“Oh my God! Would you two shut up!” Aislin yells, practically spitting in our faces as she stomps her foot. “I said he was at the Red Dragon, but someone we know picked him up from there and now he’s safe, well more or less.”
“Who picked him up?” I ask at the same time Alex says, “Fuck. Just what we need. I really don’t want to deal with her shit right now.”
I look over my shoulder at him and give him a funny look. “You know this person.”
Alex fidgets uncomfortably. “Yeah, more or less,” he says in a tight voice with regret in his eyes.
“I know she lives close by here and everything.” Aislin looks about as hurt as a wounded animal. “But I just never thought Laylen would contact her over me… us.”
“Would someone please explain who her is?” I ask in the nicest tone I can summon.
Aislin waits for Alex to explain but he avoids her gaze and she sighs. “It’s Stasha. She used to be a Keeper—well, I guess she technically still is, but she…decided she didn’t want to be part of the circle anymore because of him.” She nods her head at Alex who looks like he wants to be anywhere but here.
“Why would she leave because of him…” I stop talking, starting to put two and two together.
Nicholas stands up from the couch and leans in my face. “Because she and Alex used to be lovers, but since he’s emotionally dead inside, he broke her heart.” He pouts out his bottom lip, still puffy from when Alex clocked him.
I almost slap him, even though he’s just telling me the truth. But the truth hurts in a way I had never felt before. I mean, I knew Alex dated and had girlfriends and everything, but I don’t know. Talking about it is emotionally agonizing, raw and painful, like open wounds.
I clear my throat several times before I speak again. “So what do we do next? Call Laylen? Or do we just need to go get him? And is this Stasha girl keeping an eye on him because he needs to be watched, just in case.” I sound like his mother. Jesus.
“Your mom didn’t say anything about that.” Aislin frowns. “She just said she found him standing outside the Red Dragon talking to Stasha, and when she went to go get him, he took off with her.”
“My mom’s headed back here, right?” I ask as I push Nicholas out of my way so I can get to my feet. “Now that she’s found him.”
Aislin gives a fleeting panicked look at Alex then back at me. “Yeah, I think she is.”
Something’s wrong. I make my way around the sofa so I’m standing in front of her. “You’re keeping something from me, about my mother.”
Aislin swiftly shakes her head. “No, she’s headed back here now—I’m sure of it. So just relax. Besides, we really need to go get Laylen now since Stasha probably isn’t the best person for him to be around.”
A ripple of concern courses through me. “Why not?”
“Stasha can be a little on the…unsympathetic side,” Alex says. “And that’s probably the last thing Laylen needs right now.”
“I still can’t believe halfy finally went off the deep end.” Nicholas laughs sardonically. “I always thought he was a little crazy.”
“He didn’t go off the deep end!” I shout, completely losing control over my emotions. I feel insane, the prickle poking and stabbing and eating away at the back of my neck as I shove Nicholas backward, causing him to slam against the coffee table. “It’s my fault he wants to drink blood. Not his. I made him drink mine because I selfishly couldn’t face the emotion of death.”
It grows so quiet I swear I could hear a pin drop. I realize why moments later. They pity me. All of them.
“I don’t want your pity,” I say, hurrying for the front door. “I just want to go get Laylen and fix this mess.”
“I’ll get the car keys.” Aislin backs for the kitchen. “It’s not too far of a drive from here and I don’t want to risk transporting too many people.”
After she leaves, Nicholas leans against the wall, eyes on Alex as he grabs his shirt from the back of the chair and tugs it on. “You should probably warn her of what she can do.”
Alex narrows his eyes at him, but when I look at him for an explanation, he sighs. “You remember when I told you that some Keepers have gifts, like Sophia’s gift of…” He looks guilty for bringing up my soul detachment and quickly works his way around it. “And what I told you I could do?” he asks and I nod. “Well, Stasha has a gift too.” He rubs the back of his neck tensely as he walks over to me. “She possesses the gift of death.”
“She can kill me?” I shiver.
“Not for fun,” Alex clarifies. “She just can kill, you know, kill if she wants to by touching someone.”
“So she can kill me if she touches me?” I ask, my eyes widening as images strike my head of the blonde girl gripping at my throat.
“Only if she wants to,” he says, ruffling his hair into place.
“Well, that sounds lovely,” I say sarcastically. “And I have this feeling that she might want to.”
“I won’t let her hurt you,” Alex promises, grazing his finger down my cheekbone, but then swiftly pulls away.
“We should get going.” Aislin says as she returns the room, tossing Alex the car keys. “Stasha didn’t answer her phone, so we’re going to have to just show up there unannounced.”
I aim a finger at Nicholas. “What are we going to do with him?”
Alex rubs his jawline, deliberating. “We could tie him back up in the garage and let him hang there until we get back.”
“Or tie him to the rack on the roof like skis,” I joke and Alex smiles, chuckling under his breath while Nicholas glowers at me.
“I think we should take him,” Aislin says. “If someone shows up here while we’re gone, he’ll tell them everything—you know he will.”
We all agree that’s probably the best way, then we hide the mapping ball in a safe place and leave the house. Minutes later, we’re driving down the highway, toward the next town where Stasha lives. The land is blanketed by night, the moon shining amongst the silver stars, and the ocean sings a lullaby as it sweeps against the shore.
The inside of the car is hot, due to the humid air and the electricity. Alex is driving and I’m in the backseat next to Nicholas, who is practically like an air freshener with his rainy, floral scent. It’s too much and, finally, I roll down the window and breathe in the fresh air.