Elsa
Past
I wrap my hand around Grey Eyes’. The freezing temperature shocks my warm skin.
I frown as I stare up at him. “Why didn’t you tell me you were cold?”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. Daddy says children can’t get cold or they’ll get sick. I don’t want you to get sick.”
His lips move into a small smile. It’s so rare to see him smile. I’ve even given him my Maltesers and he still wouldn’t smile as big as I do.
He watches me closely like Uncle Agnus does when there’s something on my face.
I wipe at the corner of my mouth, but there’s nothing. “Why are you looking at me like that?
“If you keep your promise, I won’t get sick.”
I grin and lean my head on his shoulder. It’s warm, his shoulder, even though the rest of him isn’t. “I will! Absolutely.”
* * *
Present
A knot squeezes tightly around my heart like a noose, filled with wires and mines.
Sitting up in bed, I wipe the stray tear falling down my cheek. I don’t even know why I’m crying.
I didn’t have a nightmare, but the stiffness in my chest almost make it seem like one.
Something feral and wild beats beneath my skin, something scary, but also… exhilarating.
I pull my knees to my chest and watch my hands under the dim light of the night lamp. No idea why I do that. It’s not like I can reincarnate the feeling of his hand in mine.
Or the warmth of his shoulder when I laid my head against it.
Or how easy our interactions were.
We’re like two pieces of the same puzzle, him and I.
He was beautiful even back then — with his boyish features and tousled hair.
He grew up to be lethal.
The words we exchanged play in a loop in my mind. We made a promise. How come I don’t remember it?
You’re the one who never keeps her promises.
Surely, a promise made by a seven-year-old and an eight-year-old can’t be that important.
It’s three in the morning, and I probably won’t be able to find sleep any time soon. I plug my earbuds in and hit play on my iPod. Paradise by Coldplay fills my ears as I retrieve my phone and go through Instagram.
Since Aiden and Silver talked to me on Friday, I went back to stalking him.
What?
I can’t control my cravings anymore. I was only able to do that due to my resolve and because I thought I was the other woman.