Page 11

I shrug to myself and get ready when finally Pumpkin finally wanders into my room with a smug look on his face.

“Happy you have a new girlfriend?” I grumble but give him a few chin scratches. He chirps up at me and brushes against my leg. “Good for you, P. I have to win over my new roommate, or I think I'll go insane.”

As I finish my sentence, the rumble of footsteps scuttles past my open bedroom door, and an icy shiver rolls down my spine.

As if by clockwork, the light beyond the hallway windows dims as the sun sets behind the mountains, casting the house into an eerie shadow.

“And that’s my cue to get moving,” I mutter, giving Pumpkin a pat and seeing that he couldn't care less about the paranormal activity of his new home as he purrs loudly.

Clutching my phone and wallet, I quickly book a ride into town and hurry out the door, feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand on end as if something is watching me the entire way. Moonfell is completely different at night. The streetlights cast a golden glow across the street, and shadowed figures wander the sidewalk.

“Is there usually this many people out at this time of night?” I ask the driver from the back seat.

He’s been quiet the entire trip, and I can’t stand another minute of silence. “Usually,” is all he says.

I nod to myself and keep my gaze trained out the window as closed shops and cafes whizz past. I fidget with the hem of my crop top and wonder if this was such a good idea. But internally, I know that if I don't show up, I'll also have to make up an excuse to tell Tyler the next time I go to The Oracle’s Roast.

I bite the inside of my cheek as the red glow of the club's sign fills the cabin of the car, and the driver pulls into a parking space. I quickly pay him and step out onto the sidewalk, yet as I turn to shut the door, from the corner of my eye I catch a wisp of black smoke swirling from the driver's shoulders. I double-take, and sure enough, plumes of black vapor lift from his skin as if he were made of the stuff.

My heart leaps in my chest, and my limbs grow cold as my brain struggles to process what I'm seeing.

“Noah!” Tyler’s cheerful voice snaps me out of my panic, and I realize he’s standing right beside me with a huge smile on his lips.

“Are you okay?” His smile drops, and he grasps my shoulder, closing the door for me. The driver pulls away, leaving me standing there with my mouth gaping like a fish.

“Need a drink?” Tyler supplies. I nod and let him lead me into Church, the bass of the music thrumming through me until I can't feel my own pounding heart. Finding a seat at the bar, the club is already full of swaying, dancing bodies.

“Can we get two Cosmopolitans?” Tyler asks the bartender, and this time, I don't even bother to ask how he knew I loved Cosmos. From his perfect guess this morning at the cafe to now this, as well as the fact I'm likely going insane from lack of sleep, I keep quiet.

Which is painfully unlike me. It was always something Richard hated about me. The fact that I could chat with anyone about anything, yet over the years of his arguments and sharp looks, I've managed to hold myself back from filling the empty air with words.

“I like your outfit.” Tyler breaks my train of thought, and for the first time tonight, I actually look at him. With a similar crop top as mine, his is covered in deep purple sequins. Along with booty shorts that barely cover the lower half of his ass. He looks great! Even his eyes are outlined with a purple liner and topped with dark lashes.

“Wow,” I breathe out the remainder of my adrenaline, “You look great!”

The bartender places our drinks on the bar and takes Tyler’s card.

I jump, reaching for my wallet, but I'm too late as the machine beeps and the payment is made. My stomach drops as I look over at Tyler, who doesn’t seem the slightest bit fazed. “I’ll pay for the next round. No more handouts from you.” I bump his shoulder with mine and take a sip of my drink, nearly moaning at the zing of alcohol as it slides down my throat.

Tyler simply laughs and nods, “Let's find a spot to people-watch while we drink our liquid courage.”

I follow him to an empty booth as the strobe lights flash across the dance floor and the song changes to something more sensual. A chorus of cheers and laughter erupts from the booth beside us, and I catch a glimpse of what looks like college students enjoying a night out.

“Do you have any friends here?” I ask Tyler, who wiggles in his seat to the beat of the song, his lips wrapped around the edge of his cocktail glass.

“Not in Moonfell. My cov—” He coughs and takes another sip of his drink, "—friends, they live out of town.”

I blink, my heart sinks, and I suck in another frustrated breath, finishing my drink in one fell swoop. The memories of the driver try to creep into the front of my mind, but I avoid them at all costs; instead, I watch the club.

By the looks of it, everyone is around their early twenties, but amongst the mass of dancing bodies, a few stand out with startling white hair. I expect to find a grandma grinding against a college jock, but as the strobe lights flash, I find a young woman swaying against another, her face pulled tightly into her partner's neck.

A shiver runs across my skin, and I wonder what it would be like to have someone lean into me like that. To have their arms wrap around my shoulders and their warmth surrounding me while we move with the beat.

“Wanna dance?” Tyler asks and finishes his drink. “I usually have a few drinks before I have the courage to get out there, but if you want to…”

I snatch up his hand and pull him into the mass of bodies. Tyler’s giggle fills the air behind me. “I guess so, then.”

We find a patch between people and start moving to the beat. The heat of the group surrounds us, and after a day of barely eating anything, the buzz of alcohol thrums through me.