me, and I felt my blood simmer and then return to normal.
“Jodi?” Arianna called from my room.
“In here.” I poked my head out from behind the curtain.
“Leticia said you need some help.”
“I’m okay now.” I turned the water off and opened the curtain.
Arianna stared at me, soaking wet in my tank top and yoga pants. “Are you sure?”
“I know it looks strange, but really I’m fine. I promise. I’m going to put on dry clothes and go to sleep.”
“Would you like some hot tea before bed? I boiled a pot of water. You could join me.”
“Thanks, but no. I want to go to bed.”
“Alex told me what happened.”
I wrapped a towel around me before my wet clothes made me freeze. “Did you know? Did you know I was so close to my home? To my mom?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t know where you were from. I knew we were close to Serpentarius, of course, but not that that meant anything to you in particular.”
I believed her. Arianna was trustworthy.
“Don’t be too hard on him. Alex did what he thought was best for you.”
“It’s not up to him to decide what’s best for me.”
“I know that, but put yourself in his shoes. What would you have done if the situation were reversed?”
“I would’ve told him.”
“Are you sure? Or are you letting your emotions control you?”
My emotions. I wished I could turn them off completely. They were ruining everything. “He didn’t think I could handle it. He thought I’d go back to my old life.”
“Didn’t you?” She stepped closer. “When you found out where you were, what did you do?”
I looked down at my feet. “I flagged down Melodie’s car.”
“Alex knows you pretty well.” She put up her hands in surrender. “I’m not taking sides, but it seems like what you did was exactly what Alex was trying to protect you from.” She walked over to me and kissed the top of my head. “You can’t blame him for wanting to protect you from what happened this evening.”
No, I couldn’t. “Thanks, Arianna.”
“Anytime, hon. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
She left, and I stood there shivering in my wet clothes. I had to fix things with Alex. I couldn’t let this destroy us. I put on pajamas and ran to his room without even combing my hair. I must’ve looked like a drowned rat, but I didn’t care. I had to see him.
I knocked on his door, but there was no answer. “Alex?” Still nothing. I tried the knob. Locked. Where else would he be? I went to Randy’s room and knocked.
“Hey, Jodi.” He looked me over.
“Hey, I know I’m a mess. I’m looking for Alex. Do you know where he is?”
“He was heading out to the cemetery the last time I saw him.”
“Why would he go there?” We’d already reburied all the bodies. Was he training on his own?
Randy shrugged.
“Thanks. See you in the morning.” I turned and ran downstairs, heading right past the Medusa statue and out the front door. The cool air slammed into me. I was only in pajamas and my hair was soaking wet. My teeth chattered, and I shook from head to toe, but I kept going. The lights were on in the cemetery, and I saw Alex sitting up against the mausoleum. I jogged over to him.
He looked up at me and wrinkled his brow. “You’re going to get sick coming out here like that.”
“I don’t care.” I stood in front of him, shaking uncontrollably. “I understand why you didn’t tell me where we were. You know me too well. You knew I’d go back home, that I’d find some way to at least glimpse my old life. You were right. What I did today was stupid. I hurt Melodie, and I killed an innocent man.”
“Is that all you did wrong?” His stone cold eyes bored into me. He was angry, which meant he was still thinking something had happened between me and Chase.
“I didn’t cheat on you, if that’s what you’re thinking. Chase was in my room when I got out of the shower. He had my locket in his hands. He had gone through my stuff. I was furious.”
“So furious you let him stay and hang out.” He pointed to the locket on my neck. “Did he put that on you?”
I lowered my eyes. “Yes, but it’s not what you’re thinking.”
Alex stood up, chucking the rock he’d been holding. “I think you can’t stay away from him. I think you give him certain liberties the rest of us don’t have.”
“What?” I couldn’t believe this. Was he implying I let Chase—no, I couldn’t even think it. “You can’t be serious.” I’d come here to make up, and Alex was accusing me of screwing around behind his back.
He stared at me and finally his expression softened. “Why do you let him in? Why can’t you tell him to leave you alone? That you’re with me? You said you were going to get him to back off.”
“I’m trying, but he won’t take the hint.”
“He can’t take a hint if you don’t drop a hint.”
“You’re saying I’m leading him on?”
He didn’t deny it.
Suddenly I wasn’t freezing anymore. I was warm. No, I was hot. My blood was going crazy again. I had to stop this. I couldn’t live in the shower. Alex moved closer to me and rubbed my arms. The blood in my veins rippled in waves.
“Jodi.” He was scared for me. He wrapped his arms around me. “Am I doing this to you?”
“My emotions are doing it.”
“But it’s because of me, isn’t it?”
Now it was my turn to not deny something. He pulled away and looked into my eyes. He was searching for something. An answer to fixing what was wrong with me. He pressed his lips to mine. I wasn’t expecting it. We were in the middle of a fight, but here he was, kissing me. It took me a few seconds to respond, to wrap my arms around him and kiss him back. I felt my blood cooling. Alex was calming me. I continued to kiss him, long after I was back to normal. I was afraid to let go. Afraid we’d go back to arguing. All I wanted was to be in his arms.
Finally, he pulled away. “Are you better now?” He held onto my arms, feeling to make sure my blood wasn’t surging through my veins anymore.
I nodded. “Thank you.” Who knew what Alex had stopped me from doing this time? I was just grateful he had.
“I wasn’t sure that was going to work. Lately, it’s me kissing you that gets your blood all riled up. Why did it have the opposite effect now?”
Was he viewing this as a bad thing? “I don’t want kissing you to make me lose control of my powers. It would mean I couldn’t kiss you anymore.” I hoped that would be enough to convince him this was a good sign.
“So, you still want to be able to kiss me? Only me?”
“Alex, I never kissed Chase. I swear.”
“I want to believe you, but I’ve seen the way you get around him.”
I took his hands in mine. “I came here because I wanted to tell you that I believe you. You were only trying to protect me by keeping the truth from me. It wasn’t easy for me to accept. I still don’t think it was your choice to make, but I know you wouldn’t intentionally hurt me. I need you to do the same for me. To believe me and know I wouldn’t hurt you like that.”
“The question is, would you keep the truth from me to avoid hurting me?” He didn’t take his hands away, but he wasn’t giving in to me yet either.
I shook my head. “No. That’s not what I’m doing. I’m telling you the truth.”
He let go of my hands, and my heart sank, but then he reached for my face and pulled me to him. He kissed me hard, spinning me around so I was backed up against the mausoleum. He kissed me until I was completely breathless. When he pulled away, I noticed a light flashing on and off in one of the bedroom windows. Alex
