Darker Days

I made my way through the living room and into the kitchen. Other than the music, there was no sign of life. From there, I searched the den and master bedroom. Still, nothing. With each step, I grew more and more concerned. What if I’d taken too long to come? “Garrett? You here?”

I was about to start up the stairs to the second level when the music went silent. I whirled around to see him standing in the doorway between the hall and the kitchen wearing a devious grin. “You came.”

I had no clue where he’d come from—or how he’d managed to sneak past me. Granted I wasn’t hyper aware like Mom, but a civie high school student shouldn’t have gotten the drop on me. I knew right away something was wrong. Maybe his smile was just a little too wide. Maybe it was the strange pitch in his voice.

Or it might have been the way he crossed the room in three easy steps and pinned me to the wall with his body.

I sucked in a breath and tried not to gag. Newports and orange soda again. “This isn’t funny anymore, Garrett.” I pushed against him, but he only smiled.

“I’m glad you finally realize that.” He nuzzled my ear.

My blood ran cold. Every nerve in my body twitched. This was wrong. Twisted. Garrett was one hell of a hottie, but not once had I ever entertained a what if fantasy. It wasn’t just that I didn’t date—it was more like even if I did, Garrett wouldn’t have been my type.

“Listen to me,” I said, pushing a little harder. He didn’t budge. Desperate times—desperate measures. I’d go with something I didn’t use often. The truth. “Remember Vida? That foreign chick from the caf the other day? She wasn’t human. She hit you with some kind of nookie beam. That’s where this is coming from. You’re not really into me—you just think you are.”

He chuckled. “This is just one of the things I love about you. Nookie beam? Please. Just face it—” He slid the tips of his fingers down my neck and just inside the shoulder of my shirt. “You want this as much as I do.”

“Wait—want what?”

“You feel it, don’t you?” He moved against me. Warm breath puffed across my neck and tickled my ear.

Something solid pressed against my stomach.

Oh, I felt it all right. And it was making my skin crawl.

My heart banged into overdrive. Desperate now, I lashed out anywhere I could. Elbow to the neck. Kick to the shin. Nothing fazed him. If anything, he liked it.

God.

“Tell me you don’t ever think about me.”

“I don’t ever think about you,” I said without hesitation.

“You’re lying,” he said, sliding his other hand down my back and over my butt. He looped his thumb into my back pocket, fingers grazing the right cheek.

That was it.

There was no thinking—just reaction. I pushed off the wall and knocked us both to the ground. By the look on his face as we landed in a tangled heap, he thought I’d given in.

He got the proper message when I kneed him in the nuts.

He curled into a fetal position, hissing in pain. “I’m so sorry—but you’ll thank me for that later!”

On my feet and out the door, I didn’t make it far before a blood-chilling roar shattered the silence.

“Jessie!”

Garrett came barreling out in a flurry of hormone-fueled rage. There was no way I could outrun him in a straight race. He was faster than I was—the football team’s running back—but I also knew he was a klutz, and one of the few useful things I’d inherited from my dad was his unnatural grace.

I needed a way to lose him. Obstacles. I took off into the woods at a speed just under run like hell. Behind me, the brush exploded as Garrett followed, not far behind.

“Get back here!” he screamed. I’d never heard a voice full of so much venom. For the first time ever, I was actually scared—of something human.

Scratch that. I was terrified. So terrified that I could almost taste it. Like something metallic and foul I couldn’t spit out. I loved the rush of the job. How the adrenaline got pumping as the chase started and you fought to take down the baddie, but this was different. My heart hammered in a way that made me think my ribs might explode at any minute, and the blood pounding in my ears made it hard to concentrate. Every muscle in my body spazzed and my brain demanded my legs move faster—only they didn’t. Couldn’t.

I managed to stay ahead of him, but just barely. A few times he got so close, I could feel the disturbance in the air as he made a swipe for me. I opened my mouth to scream—but no sound came. Of course not. My body couldn’t spare the breath. Or maybe I was too afraid. Fear did funky things to the body, didn’t it? God knew I’d seen some things.

Deeper and deeper, I plunged through the brush and soared over fallen trees and rocks. Garrett kept pace, never falling more than ten or twelve feet behind.

“Don’t be like this, baby,” he called. He didn’t sound like he was out of breath. Me? I was gasping for air. I couldn’t keep this pace much longer. “I need to be with you!”

I hadn’t been out on these trails in a long time, but I knew we must be getting close to the cliffs. I’d started to double back, thinking maybe I could outrun him, with the obstacle course of the forest having hopefully worn him out a little, when my sneaker caught in an exposed tree root. I went down hard, sliding in the mud and brush. Up. Get up, Jessie! I ignored the stinging in my hip and throbbing in my wrist, and clamored to my feet.

I only got two steps.

Something crashed from behind, knocking me back to the ground. Again I tried to scream, to make a sound—any sound—but the only result was a mouth full of dirt and dead leaves. Violently spitting and gasping for air, I struggled against the weight settling on top of me. It was useless. I managed to flip onto my back, but Garrett was seated confidently across my waist, legs pinning mine into the forest floor.

“It’s him, isn’t it? He’s the reason you don’t want me.” Eyes blazing, the tone of his voice chilled the air to an almost arctic level. He leaned closer, slamming his hands down on either side of my head. Bits of dirt and twigs flicked into the air, making me flinch.

It took me a second to realize the him he was talking about was Lukas—who was supposed to be my cousin.

I pushed up with my knees, but got nowhere. His face was inches from mine. I inhaled, but it felt funny. Shaky. Like there were a million nervous butterflies all flapping away just beneath my rib cage. “Garrett—you’re not yourself. You don’t really feel this way about me. Think about it. You were chasing Holly a week ago. You were convinced she was the meaning of life!”

He faltered. Brow furrowed and lips twisted in a scowl. “Holly—”

I nodded. “Yes, Holly. Your girlfriend. Then, two weeks ago you were drooling over Amy Gilmer. Remember? If you had this epic love for me, don’t you think you would have known?”

He straightened, confused. “I was interested in hooking up with her. At Joe Carson’s party.”

“That’s right!”

The dark in his eyes seemed to lift and he leaned back, giving me some space. The expression on his face was a mix of terrified and horror. “I dunno what’s wrong with me, Jess. I’d never hurt anyone… I’d never hurt you.”

I exhaled. Some of the pressure in my chest disappeared and the tension in my muscles started to melt away. The blood still rushed like a freighter in my ears, but my heartbeat was slowing down. “It’s okay. I’m —”

“I’ve got this heavy lump in my chest,” he continued, ignoring me. “This blackness that’s poisoning things.” His hands flew to his temples and he closed his eyes for a moment. “I can’t think straight.”

“It’s not you. Something happ—”

But Garrett wasn’t coming up for air. Eyes open again, he said, “I won’t get angry again. I promise. We need to be together. It’s destiny.”

My throat was dry. “I choose my own destiny, and I’m sorry, I don’t choose you.”

He trailed his finger from my shoulder, all the way down to my wrist. It left sick goose bumps in its wake. “You will.”

His fingers lingered there for a moment before moving to the button of my jeans.