Bite Me

by Bella Street

  She peered at the new flakes landing in his hand. There seemed to be a faint blush color. “Weird.”

  “What is it with this place and pink? Pink sun, pink sky, pink snow, pink tracksuit—” He stiffened against her side. “That reminds me, how did you get from three hallways over up to the Light Room so fast yesterday?”

  She glanced up at him. “I didn't go anywhere yesterday—well, just from my room to the one below the Light Room.”

  “But I saw you. You were wearing your Juicy suit.”

  “No, I was wearing jeans and a blouse yesterday, and honest, I didn't go anywhere.” She furrowed her brows. “There was one time that I saw someone walking around in the tracksuit, but I couldn't get a look at their face.”

  “God, do you think someone stole that fake suit and is wearing it around the halls?”

  “That has to be it.”

  Trent smirked. “I knew something was wrong. You fill out your tracksuit in all the right places—this person had a flat butt and broad shoulders.”

  Seffy giggled. “Do you think a guy is wearing it?”

  “Nothing would shock me here. This place has an effect on people.”

  “Understatement of the year.”

  Trent sighed. “Are you cold yet?”

  “I'm freezing.”

  “Then let's go back inside and I'll warm you up.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  As agreed, Seffy spent the next month setting aside those little nagging issues, such as time travel, monsters, murder, the occasional mild earthquake, and general mayhem...and pretended she and Trent were on an extended honeymoon...trapped in an attic.

  For the most part, the ruse worked. Trent—along with his kisses—was very persuasive in helping her block certain things from her mind. Like he said, they had a private, cozy place for snuggling, an unlimited supply of pilfered food, and a kaleidoscope show out the skylight to keep them entertained in the off moments when they weren't in each others arms.

  They came back to earth—or the main floor—at least once a week to put in an appearance to the others and submit their veins to Olga's ever-hungry needles.

  Seffy got a little tense as the next full moon approached, but the only howling or biting Trent did was to tease her.

  Still, she didn't fully relax until the moon began to wane.

  She glanced up at Trent as he stuffed his pockets full of candy bars from the pantry on their latest pilfering excursion, remembering their first candy-stealing moments together.

  Trent caught her nostalgic glance. “What?”

  She smiled. “I was thinking of the first time we did this. I couldn't have imagined I'd ever marry the thief next door, but here I am—”

  “—still thieving,” he said with a grin.

  Seffy looked down at her attire. “I should've worn my tracksuit. Better pockets.”

  Trent walked over and gave the knot of her shirt a tightening tug. “I think I'm starting to prefer how you look in this shirt compared the tracksuit.”

  “Speaking of thieving, I kinda stole it too.”

  “It's yours,” he said, sliding his hands across the band of bare skin between the shirt and her jeans. “I could never put it on again after seeing you in it naked and all.”

  “So I ruined it for you?”

  He leaned down and brushed a kiss along her neck. “Not ruined, but the vision of you in it that day is burned onto my brain forever. It would be sacrilegious for me to ever wear it again.”

  Seffy laughed softly and wound her arms around his neck. When he dipped his head for a kiss, she obliged him with languid ardor. A noise outside the pantry broke them apart.

  Trent looked out the crack in the door and saw a couple of residents passing by. He raised his brows at her. “We better get going before we're caught.”

  As soon as the corridor was clear, they hurried back to their rooms, pockets bulging with candy. A chocolate bar fell out of her pocket onto the floor and she stumbled in an effort to avoid stepping on it. Trent grabbed her around the waist so she wouldn't fall, and lifted her up, making her let out a little scream. She clapped her hand over her mouth, hoping no one heard her.

  A giggle escaped anyway as she retrieved the bar. Trent took her hand, threading her fingers with his as they rounded the corner that led to their doors. They stopped when they saw Gareth and the girls.

  “There you are,” Lani said, smiling. “We've been trying to reach you two for a few days now.”

  “Where do you go all the time?” Addison asked, glancing at their linked hands.

  Seffy caught a flash of something in the redhead's eyes that made her uncomfortable.

  Gareth stepped forward, his brown gaze pinning her to the spot. “Are you okay? I heard you scream.”

  Addison and Lani let out shocked gasps.

  Seffy squeezed Trent's hand when he began to pull away. “Are you here for a fight or something?” she said, pinning him with a hard look. “Oh, wait, I guess not since I see you don't have your baseball bat with you.”

  Gareth's face flushed.

  “Okay, we're getting off on the wrong foot here,” Lani said in a shrill little voice. “We'd stopped by to invite you to a Christmas party. A fun time of celebration and friendship.”

  “Christmas?” Seffy repeated stupidly, still angry about Gareth's asinine remark.

  “You know...today?” Addison said.

  “Where?” Trent asked in an even voice.

  “In the commons room at six. It'll be just us, I think. Well, of course we had to ask Jared and the girls along to be polite, but I doubt they'll come.”

  Seffy stared at Gareth, hoping to shame him for his piss-poor attitude. He refused to respond. She turned to Lani. “Do you need help setting up or—?”

  “Nope. You two have been through enough lately. We'll take care of everything. I talked to Fenn and he told me where I could get some decorations from storage. It's going to be so fun!”

  “We'll be there,” Trent said, tugging her hand. “See you then.”

  Seffy felt their attention on her back as she went through her door and closed it. Once they were alone, she turned to her husband. “Trent, I'm sorry about that—”

  He pulled candy bars out of his pockets and dumped them onto the desk. “Don't worry about it,” he said, his expression inscrutable.

  “We don't have to go.”

  “But we should. At least for the girls.”

  She joined him in emptying her pockets, then wrapped her arms around him. Pressing her cheek against his chest, she closed her eyes and wished they were a million miles away from here. Pretending they weren't in a rotten situation just wasn't enough.

  Trent's hand slid up her back and then into her hair. “I didn't realize it was Christmas,” he said quietly. “I lost track of time.”

  She smiled. “Me, too.”

  “Well, since we've established that you are aware of Santa Claus, what do you want for Christmas, young lady?”

  Seffy leaned back and looked up at him. “I got my present a little early this year.”

  He returned her smile. “Ah. So let's say I'm the practical present—like socks or underwear. If you could have anything else, as frivolous as a pink bunny suit say...what would it be?”

  “A pink bunny suit? Don't you mean an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle?”

  Trent's eyes widened in shock. “I'm impressed.”

  “We all watched that movie on cable every year for the last ten years. I can probably recite the whole stinkin' movie.”

  “Well, that explains how you heard about Santa Claus.” He gave her a squeeze. “So aside from a toy rifle...?”

  “All I want is you. Which is a good thing because I happen to know you're broke.”

  “Damn.” He sighed. “So are you going to ask me what I want?”

  “What would you like for Christmas, Trent?”

  “You, naked, in a box with a big red bow on top.”


  “Wow...how meaningful and...original.”

  ***

  “What was that all about?” Addison glared at Gareth, hands on her hips.

  He measured his words. “You mean asking if Seffy was okay? How was that a problem? Trent has roughed her up a few times before, so I was checking out of concern. Unlike you girls who suddenly think Ellison is all that.”

  “Trent gave her a good scare once, but that was all,” Lani said. “How many times do we have to tell you that the bruising is from her blood condition and not violence? And anyway, this has never been about Trent. It's about Seffy.”

  “What? I have to check my opinions at the door to protect her feelings? I guess I'm a little more concerned about her life.”

  “Okay, you know what?” Addison said with a dramatic sigh, “we are not going down this road again. Gareth, Seffy's made her choice. Get over yourself. Lani, let's go plan this damn party.” She turned and stormed off, mumbling, “God, I hate the holidays.”

  Gareth watched Lani walk down the hall. “What's with her?”

  She sent him a scowl and hurried after the redhead.

  When he was alone, he made a noise of disgust and headed for the computer lab.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “I'm pregnant.”

  Fenn turned around to find Fiona bracing her arm against the bedroom door jamb.

  Before he could respond, she pushed away and walked toward him, her dark eyes glittering in her pale face. “I've just been puking my guts out again. So this morning I went down and got the test.” She stabbed his chest with her finger. “How could you do this to me?”

  He blinked, his mind racing with the ramifications. “Uh, I think this is something we did together.”

  She spun around and stomped to the couch, collapsing onto the cushions. “All that was missing from my life is getting pregnant by a junkie with screwed up DNA.”

  Fenn walked over and sat down next to her. “That's ex-junkie, and let's not forget the part you played in my addiction.”

  “I only shot you up to stop your suffering.”

  “Or to keep me out of the way while you played leader of the compound.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest, but didn't disagree. “Well, I don't want a kid.”

  “It's our child.” He tried to touch her stomach, but she slapped his hand away.

  “God, I can't believe this.”

  Fenn tried to keep his voice even. “It's not like we've never talked about having children.”

  “It's rotten timing.”

  “Why?”

  She turned, her eyes flashing up at him. “Because I don't want to do this right now.”

  Fenn smiled. “Looks like you'll be changing your plans.” Then he wondered what she'd been up to while he'd been too weak to leave his residence. He cleared his throat. “What were your plans by the way?”

  Fiona cocked her head. “Uh, have you forgotten about getting our 'guests' out of here?”

  “I haven't forgot about the guests, no.”

  “Well, the equipment is almost ready for a retry. You need to admit your plan failed, and they need to go home.”

  He looked away, trying to formulate a response. “There are extenuating circumstances—”

  “I'm sick of hearing that, Fenn. Why is the sky getting worse? Why are you covering for Trent? And I'm still waiting to hear what is so damn special about Seffy.”

  Fenn touched her cheek, persisting even when she turned her head. “You don't need to be jealous of Seffy.”

  “So why are you so interested in everything about her?”

  “Like I've told you before, she's the hub of the time travel experiment.”

  “She's a dumb blonde in a pink tracksuit.”

  “She's not—”

  Fiona slapped the couch arm and jumped up. She suddenly blinked and began to wobble.

  He got to his feet and slid his arm around her waist to steady her. She had no choice but to lean against him, which made her start cursing.

  Fenn ignored her diatribe, wondering if the baby would be all right. His drug use could have had some effect. “This is good news, Fiona. Let me take care of you.”

  Fiona shoved his hands away. “Fine, I'll have the kid, but it'll be by C-section. There's no way I'm pushing the little mutant out the old fashioned way.”

  ***

  Seffy gripped Trent's hand as they headed to the Commons room that evening. “This is probably a terrible idea,” she said, dreading the inevitable tension to come.

  “I know it's a terrible idea, but you have to admit, it will at the very least be diverting.”

  She glanced up at him with a dry look. “Diverting. Gareth mumbling about offing you, Addison acting constipated, and Lani pretending peace is on earth.”

  He grinned. “Let's hope there's alcohol.”

  She laughed, then knocked on the door.

  Lani opened it and beamed. “Merry Christmas!”

  They went inside and looked around. A few white lights were interspersed with some chipped exterior Christmas lights, all twined with mangy, tarnished tinsel garland.

  “Fenn said there were a bunch of colored mini-lights, but this is all we could find,” Lani explained.

  Trent poked Seffy in the ribs making her jump. “Told you,” he whispered in her ear.

  She looked across the room and saw Gareth glaring at her. “Lani, what have you got to drink?”

  Malone approached them and waved at the desk lined with a variety of liquor bottles. “I'm the bar keep tonight. What'll you have?”

  She glanced at the Glock hanging from his hip holster. “Armed for a Christmas party, Malone?”

  “At all times, princess, at all times.”

  “Uh, what to drink. Nothing with grape soda,” Seffy said, thinking of the majority of her fluid intake lately. “How about a mimosa.”

  Malone smirked. “Just what I'd expect.” He turned to Trent.

  “Any Irish whiskey? Or anything single-malt?” Another meaningful look at Seffy.

  “This here is stuff I snaffled from the disco when it closed down,” Malone said. “I got Seagram's and that's it.”

  So that's where all the booze went. Malone had smuggled it out of the disco. “That's fine.”

  “Okay, I'll get it to you in a minute.”

  Lani clapped her hands to her cheeks. “Oh, I forgot the music! Addy, turn on the tape player!” She turned back to them. “All we could find was Roger Whittaker.”

  “Hey, anything's better than Zannytu.”

  “Amen,” Trent said.

  Seffy rolled her eyes.

  “What? I was agreeing with you.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist from the side and bumped his nose against her temple. “Anyway, you should be the one singing.”

  Seffy twisted around and faced him. “I don't sing.”

  “Yes, you do. I've heard you. And I remember you singing to me when I was recovering.”

  “Well, I don't do it publicly. And if you embarrass me, I won't sing for you anymore.”

  “All right, all right, it was just a suggestion.”

  Suddenly, the baritone voice of Roger poured from the scratchy tape player, singing about tiny angels. Seffy groaned. Luckily, Malone chose that moment to put drinks in their hands.

  She sipped from her mimosa, wrinkled her nose at the flavor of cheap champagne, and idly wondered if it was drugged.

  A few minutes later, Jared and the girls arrived. Lani welcomed them with a strained smile. Addison didn't bother to hide her disgusted expression. Gareth looked bored.

  Jared spotted the booze and made a beeline to the desk. Within moments, he and Malone were in a dispute about how to make a boilermaker. Cynthia and Eva wandered around the room, snickering and rolling their eyes at the décor. Seffy felt like kicking them. Maybe she'd have a few more drinks and do just that.

  “How you doing, babe?” Trent asked quietly, draping his arm around her shoulders.

 
; “Fine.”

  “You have a 'I'm gonna get drunk' look in your eye.”

  She took a deep drink from her glass. “Maybe.”

  “Well, considering the mostly villainous group that's here, I recommend you go easy. They might have something planned.”

  Seffy made a moue of disappointment. “Are you trying to harsh my mellow?”

  “Hey, if you want to come with me and get drunk in the Light Room where I can take advantage of you, I'm all for it.”

  “Promise?” she whispered.

  He tightened his arm around her and dropped a light kiss on her lips.

  “God, if I have to watch you two slobbering all over each other, I'll need to get drunk pronto.”

  Seffy turned around, turning red in spite of herself. “So, how's it going, Cynthia?”

  “This party is lame.”

  “Only since you got here,” Trent said in a bored voice.

  “Good one,” Addison spluttered from where she stood holding a drink.

  Seffy figured her friend had already had a few rounds. She drained her own drink, then motioned to Malone for another.

  After about an hour of stilted small talk laced with an undercurrent of bitterness, the mood began to shift to forced joviality laced with...an undercurrent of bitterness.

  From there, everyone forgot why they pretty much hated each other...all helped along by the dulcet tones of Roger Whittaker and cheap booze.

  Trent stopped Seffy after her third drink, while still nursing his first whiskey. “It'll be more fun this way,” he said in a low voice. “We can observe better if we keep clear heads.”

  “I'm not so sure I want to keep a clear head,” she complained. But the champagne didn't seem to be agreeing with her stomach, so she chatted everyone up like she was having the best time ever.

  Two hours in, Malone smashed the tape recorder with his fist. No one seemed to notice the abrupt lack of Christmas music.

  Jared stood invading Gareth's personal space, rambling on about compound conspiracies, while Addison gave a list of reasons why Eva's outfit sucked as they both laughed like they were the best of friends.