"Well our parents were friends. Best friends." I smiled. "We used to spend all of our time together. There are incentives for people not to have more than one child in the city and you have to get permission to come off of your birth control which isn't always granted. So Taylor and I were the nearest thing to siblings we could have. Like you and Alicia or near enough."
"So when did you decide you weren't like siblings after all?" Coal asked but there was a strange tone to his voice and I looked up to see that he had turned away from me.
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
"You and him, when did you get together?"
"What?" I gasped. "You mean like, romantically?" I shuddered.
"Aren't you?" Coal looked at me then, his gaze locked on mine.
"No. Never. He's Taylor. It's not like that-" A huge crash sent the door shaking on its hinges, the shelves holding it in place groaned.
We were on our feet in seconds, Coal's coat falling from my shoulders. The cold surrounded me instantly and I suppressed a shiver. I grabbed the gun from the shelf where I'd left it and took aim at the door. Coal placed a finger to his lips and crept forwards, a knife in one hand, revolver in the other.
The door shook again and there was screeching from the other side. It sounded like there was more than one Creeper out there. The cold from the metal gun seeped into my hand and up my arm making me feel numb. I adjusted my grip.
Coal moved to the side of the door, ready to pounce if it gave way. I steadied my hand and placed my finger next to the trigger.
"Come out," a gravelly voice hissed through the door.
I took a step backwards and bumped into the the wall. Several heartbeats passed and the door trembled as it took another battering.
Coal slowly moved across the cupboard to stand next to me. "They don't know we're here for sure," he breathed in my ear, tucking his knife away.
"Come out, come out wherever you are," the scraping throat purred again.
My free hand found Coal's and he squeezed it. It went quiet for a few moments before a fresh barrage of attacks hit the door making it shudder and flex against the assault. The crashing and banging echoed around the confined space.
"Hide and seek, we know you sneak," the hoarse voice shouted and the sounds of their bare feet slapping on the cold tiles outside receded.
Coal put his revolver back in his hip holster and turned to face me. I peered up into his eyes, our hands still intertwined. He gently reached out and took the gun from me. My fingers didn't want to release it but he lightly prised it from my grip, laying it down on the shelf again. My heart thumped erratically as he stepped closer and brushed my hair back over my shoulder, sending sparks tingling down my spine.
My back pressed against the cold wall behind me as his hand twisted into my hair and curled around my cheek. He stared at me and I couldn't turn my gaze away from his. His dark eyes pulled me in and I felt like I was sinking into them. He tilted my chin up towards his face.
My heart gave up on beating all together.
He leant down slowly and pressed his lips to mine and it was as though there was nothing else in the whole world apart from Coal and me, alone. I couldn't move for a moment and then suddenly my heart spluttered back to life and I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
He responded and crushed me against the wall. My legs turned to liquid and I clung to Coal to keep from falling. His hands slid from my hair and gripped my waist. He kissed me so hard that I could barely breathe but I pulled him against me, not wanting anything to tear us apart.
"Coal?" Alicia's voice called from somewhere far away and after a moment Coal pulled back. "Coal are you in there?" Alicia hissed again.
"We're here," Coal called back.
He leant in to kiss me lightly on the lips once more before moving to unblock the door.
I slid down the wall and tried to get my heart back under control. Alicia stood in the doorway with a hand on her hip and peered into the room, raising an eyebrow at me. I ran a hand through my hair and moved to pick up my gun and Coal's jacket. I was sure that she could see my hands trembling and the flush that was undoubtably covering my cheeks.
"What have you two been doing in here then?" she asked with an annoying smirk on her face.
"Nothing Liss. Just move it will you, the Creepers were here a minute ago." Coal gave her a shove as he moved out into the hallway and I followed, showing a healthy interest in the floor as I passed Alicia and her penetrating gaze.
At the entrance to the elevator shaft I could see the hatch was open and Laurie was peering down at us. Next to her, a thick rope made with vines hung down. Alicia grasped it and handed it to Coal who rolled his eyes and braced his feet, pulling the rope tight.
My lips were still tingling.
"You have no idea how hard it was to find these," she said, indicating the vines.