Annoyingly, it calms me in a way I can't seem to calm myself, and I sigh.
“I just have to hope Thorne will figure this out,” I mumble, and Rion grimaces. “What's wrong?” I ask, and he rolls his eyes.
“Nothing, his mood was just stellar this morning,” he answers, and I snicker.
“When is it not?”
He shakes his head. “He's on a new height today,” he insists, and I frown.
Thorne is a prickly bastard at the best of times. To notice he’s worse than usual is something, and it’s probably because of all my shit he’s dealing with. Not that I say that out loud, I don’t need to be deemed self-centered on top of everything else.
“Do you know why?” I settle on, and he grimaces again.
“No, but when do we ever with him?” he replies, and I hum in agreement.
It’s not lost on me that my muscles aren’t bunched as tight and my teeth have returned to normal. I can’t decide whether I hate the fact that it’s because of my friend or not. It seems a silly, inconsequential conversation can make such a difference.
I’m a vampire. I’m supposed to just be an asshole all of the time and like it.
Rion clears his throat, cutting through my train of thought. “Do you need me to get you anything to eat?”
I shake my head, even as my stomach grumbles in protest of my refusal. Maybe this is my punishment. I deserve more than this, but starvation will do.
Rion clears his throat, rocking back on his heels as he offers me a tight smile. “Okay, then. Well, I hate to love you and leave you, but I'm going to go and find our girl,” he states, and my heart flutters in my chest.
“Our girl?” I repeat, spluttering over two small words, and he snickers, wagging his eyebrows at me.
“Don't deny it.” My heart aches as excitement and joy blossom across his face.
“There's not a chance in hell left for me now,” I admit, knowing it deep in my soul.
He heads for the door, the sound of the lock clicking through the air, but he glances over his shoulder before he leaves, his eyes settling on mine as he gives me a pointed look.
“The fact that you're willing to lock yourself away in here tells me otherwise.”
27
ELODIE
Iswung the sword around in the center of the gym for all of thirty seconds before I stopped. That thing is heavy. I should probably work on some weights and build up my strength, but the treadmill calls me instead.
If you ever caught me running back home, you can bet your ass it was because I was running from someone; that shit was never out of choice. Whereas now, not only am I choosing it, I’m enjoying it.
Sweat beads at my temples as my arms swing with all my might. It’s almost freeing.
God help me when Ocean realizes she’s made a good impression on me. I’m never going to hear the end of it.
I think I’m spurred on by the fact that I can watch a TV series on my cell phone on the little stand. It’s almost amusing to watch drama that doesn’t involve me unfold on a little screen. It’s juicy and exciting when I don’t feel the weight of it.
It also plays as the perfect background noise as my mind goes crazy over the blades of grass. My heart skips a beat simply thinking about it. I’d started to come to terms with the fact that I was a monster. That my only use was to be a weapon. And maybeI still am, but maybe it’s not all evil, dark, and twisted. Maybe this doesn’t have to define me.
A notification pings across the screen of my cell phone, obscuring the drama unfolding on the screen and pulling me from my thoughts. I frown.
It's a notification from the surveillance app linked to the camera above my bed. My heart stutters.
I'd received a notification a little earlier that showed Ocean moving my bed back into position. So, unless she's doing something around there again, there's no reason for it to be going off.
“Hey, queen, who knew I'd catch you in here?” Ocean hollers, making me startle as I glance over my shoulder and find her in the doorway in her gym clothes.
