“I need to go home,” Emery says apologetically. “I’m so sorry, guys. I’m such a lightweight.”
“I’m glad you are because I’m totally ready to get out of here,” Luke replies, more to make Emery feel better than anything. “I have to get up for work early, anyway.”
The four of us pile into the car. This time I sit in the backseat with Emery. She ends up falling asleep on my shoulder, her breath caressing my neck every time she exhales.
“She’s not too bad,” Violet remarks through a yawn. “We should hang out more often.”
“I think that’s the Jäger talking,” Luke tells Violet, steering the car onto the main road.
The lampposts flicker inside the car as we pass them, and a song by Brand New plays from the stereo. Luke turns up the music a little, and I relax back in the seat.
Violet shakes her head and rests her head against the window. “No… way.”
Luke and I both laugh as she passes out. Then he glances in the rearview mirror at me. “So, what’s up with you two?”
I shrug, glancing down at Emery.
What’s going on between us?
A dangerous game
that no one can really win.
The drive home feels short, but maybe that’s because I’m enjoying having Emery cuddled up against me. By the time Luke parks my car, it’s past two o’clock in the morning and the clouds have rolled in. He ends up having to carry Violet inside, and I do the same to Emery, taking her up to her apartment in my arms.
I put her in bed and pull the blankets over her. As I’m leaning back, she opens her eyes.
“Thank you, Ryler,” she murmurs then lifts her head and presses a soft kiss to my cheek.
“You’re welcome,” I sign in confusion. “But for what?”
“For taking me out and letting me have fun. No one has ever done that for me before.”
“Well, thank you for going out with me.”
“Would you…” she trails off. “Never mind.”
“No, go ahead.” I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I’m listening.”
Her mouth opens as she yawns. “Would you lay by me until I fall asleep?”
I hesitate, but then she pouts out her lip, and I give in. Kicking off my boots, I climb into bed beside her, making sure to stay on the outside of the covers.
At first, we’re both stiff, but then she unwinds and nuzzles against me. I can’t even remember the last time I spent the night with a girl. I’ve somehow forgotten how much warmer the bed is when I’m not sleeping alone. Her body feels so inviting against mine, and every time she exhales, her breath tickles my cheek.
“Have you ever been in love before?” Emery murmurs as she sets her head on my shoulder and places a soft kiss on my flesh.
My body stiffens, but I think she’s too drunk to notice. I shake my head
“Really?” She yawns again, rotating her body and propping her chin up on my chest to look up at me. “I would have guessed you’d say yes.”
I raise my hands, and she leans back to give me room to sign. “A few years ago I would have, but I learned my lesson over the last few years.”
“Lesson over what?”
“That sometimes people think they're in love when they’re really not.”
“That’s sad.” Her lip juts out. “But I think it might be true for me.”
“Really?”
She nods. “I once thought I was in love with Evan, but I think I was just seriously confused about love. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt it for anyone. At all.”
“Me neither,” I admit depressingly, but then force a stiff smile. “We still have time, though. We’re still young.”
“You might, but I’m going to end up marrying Evan.” Her eyes snap wide as if she just realized the truth to her words.
“You don’t have to marry him.” My hands dance between us, speaking for me. “You have a choice.”
“No, I don’t.” Her eyes well with tears, but she inhales, forcing them back. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be talking to you about this.”
“You can talk to me about anything,” I assure her. “That’s what I’m here for.”
“Is it?” she whispers, then lowers herself onto the pillow. I figure she’s upset with me again, but then she rolls to her side and rests her arm across her stomach.
I can’t help myself. I pull her closer and breathe in the scent of her vanilla shampoo. She buries her face in my chest and then presses a kiss to the scar on my neck. My heart jolts to life, and I painfully realize something.
I’m not just going to go down in flames. I’m already on fire, and it’s only a matter of time before I’m probably going to burn to death.
Chapter 4
A Visit From Evil
Emery
My head is pounding and every single one of my muscles throb. My mouth feels dry as sand, my throat burns like fire, and I reek of sweat. Sunlight streams through my window and onto the back of my neck, heating my skin. I’m so tired, too exhausted to open my eyes.
Ryler left sometime in the middle of the night, and the bed feels so empty without him. Last night was utterly amazing, although brief. Ryler was so sweet, too, so sweet I momentarily forgot who he works for. If only he didn’t work for my father. I’d ask him to run away with me. I don’t even care how fairytale-ish that sounds. I want to get the hell out of this life, far, far, away where I’ll never be found again. And if Ryler were with me, then my start wouldn’t be so lonely and maybe easier to face.
“I’d open them if I were you,” Ellis’s voice fills my head, “because she’s coming.”
“Who’s coming?” I murmur, burying my head into the pillow.
Hangover or not, I don’t regret what happened last night. For once, I felt like I was being normal, drinking, dancing, and yes, even saying absurd things to Ryler about being pretty.
“Emery, I’m warning you,” Ellis says in a panic. “Evil is coming. Get out before she takes you down.”
My eyes snap open at the precise moment I hear the click of the lock from the front door. Only four people have a key to my place; me, Ryler, my father, and my…
“Emery,” my mother calls out, the door clicking shut. “Where are you?”
I freeze, contemplating what to do next. Maybe if I just stay put, she’ll leave.
“That’s a stupid thought.” Ellis appears in front of me. “And you’re not a stupid girl.” He waves his hand at me. “Now, hurry up and get the butterfly back on you before she finds out.”
“The butterfly?” I ask, and then it clicks. I push up from the bed, my gut churning as I remember how I took the bracelet off last night. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”
“Emery, I’m giving you five seconds to answer me and then I’m going to punish you,” my mother says.
I can hear her rummaging around in my cupboards, probably looking for my pills. I hurry and run a comb through my hair, apply some lip-gloss, but then shudder when I glance at my reflection in the mirror. For my entire life, Mother has forced me to focus on my looks. Beauty on the outside is all that matters to her. Right now, I look like shit. Plain and simple. And she’s going to be
majorly pissed off.
“Good, let her be pissed,” I mutter to myself. “I’m a grown woman. I shouldn’t have to be afraid of my mother.”
Ellis shakes his head with a frown etched in his face. “If you could remember what happened to me, you wouldn’t be saying that.”
I glance over my shoulder at him. “What do you mean?”
Before he can answer, my mother appears in the doorway. Ellis slinks back and vanishes into the wall.
“Who were you talking to?” my mother asks, glancing around my room suspiciously. “And what in God’s name happened in here?” She pulls a face at the clothes on the floor, the unmade bed, and the trash bin overflowing with wrappers and soda cans. “This place is disgusting.”