Chapter Seventeen

I hang back, hiding out, waiting to see what Barbie does. She exits the bathroom with puffy eyes, messed-up blonde hair, and slumped shoulders. I expect her to go straight to Principal Cooper, but she veers in the direction of the cafeteria. She hesitates at the doors and Tish follows hot on her heels, asking her what’s wrong. But when she turns to look at Tish, she spies me, and there’s genuine fear in her eyes.

It almost makes me orgasm. Fuck me. That’s amazing. I love it. I live for this.

I keep close watch as I enter through the other doors and sit back with Loki while she actually approaches Nok who tensed the second he saw her coming his way.

His arms fold across his chest as she speaks, and I shush Loki while I concentrate.

Barbie breaks down and starts sobbing but all Nok’s friends are glaring at her. One of them says something to her that makes her cry harder.

And then Nok, who looks perplexed by the entire thing, looks up and finds me.

I smirk at him and lean back on my chair just as Barbie runs away crying, leaving Tish to stare after her with a gaping mouth.

I see Tish look at Nok and mouth something that looks like an apology, before she moves to a group of girls looking pasty faced and horrified.

Nok strides towards me, his boys behind him. He stops at my toes as I lean back casually against the table edge. He sees my arm, sees the bloody half-moon grooves in my wrist and gently touches them with the tip of his fingers.

“What’s going on?” Loki asks quietly.

Nok, with his sparkling acorn eyes on me, grabs the front of my black T-shirt that says in bright yellow letters,

“If I don’t say it with my lips, you’ll see it in my eyes.”

I got changed just in case I got blood on my school shirt. I’ll change again before class.

He yanks me from the bench, and everybody stills. It was an aggressive move to an outsider. It was a pleasant one to me.

His lips descend, crushing mine in a powerful display that hushes the entire room. He yanks on my hair, deepening the kiss with his tongue, and holds my body to his with a hand on my back.

Fuck.

That was hot.

But it was also never supposed to happen.

People cheer, a chorus of claps and wolf whistles.

He pulls back, breathless and panting. Then he turns and walks away with his friends, smiling and talking about things I can’t hear.

“You’re with him now?” Loki asks.

I let out a laugh. “He wishes.”

“So what was that?”

“The start of a dangerous game, Loki,” I answer, sitting back down and watching Nok exit the cafeteria. “The start of a really dangerous fucking game.”

“You’re crazy. You know that?”

I grin at him. “You really have no idea.”



***



Willow and I spend a rare evening in with Mom. Though despite the fact she’s here, she’s not actually here. She’s on her phone texting while we watch one of the Avengers movies. It’s still nice getting to chill like this. It’s such a rare thing for us all.

That coupled with the fact Willow is in good health tonight.

“You keep looking at your phone,” Willow whispers, frowning at me from her end of the couch. “Expecting a call?”

I shake my head, glancing at my sickly mirror image. “Not really. I’m just…”

“You like him?”

I shake my head. “No. Not at all.”

“Mm-hmm.” She doesn’t believe me, of course she doesn’t. “Do you like him so much that you don’t want to go through with it?”

“Hell no. I’m never wrong about this. You know I’m not.”

She glances at Mom and whispers even lower, “What are we going to do if you are?”

I shrug and place my phone facedown on the arm of the chair. “Find someone else?”

She laughs sardonically. “We leave in three weeks.”

“I’ve got this.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I do.”

“If you’re so sure, then say the word.”

I stand and stuff my phone into my pocket. “I’m not saying shit.”

“I’m dying, Lilith.”

I look at her frail form and resist the urge to sob. “I know.”

“You’re wasting time on him that could be spent with me.”

“I know.” I sit back down and curl into her side. “I know.”

“Then stop this nonsense. Let me take care of you for once.” Her cheek rests against my hair.

I shake my head slightly. “Let me be sure. Okay? I have a couple of weeks left. If I haven’t figured it out by then…”

“Okay. Deal. But be home more. I need you.”

She’s right. I haven’t been there for her at all since we moved in. I bet she’s been feeling lonely and neglected. “I’ll do better.”

“You’re the best already. Just fit in more time for me.”

I look at Mom who is now smiling at us, a vacant, tired expression on her face. She gets like this when she misses Dad.

I sigh heavily. “What are we going to do about her?”

“Nothing. Just hope she gets laid and finds love again.”

We share a smile and then we abandon our mom to go and paint our toenails upstairs. I need to invest in more nail polish. Neon pink is my sister’s color. Not mine. But I ran out of my crimson red the last use.

“I’ve been chatting with locals in the school forum,” Willow admits. “There are a lot of good people here.”

“It’s not all bad.”

“They’re terrified that they’re going to be next on the School Sigil Searer’s list.” She’s obsessed with watching the news these days so it’s unsurprising she’s getting local gossip.

I tense. “You know I saw a man in the woods yesterday.”

“Oh?” Her eyes light up with excitement. “Was he naked?”

Laughing, I shake my head. “No, he was just staring at me, standing there. He had a similar body shape to Dad. It was beyond weird.”

“Sounds it. What were you doing in the woods?”

I shrug and smile sheepishly. “Bonding with Nok.”

“By yourself? Are you fucking insane?”

“I have to get him alone.”

“What if he hurt you?”

I grit my teeth. I know she’s concerned for me, but she doesn’t have to be. I can look after myself. I don’t know what it is about people suggesting I’m weak that has my hackles rising. I know that’s not what she meant. It’s just a deep-down feeling I can’t shake.

I’m not weak. I’m strong and willful and fearless.

I need everyone to believe that.

“I’ve got this,” I reply firmly. “Trust me.”

“I do. I just don’t trust your judgement. It’s been sketchy in the past.” She shuts down, her eyes lose their vibrance and her lips lose their sweet smile.

“We should get you out of the house,” I insist, tugging on her hand. “While you’re feeling good.”

“What about Mom?”

“She doesn’t want to be here, Willow,” I implore, sighing at the end. “You know it. I know it. It’s too fucking painful for her.”

“I know.” She pouts and I help her stand. “Why don’t we go for a walk or something?”

“Let’s do it.”

We head downstairs and Mom is arguing on the phone with somebody. We both roll our eyes towards each other and slip out the back.

As we cut through the yard, out neighbor’s head pops over the high fence. White hair and blue eyes and a friendly smile.

He smiles at us and Willow greets him with a wave which he returns. “Good afternoon, Mr. Miller.”

“Good afternoon, Willow.” He returns to his duties and I take my sister’s hand.

“Let’s go riding?” I ask, moving to the small garage where my bike is hiding.

She wets her lips, looking nervous. “I don’t know.”

“I’ll go slow. We’ll be able to go further together.”

After a brief hesitation she nods. It’s been a long time since I got her on the bike. She used to ride her own all the time but that ended when she got sick and her arms just don’t have the strength in them to guide the bike anymore.

“This is going to be fucking awesome.”



***



“I can’t do it,” I growl, feeling frustrated when another fish gets away from me. “Can’t I like stab it or something? This is boring.”

Nok blinks at me slowly. “You mean like spear fishing?”

I nod. “Duh. Isn’t that something your people do?”

“Not anymore but once, I guess. We’d need spears.”

“Or just really sharp sticks with a kind of hook on the end.”

He mutters under his breath about ungrateful women and their abuse of fishing and lack of skill.

“That’s sexist,” I point out playfully.

He grins at me over his shoulder as he finds a long enough stick for me to utilize. Meanwhile, I sit and enjoy the misty, cool air while sipping warm coffee he brought with him.

“So, do you know what I realized this morning?” I ask him and he grumbles, “What?”

“I don’t know what you do for a living for you to have such a fancy-ass truck.”

He raises his brows, clearly surprised. “I’ve never told you?”

“No, you have, I’m lying so you tell me again.” My sarcasm goes over so well. Not.

He picks up a five-foot-long branch that’s straight for the most part and tosses it my way. I sit cross-legged on the ground and balance it over my thigh before starting to carve at one end with my knife.

“You’re very handy for a girl.”

“Sexism,” I singsong, concentrating on my craft.

“Whatever.” He dips his hook back into the water, standing on the bank with parted thighs and a strong posture. “I take people out into the woods to hunt and do survival role-play for a place on the res. It’s fun. I get to keep the truck so long as I look after it.”

I yank on my collar to loosen it; it suddenly feels itchy around my throat. “Sorry about that.”

“I deserved it,” he admits with genuine sincerity for the first time since it happened. He has said it before but it just didn’t ring true. This time, however, I sense, feel, and hear his remorse. I’m growing on him. He’s starting to care about me. “I deserved worse.”

“You’re just saying that because I saved your reputation.”

“You’re going to be smug about that forever, aren’t you?” I can hear the smile in his voice, he’s clearly happy about what I did. He likes my psychotic side, so long as he’s not on the receiving end of it.

He suddenly appears at my back and his legs open around me. The fishing rod is still in his hand, though he’s holding it out of the way, so I don’t accidentally cut the line while chiseling away at my stick.

“I wish we could just come out here every day,” I murmur when his chest touches my back and I can lean into him.

“You enjoy it?”

“It’s the most peaceful I think I’ve ever felt.” I tilt my head back, stopping my whittling for a moment so I can look at him and not cut myself. “Minus the fact you’re here of course.”

“Oh, ha ha,” he deadpans and presses a sweet kiss to my lips as though it’s his right to do so. “You have the sweetest lips I have ever tasted, the sharpest tongue, and the evilest eyes— ouch.”

I hit him for that last one.

“I don’t have evil eyes.”

I so do but that doesn’t mean anyone else can say it.

“You have the worst case of resting bitch face I have ever seen in my life.” His mischievous smile shows his perfect teeth.

“I don’t have resting bitch face, Nokosi Locklear.” I drop my knife and the stick and turn so I’m on my knees on the soft picnic blanket that has seen better days. “I simply have bitch face.”

Smiling, I bite his lip, something I love doing. I decide, what with this being the second time I’ve done it and already I’m wishing for a third. If only to watch his eyes open and then narrow as my bite gets harder and harder, until he growls at me and his pupils expand beyond full dilation.

I just know he’s hard, I can see the swell in his groin, but then he’s always hard around me. Something else I take great pleasure in.

I’m sadistic.

When I free his lip, he nudges me with another kiss, and in one swift move, he flips me so I’m on my back and he’s towering over me. I’m slightly winded but I don’t have time to gather my breath or wits because he’s kissing me so hard my head is crushed to the ground.