Page 77 of The Heat of Us

Then I began drizzling it all over the tiles like I was dressing a big ol’ bowl of salad.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!” he roared.

Aleks appeared, duffle bag in hand.

“You good?” I asked him, continuing to back away.

He nodded and his father spun around, a snarl forming on his face.

“Oi!” I called out.

I abandoned the olive oil. There was a decorative looking tin sitting on the benchtop and I ripped off the lid. Loose leaf tea. Perfect. I grabbed a fistful, showering little dark leaves everywhere.

“What the fuck is wrong with you!” he screamed.

I kept going, along the carpet, down the hall. Grab and throw. Small, lovely-smelling fireworks, fluttering prettily all over the floor. Aleks flung the door open and stepped through. I was moments behind him and threw the empty canister directly at his father, who caught it with a shocked expression.

Aleks surprised me by stepping between us, facing his dad head-on.

“Good thing mum’s dead, right? So she didn’t have to see what you’ve become.”

I could still hear his howls of rage as Aleks slammed the door behind him.

We were sprinting back to my car. We were bank robbers, prison breakers. High off escape, high off the thrill of what we’d just managed to get away with.

My brakes screeched as I tore out of there.

“Holy fuck.” Aleks gripped the dashboard, his duffle in his lap. “I can’t believe I said that to him.”

I gestured at his bag. “Did you get everything?”

“My passport, IDs, cash. All important documents related to uni and my placement. Grabbed some clothes but I can replace most of it,” he rifled off then glanced at me. “And my mother’s ring.”

“Good haul,” I approved. “Anything you wish you’d gotten but couldn’t carry?”

Aleks groaned and his head dropped into his hands. “My entire box set of the Chronicles of the Sunken Army series.”

“No way!” I exclaimed. “I’ve got them too. You can just read mine.”

“Did you hear that they’re making a series?”

“Yes! With the Shifter Moon show runners!” I paused. “I’m nervous, I hope they don’t fuck it up.”

“Shit, I know right?”

We seemed to reach the exact confusing realisation at once — that it really didn’t feel like we had only properly met each other less than an hour ago.

Naturally the only solution was to drive in silence, staring at the road ahead.

27

HAZEL

“I know this sounds like I’m bullshitting but I can’t come over tonight because a friend has come into some trouble and is staying with me.”

I winced slightly, hiding my face in my video call to Ben. He looked tired, moving through his apartment after a long shift. But his eyes remained alert, staring back at me with concern and not at all mad that I was bailing on him.

“What happened? Is everything ok?”

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