After muttering a thank you, Ari let silence fall between them, realizing that after years of being alone for much of the time, she wouldn’t have a moment’s peace from this guy for the indefinite future. Sure, Jai could turn into the Great Dane again, so her dad would only question her about a mutt rather than a hot, older guy in jeans that did wonderful things to his ass. But where would Jai sleep? Did he intend to sleep in her room? With her?
The heat of someone watching her brought Ari blinking out of her thoughts, and she glanced up to see Jai looking at her out of the corner of his eye. “What?” she asked.
He shook his head in disbelief. “Hamlet?
Chapter 11
Let me in to your world
I don’t belong in mine
“Maybe you should stop calling him,” Jai suggested without looking up from his book. He laid on the floor in her bedroom, propped up against the wall, sitting on top of the sleeping bag he’d conjured since he refused to leave her side. It had been a few days and if Ari never had to see another science fiction novel, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Ari threw her cell on her bed and glared at the jinn who had taken up permanent residence in her life. True to the Red King’s word, Jai lived like a human, mostly. He ate all her food and used up the hot water in her shower. Yes, he could magically conjure clean clothes, but other than that, he was like any unwelcome houseguest. Well… when he wasn’t padding around on four legs as a Great Dane when her dad was around. As for her dad, he still wasn’t speaking to Ari. Adamantly not speaking to her. So much so he’d looked at Jai in Great Dane form and not even said a word. He hadn’t even asked why there wasn’t any dog food, or bowl, or bed. He was that pissed.
He wasn’t the only one.
Ever since Charlie had walked away from her in the woods, she’d been calling and leaving him messages, but he hadn’t responded. She tried to fight her growing fear by irritating the life out of Jai, but despite first impressions, he wasn’t easily irritated. He didn’t answer personal questions, and every time she asked him when the Aissawa Brotherhood would arrive, he would just say ‘soon’ and return to reading. As far as stalkers went, Ari guessed he wasn’t so bad, although the less he told her, the more curious she grew about him. Attempting to work out the mystery that was Jai was easier than attempting to work out all the relationships she’d messed up over the last few days. Not only was she in the bad books with her dad and Charlie, but also with Rachel and Staci. They were furious at her for not providing a suitable reason for disappearing for two days. Rachel had yelled at her on the phone before hanging up. Thinking she might try to mend fences by contacting Staci, it did not surprise her when her ten calls were ignored. Rachel had gotten to Staci before she could.
Great.
So now she was going stir crazy in a room with Jai, who only offered an opinion on subject matters she had no wish to discuss with him. “Did I ask for your input?”
He sighed, casually turning the page of his book. “Nope. But as a guy, I can tell you the whole desperate thing would push me further away.”
Insulted, Ari threw a cushion at him, only to watch it dissolve into ash before it even hit him. That was the second cushion he’d destroyed. Never mind, it was her own fault for throwing them at a jinn. “I am not desperate,” she muttered.
“Stop calling him then. Be patient. You’re going to lose him or not.”
“No.” She jumped off the bed, outraged at the thought. “I have already lost my dad, and my humanity, and my friends. I am not losing Charlie too.”
“What is it about this kid?”
Disgusted by his callousness, Ari shot him a dirty look. “Don’t you have any friends, Jai?”
He looked up from his book. “One.”
She stopped, frozen. “Yeah?” She smiled tentatively, amazed he had actually offered something personal. “What’s he or she like?”
Jai frowned. “He’s a friend.”
“Wow, your descriptive skills are outstanding. It must be all that reading you do.” When he ignored her teasing, Ari blew out an impatient breath. “Oh, come on, I’m bored. Tell me something. Tell me about your friend.”
“We grew up together. He’s a friend. End of.”
“You’re killing me.”
“Yeah, well, you’re not exactly a day at the beach.”
Deciding to ignore that, Ari flopped down on her bed with her phone and scrolled through Rachel’s tweets. Her eyes narrowed at a certain comment.
Sometimes friendships are a one-way system. Sad but true. A hard lesson I learned this week.