“We were hoping we could talk,” Alder announces, his eyes flickin’ over to my mama for a minute.
Wait...was that a threat? Or a hint that they’d like to talk alone?
I cross my arms, still refusin’ to sit down. Worry and unease boil in my belly. “Look, if I did somethin’ last night…” I trail off, because it’s probably not a good idea to let them know that I can’t remember it. I don’t wanna make myself even more vulnerable than I already am.
“What do you want?” I say instead, hatin’ the fact that I’m in a situation where they have the upper hand.
“Medley!” Mama scolds again, my voice pitched too loudly that time.
“Mama, these men are the owners of the bar,” I tell her pointedly.
But instead of her growin’ concerned, she just waves me off. “I know that, Heavenly Bell, they already told me as much.”
“They did?” My gray eyes dart back to them, but the pair of them look perfectly content to just watch how it’s all playin’ out. In fact, I’d go so far as to say they look...smug. Like they enjoy watchin’ me squirm. Like every reaction I have is interestin’ to them and they’re just happy to be sittin’ here in my presence.
I don’t like the feelin’ that they’re studyin’ me, but they are. Their eyes ain’t missin’ a thing. “Well, did they also tell you that I’m pretty sure their bartender spiked my drink?” I challenge, because I need to get Mama’s hackles up, and I wanna take these two down a peg.
It’s dangerous for Mama to be so relaxed around them, and it’s equally bad for me to be attracted to them. The last thing I wanna do is slip up. They tracked me down—not just my name, but where I live. They came into my parents’ home, without me here. I don’t like this one bit. I don’t care how hot they are, I need to be careful.
“They assured me that they checked and made sure everythin’ was fine,” Mama says as she makes her way to the table and plops glasses full of ice down in front of everyone, then grabs her pitcher and pours sweet tea for everyone.
“Mama, where’s Daddy?” I ask, still not takin’ my eyes off the unwelcome visitors.
“Drove down to the corner store to pick up some things,” she tells me.
Just before she sits down at the table again, her phone rings from the other room. “Oh, excuse me,” she says before hustlin’ off to answer it in her bedroom at the back of the trailer.
I wait until I hear her chirp a hello before I immediately round on them. “What the hell do you think you’re doin’?” I hiss. “How dare you come down here to my parents’ home. If you two think for two seconds that you’re gonna use them to get to me, you’re in for a rude awakenin’. You have no idea what I’m capable of,” I threaten, but instead of it havin’ the desired effect, they both appear to be surprised and...excited.
Well, crap.
“We’re not trying to get to ya,” Flint starts, “...well, we are technically, but not like that. We’re here because of those things that you’re capable of,” he finishes cryptically.
“Like I said before, we wanted to talk to you, that’s all. If you’re not interested in what we have to say, we’ll be on our way,” Alder adds before he picks up his cup and sips politely from it. Flint, on the other hand, has already downed his.
I watch them both for a beat, my hand wrapped around my own full and sweatin’ glass of ice-cold sweet tea. Normally, I’d pull a Flint and down this first glass and then follow Alder’s suit and sip the second, but I’m nervous to drink anythin’ around these two, even though that I was drugged theory is losin’ more and more momentum.
I should probably be more panicked than I am about the fact that they look so otherworldly, and not just upset over the fact that they’re here in my parents’ house, but oddly enough, I’m not.
I need to pinch myself every time I start checkin’ them out, but it’s real difficult. Flint has that slight Southern drawl every time he talks—nothin’ as thick as my own, but it’s still sexy as hell. There’s a playful flirtatiousness to him that makes my own inner flirt wanna come out and play. And then this Alder fella, he’s all cool and collected, with a strong quiet type of dominance that has me ready to sit up and pant. And every time he looks my way, I swear he’s strippin’ me naked with his eyes.
But...they’re somethin’ different, and strange stuff happened in that bar last night. I know I didn’t imagine it, and since these two look the way they did last night, there’s probably no logical way that I’m still drugged. Maybe some people would be screamin’ their heads off right about now in fear, but I just find myself wantin’ answers.
My reaction could be from a lifetime of growin’ up talkin’ about angels and things as if they were real that has me desensitized. Or maybe I’m in denial, just waitin’ to blink and suddenly find them lookin’ normal again, like the contacts that make them look weird just slipped right off my eyes. To be honest, this could also just be an evolution of my tribulations. I do things I can’t remember, with no idea how I do them, so is it really a big leap to start seein’ people like the freaks they are?
Really hot freaks, my mind adds.
Not helpful, mind.
“Talk to me about what?” I finally ask, dismissin’ my thoughts and focusin’ on what they want. Maybe they’re just gonna slap me with a property damage bill and be on their way.
“You can relax, you know. We did tell you last night that we’d be stopping by,” Alder says, eyein’ me with interest.
Shit, they
