled and turned onto the road, heading away from my house.

  “You’ll see.”

  Aerie

  Headlights bounced off a chain-link fence, an empty, overgrown parking lot, and not much else. The sky was dark and not a lot of stars shone overhead.

  “Is this the part where you kill me?” I joked.

  He said nothing as he turned off the engine, climbed out, and came around to the passenger door. Once it was open, he leaned into the opening and offered me his hand.

  “This is the part where I ask you if you trust me.”

  I did. I didn’t even have to ask myself or question if my trust in him was misplaced. Slipping my hand into his, I allowed him to tug me out of the car and slam the door behind us.

  Quickly, Nate jumped the fence, making all the metal clang and wobble. I stared from the other side. “You want me to do that?”

  “Come on, then.” He beckoned.

  I put my foot into one of the links and hoisted myself over. Nate held out his hand again, offering balance, and I took it. He caught me when I leapt off the fence, both his arms wrapping around me.

  I laughed as he took my hand and pulled me along. “Seriously, where are we going?”

  “You don’t see it?”

  I glanced all around. There wasn’t much to see. Grass dotted here and there with stray litter.

  We continued, and a few moments later, a dark shape loomed up ahead. My steps faltered. He gave my hand a squeeze. “Trust me.”

  As we got closer, I could make out the shapes. “It isn’t…?” I whispered, my steps quickening.

  Nate stopped walking, jolting me to a stop. I looked back, impatient. With a warm chuckle, he came in front, bending low, offering his back.

  I leapt on, draping my arms around his neck. My body bounced against his as he jogged, giving me a piggyback ride toward the dark destination.

  “This is amazing!” I said when he stopped in front of the short fence surrounding it.

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” he quipped, setting me down and then hopping that fence.

  I got a little nervous when he disappeared from sight, but the feeling evaporated the second I heard him throw what I guessed was a heavy switch.

  Lights burst across the grass and livened up the dark. Music began playing softly, slowly, almost as if, given a fresh battery, the song would speed up and be clearer.

  It didn’t matter, though.

  Nate had brought me to life in the center of this dead field.

  Covering my mouth with my hands, I felt my eyes grow wide as I watched the painted animals begin to bob up and down as the entire structure slowly turned.

  Lights blinked and music played. I watched the carousel turn slowly. As it did, Nate came around with it, standing in the center of a few bobbing horses. His hair blew playfully when he jumped off the platform, walked to a gate in the small fence, and opened it wide. I ran through, taking his hand, and he swung me up onto the ride, jumping up behind me.

  I didn’t see the fading, somewhat chipped paint or notice how a few of the lights blinked on and off instead of staying lit. All I saw was magic.

  Nate pointed to a white horse with a blue saddle, and I rushed forward, wrapping my hand around the brass pole. He palmed my waist and lifted, and I scrambled onto the horse as it was rising.

  Beside the white horse was a black one with a red saddle and a white mane. Nate climbed on, and together we rode a few turns without saying anything at all.

  “What is this place?” I finally asked, gazing out into the dark.

  “Used to be a fairground. They had carnivals here every spring, and sometimes the circus would come to town. In the summer, they’d set up a county fair, and this place would be packed.”

  “They don’t do it anymore?”

  He shook his head. “Nah. Not sure why they stopped, but no one ever took down the carousel.”

  “I love it,” I said, leaning my cheek against the pole as the horse dipped down.

  “I thought you might.”

  “We probably aren’t supposed to be here, are we?”

  He smiled. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

  “I like your friends,” I said after a moment as the horse I was on rose toward the ceiling.

  “You have any friends, princess?”

  I swallowed the lump suddenly stuck in my throat. It hurt going down, as though I’d swallowed a shard of glass. “The closest thing I have to a friend
is Mac, and I pay him to be around.”

  His voice was soft, not demanding. Just curious. “Why are you so isolated?”

  I gazed out past the carousel and into the night. It felt as if we were on our own little planet and beyond us was an empty galaxy. Like we were the only two people in the world.

  “I didn’t notice it was happening at first, but after, it just seemed easier that way,” I replied.

  The horse Nate sat on creaked and squeaked as he got off. I turned toward him as he stepped up so close he brushed the side of my horse and my leg. The intensity of his stare made my stomach wobble and my fingers tremble. He didn’t say anything, but our eyes locked. His stare followed mine as the horse rose, carrying me away from him.

  Saying nothing, his hands wrapped around my waist, and I let go of the pole. Without any effort, he lifted me off the seat and stepped back to make room as he slid me down the front of his body.

  I shivered with the contact. His closeness made me feel lightheaded.

  “Are you cold?” His brows drew together, and he reached for my hand.

  I started to tell him I wasn’t, but the second our fingers brushed, he winced. “Shit, princess. Your hands are like ice.”

  I hadn’t even noticed. I’d been too preoccupied with him.

  “I’m sorry,” I murmured, trying to tug my hand free.

  “What are you apologizing for?” he asked, snatching my hand back. “Let’s warm them up.”

  I frowned, wondering what he meant, when suddenly, Nate lifted the hem of his T-shirt and pressed my icy hand to his midsection. His skin was sinfully warm, and I had a momentary flashback to the night at my house when he’d be wearing only boxers. My palm flattened as blissful heat wrapped around me.

  He made a sound, then yelled, “Yikes, woman!”

  I jerked away, but he only laughed and towed me back. Grabbing my other hand, he added it beneath his shirt, tugged down the hem, and rubbed his hands briskly over mine.

  “You really don’t have to do that,” I murmured. Will always winced when I touched him with cold hands. He certainly never offered to warm them up with his own body heat.

  His voice brushed over me, and goose bumps pricked my skin. “Any opportunity to get you close, princess, is an opportunity I’m going to take.”

 

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