The three of us remain silent for the next few minutes until Gage finally breaks the silence.
“Sky, you’re a beautiful girl, whether you believe so or not.” He places a hand on my shoulder. “Guys are just assholes sometimes.”
I force a tiny smile. “Thanks for not falling into your gender stereotype.”
“And just remember, you never have to see that jerk again,” Nina adds in an attempt to cheer me up.
The reminder does make me feel better. Unlike with Grey, the embarrassing encounter will never get thrown in my face again. I can just move on.
Move on, Sky, move on.
If only things were that easy. But moving on is never easy. Life isn’t easy. And the rain pouring from the darkening sky reminds me of that.
Not wanting to be a downer, I do what I’ve been doing for the last two weeks. I plaster on a fake, shiny smile and pretend everything is okay. Maybe if I keep pretending long enough, I’ll start believing it myself, and then the rain, fires, and electricity will finally go away.
Chapter 3
Darkness circles me, wrapping around me like snakes. I can’t breathe. Can’t think. I need to get free, need to protect myself.
I dig deep inside me, for the first time ever, begging for my powers to manifest.
Lightning flashes above me and fizzles across my skin, as the wind kicks up, sending darkness swirling through the air. A fire ignites from somewhere. Ice crackles. And then the mysterious stranger appears in the center of the chaos—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
The obnoxious noise pulls me from my trippy dream.
“Oh, my God, what the hell is that?” Gage groans from beside my feet.
After the whole disaster with the mysterious stranger yesterday, we decided to spend the night at my house and have one final hurrah before my new guardian shows up to drag me away. I was nervous for half the night as the wind continued to howl and rain flooded the streets, but then Nina got a bottle of whiskey out from my parents’ stash and one thing led to another, and then … Well, let’s just say I passed out right about when Gage started throwing up.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
I try to force my eyelids open, but my entire body feels heavy. “I have no idea what that noise is,” I mutter. “But maybe, if we ignore it, it’ll self-destruct.”
“If it doesn’t self-destruct soon, I’m going to destroy it myself,” Nina grumbles. “It’s making my fucking head hurt.”
“You should stop talking. It’ll help with the noise a bit.” Gage rolls onto his side and accidentally kicks me in the shoulder.
Why his feet are so close to my face is beyond me. Then again, I’m unsure what room we’re even in. Or house. For all I know, I could be lying in a car right now.
“Shut the fuck up, Gage,” Nina growls.
“Make me,” Gage quips through a yawn.
“Guys, I’m too tired and hungover to listen to you two bitch,” I intervene before their fight escalates.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
“For the love of all sanity,” Nina whines, “Sky, please make that noise stop.”
Sighing, I pry my eyelids open and take in my surroundings. Relief washes over me that I’m not in the car but lying on the sofa in my living room. Gage is curled up at my feet like a cat with one leg stretched out across me, and Nina is sprawled out on the floor with a mountain of throw pillows surrounding her, along with a half-empty bottle of whiskey and several boxes. The place is a mess, but at least we went out with a bang.
I smile a little at that. But it’s a bittersweet smile.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.