Page 27 of Fire of the Fox

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the now black TV. The idea of going into a dark place alone was suddenly more foreboding than usual. You could forget standing anywhere near the edge of my bed, either. Something would most definitely reach out from under it to grab me. Beside me, Akira matched my expression. We were still clinging to each other, and I didn’t think either of us would ever let go. That movie had been an hour and a half of agonizing horror. How the hell did anyone enjoy scary movies?

That being said, my hunch was right. Not one time did Allen or any of the others make it into my thoughts. I was too focused on the anxiety inducing images of the movie to dwell on what had happened earlier. It provided the perfect distraction, and I mentally thanked Rune for suggesting such a film.

Akira looked at me as Rune turned the lamp back on and whispered, “This is why I hate watching movies with these guys. I’m not going to be able to go to the bathroom by myself anymore.”

I laughed, and Akira smiled at me. He patted my head and said, “At least I had a fellow scaredy-cat with me. Usually they pick on me when it’s just the four of us.”

“Because you scare easily,” Rune said. He drank the last of his coffee and held the mug out to me. “Do you mind getting me more? I’m going to take the DVD out.”

Still in a freaked-out daze, I slowly nodded. When I rounded the corner into the kitchen, I fumbled for the light switch on the wall near me. The room erupted in light, and I let out the breath I’d been holding. The coffee pot was still on and hot, so I poured the brew into the cup. The steam rose from the top while I made my way back.

When I made it to the living room, I noticed Rune was missing. I glanced between the trio, who were still discussing the movie, and started, “Hey. Where did Rune—”

“I’m right here.”

Still feeling the scary movie’s effect, I jumped at the sound of Rune’s deep voice right behind me, not expecting him to be there. The sudden movement had the hot coffee spilling all over my hand. My skin immediately sizzled from the hot liquid, so the mug fell from my fingers and shattered on the hardwood floor at my feet.

Rune came around from behind me and bent down to look at the broken pieces. “Dammit. That was a good mug.”

“You scared me! Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

He glanced at my hand, which I had clutched to my chest. When he met my eyes again, he asked, “Did you burn yourself?”

I shook my head in frustration and yelled, “No! It’s fine!”

He narrowed his eyes and grabbed my arm. He pulled me back to the kitchen and turned the sink on cold water. Looking back at me, he said, “Come stick your hand under the water.”

I glared at him. “It’s fine. It doesn’t even really burn anymore.”

His exasperation was clear from his sigh. He walked over to me, grabbing my arm once more, forcing me to stick my hand under the stream of cold water. As soon as the cool sensation touched my skin, the stinging immediately subsided. A wave of ease and calm flowed through me. I could stay there with my hand under the water forever.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you knew I was there. I’m sorry,” Rune said, his eyes trained on the floor.

I looked up at him. “What?”

He glared at me. “You heard me. I won’t repeat myself.”

A teasing grin tugged at the corners of my lips. “Wow. Even Rune can apologize and feel sorry for doing something.”

He scoffed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Of course. I do have manners.”

He had manners? Where?

I looked back at the water rushing over my hand. The cool splashes nearly made me forget what I was so mad about. “I’m sorry for breaking your mug and for yelling at you. I guess I might have overreacted. I’m still pretty rattled from the past few days and the movie.”

He was quiet for a moment. At his sudden silence, I looked at him, and his gaze held mine. His amber eyes sparkled like liquid gold, and I had to catch my breath at the way they burned into me. Time seemed to slip away from us under the hold of each other’s eyes. The air stilled, the earth stopped, and all that was left were those golden eyes.

He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, then tried again. “I guess I wasn’t thinking about that when I suggested the movie. Or rather, I was trying to make you not think about it. A fast-paced movie with a ghost haunting an unsuspecting family leaves little room to think about anything else. I was just trying to, I don’t know, distract you.”

The implied apology was appreciated, and the sincerity in his words more so. We fell silent again, our gazes never wavering from each other. A warmth started to spread along my skin at the intensity of his stare, but it was shattered when he snickered and said, “You really are a scaredy-cat, you know.”

I rolled my eyes and turned off the water. “Thanks.”

I made my way back into the living room with Rune following closely behind.

Akira turned around on the couch to face me as soon as I walked in. “Are you okay? Hot coffee spills are the worst.”

I gave him a reassuring smile and patted his shoulder. “I’m okay. Just a small mishap thanks to my lovely boyfriend.” I glared at Rune, and he sank down on the cushion of the loveseat, completely unaffected by my words.

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