Neither one of us looked down.
But I felt skin to skin, his shorts gone.
And I felt his palm slide down my inner thigh.
My chest was cracking open, and it hurt to breathe.
It didn’t work, it didn’t work, it didn’t work,I wanted to scream.
He aligned himself, and I didn’t want to look at his face anymore.
He thrust inside me. My head fell to the side.
And a warm tear slid down my cheek.
Stone
Winter smelledlike wood smoke and snow, and the temperature had dropped from refreshing to freezing. As we filed out of the tunnel onto the Goody property, we expected to see a velvet midnight, but the night sky was monochrome shades of storm gray.
Zephyr elbowed my arm, pointing above our heads. “Look.”
Eyes upward, a meteor shower cut across the sky, streaks of light.
The five of us huddled close, watching the wonder above.
The beauty of it compelled us quiet as the winterwhooshedin our ears.
“Make a wish,” Phoenix said quietly. “Like not dying.”
As I closed my eyes, I did exactly that.
And when I opened my eyes again, snowflakes fell upon my content smile.
Whenever Adora wasn’t with me, it was this view that kept me sane. Nothing was the same as it was a hundred years ago. Looking up at the galaxy was like meeting an old friend.
Phoenix turned, facing east. “What is that?”
“Wait, is that coming from the Cantinis?”
Then heavy gazes fell upon me, eyes filled with pity.
It happened slowly from that point forward.
I turned, following their gazes. Beaming from the east was a bright white light hurtling up into the night. My gaze snapped back to the Heathens.“If what you say is true, and she’s his match ... a bright light will shoot up into the sky.”Julian’s words were an echo in my mind. And each time my heart slammed, it seemed to go on forever. Julian was shaking his head, reaching out for me.
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop,” one of them said. “They’ll kill you.”
But they were growing farther because I was backing away.
Not only were they soulmates, she was fucking him this very second.
Dizzy, I turned, lurching forward, vomiting, my eyes watering.
This sickness inside me stole me, causing my lips to tremble.
Then I crumbled, falling to a knee, the snow soaking through my pants.
I cursed, standing on weak legs again, grabbing a fistful of my hair.
