Page 11 of Origins

Sulien

I gripped the steering wheel so hard that my arms trembled, but at least I hadn’t set the fucking car on fire. That was a plus, right? Though, if Ididset the damned thing ablaze, I wouldn’t have to bring Callie to my place.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to hang out with Callie—I did. Ireallydid. But my apartment was located in the middle of the sketchiest part of town. Not only that, it was also a place I shared with Jace and Kane—the same guys I’d been fucking since we all moved in together.

None of us were officially dating; it was just a convenient arrangement. Having sex and cuddling with the boys helped keep the loneliness at bay without involving anyone else in our fucked-up lives. We never talked about feelings or anything like that; none of us were interested in accidentally becoming anything more than fuck buddies.

But... it felt like bringing Callie home was going to cross some invisible line. Sure, my goal for tonight was to fuck her, but I didn’t want to leave it at that. At least, I didn’t think I did.

Ugh, thank God Callie could only read minds for a few minutes a day. If she could hear all of my thoughts, she’d probably wonder what the fuck was wrong with me. I took a deep breath, glancing at Callie out of the corner of my eye. The passing streetlights bathed her soft features inan almost heavenly glow, and I tensed at the sight.

Jack Voltaris was a bona fide idiot, but as much as I didn’t want to admit it, he was right. Callie was too good for me. He’d hammered home that fact by reminding me exactly how the world saw me.

No matter what I did, I would always be the villain. Fuck, even Jace and Kane thought my heroing dreams were stupid. Something about Callie felt too pure to drag into my fucked up world, but my mind, body, and soul were all begging for me to pull her down to my level.

My brakes squeaked as we pulled into the dilapidated parking lot behind my apartment complex. The large, crumbling building stared back at us, and each cracked window felt like an insult. How the hell was I supposed to evenlooklike I deserved Callie’s time if this was where I lived?

I killed the engine, and the car came to a shuttering stop before I risked a glance in Callie’s direction. Part of me expected to see her grimace, or perhaps she’d even verbally judge me. But she sat still as a statue, blue eyes focused on the building in front of us.

“This is it… I promise it’s nicer inside.” Or at least itshouldbe, assuming Kane didn’t fuck it up after I cleaned earlier.

Callie’s lips thinned, and I couldn’t quite place the emotion in her expression.

“It has a lot of character,” she mumbled, almost as if she was speaking to herself.

That was a nice way to put it.

“Just don’t get out of the car yet.” I begged before stepping out.

I slammed my door shut before locking the door and jogging around to the other side. My powers may havebeen difficult to control, but at least I could live in the most dangerous part of the city without worrying about my safety. The same couldn’t be said for Callie. Her powers weren’t exactly reliable, and on top of that, she came from the most famous hero family in the country. The freaks around here would have a field day if they somehow managed to kidnap her.

When I got around to Callie’s door, I unlocked it and swung it open for her. Her brows knit together in confusion as I offered her a hand.

“It’s just not a good neighborhood—that’s all.”

“How bad can it be between here and the front door?” She pointed toward the building’s entrance, which was maybe two hundred feet away.

I forced a tight smile as I helped her to her feet.

“You’d be surprised.” I tried to sound calm despite my bubbling anxiety.

She studied me for a moment, then gingerly accepted my hand. I pulled her to her feet before shutting the door.

As usual, the misty air was heavy with the scent of damp concrete and stale cigarettes. Callie’s nose wrinkled slightly as we made our way to the front door with quick steps. Maybe it was just my imagination running wild, but I swore I saw a shadow shift behind us. In the name of being safe rather than sorry, I tossed an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close.

She stiffened for a beat, and I wondered if I had overstepped, but then she melted into my side. Holding her close helped ease the tension in my shoulders, but it didn’t get rid of the looming sense of dread. As we approached the door to the complex, I scanned the parking lot once more.

No people watching us. No strange shadows in the distance. We were safe, she was safe, this was fine. Still, thatdidn’t prevent me from stuffing her into the corner in front of me to keep her out of harm’s way while I flipped through my keys. They jingled as my hands shook—Jesus fucking Christ, how long did it take to leaf through four keys?

When I finally located the key to the complex door, I shoved it into the lock. The creaking of the door echoed through the barely-lit hallway as I held the door open for Callie.

“Ladies first.”

Callie hesitated, shooting me a look that said she knewexactlywhat I was doing.

I’m not a bad guy for wanting to protect you,I thought, hoping she was in my mind to hear it.

Her expression softened, and she let out a slight huff before stepping inside.

---