Page 35 of Bleeding Outside the Lines

“Until you,” she confirms.

“It was them you killed tonight, wasn’t it?” I ask. “Your parents?”

“Yes. The pieces of shit just had another baby about a year ago. I couldn’t let it continue.”

I shut off the water and grab a towel from the hook. Taking my time, I dry her body, committing every curve to memory in case this was only a slip in judgment for her and I never get another chance. She’s so beautiful, in the kind of way that hurts your soul. The kind of hurt that’s so bad it’s good. The kind that leaves you willing to bleed for more. God above, Devil below, Greek Gods, and every other higher power I can’t remember right now, whoever is listening, please give me more. Please don’t let this be the last. I want more. I need more.

I climb into a pair of boxers and hand Ruby a T-shirt. She pulls it over her head and wrings out her hair with the towel asecond time. Her fingers comb through the red strands, twisting pieces until it’s in a neat braid. With the end held tightly between her lips, she pulls off a piece of dental floss from the spool on the counter and ties it around the end.

Taking her hand, we climb into bed. I pull her close to me and wait. I wait for her to pull away, to run away, to leave. I wait for anything to happen, and everything to happen. But then her breathing evens out, her heartbeat slows, and I start to relax. My body loosens, my heartbeat skips to match hers, until sleep overtakes me too.

twenty-six

Morning seeps into theroom, filtered through the blinds. A warm arm wraps around me, pulling me to rest on his chest.

Cassius.

Everything is so heavy, my limbs, my thoughts, my life. My parents are dead. My mark is taking care of me. Where once I stood in darkness alone, I am now blanketed in safety and light.

I trail a finger down an old scar on his chest. It’s not one I put there. It’s crescent shaped and jagged, so faded that had I not been this close, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it.

“I was twelve,” he says softly, answering the question I didn’t ask. His voice is hoarse with sleep, rough around the quiet edges. “My mom had a new flavor of the week. She had this grand idea of a knight in shining armor who would come to save her. A man who would give her everything money could buy including a one-way ticket out of the Row.”

I look up at him quizzically.

“The Row, that’s what they call the part of town I grew up in. At one point, I guess when my great-grandparents bought theirhouse for pennies on the dollar, it was a nice area, but drugs and violence eventually seeped their way into the neighborhood. Almost everyone knew someone on death row. I guess someone must have said it once and it stuck.”

“Anyway,” he continues, “my mom did everything she could to get out of the Row, except the things that would actually get her out of there, like work. She had a new boyfriend every week, a new fiancé every month. Most of them would knock me around, but very few ever got rough with her. My mom was a crazy fucking bitch.”

He tugs gently at my braid. “She’d give you a real run for your money.”

His chest rumbles beneath me with laughter, and I decide it’s the best sound I’ve ever heard.

“So, I was twelve and this dude, he was huge, much bigger than me at the time, and probably even bigger than me now, went after Garrett. G had told him he was wrong about something, I don’t even remember what, but this dude dove over the kitchen table and had his hands around G’s neck. I jumped on the guy’s back and started wailing at him with anything I could reach. A cookie sheet, a spatula, and finally a coffee mug. After I hit him over the head with it, it vibrated in my hand so hard I dropped it. The dude let go of G, tore me off his back and threw me across the house. I landed on the coffee table in the living room, chest down on a stupid pewter Lord of the Rings ashtray. Fucking thing was covered in elves.” He chuckles. “And those elves were sharp.”

“Oh my God,” I say, trying to keep the laughter out of my voice, but it creeps slowly up my spine until I can’t hold it in any longer. I’m shaking with laughter. “You were literally attacked by elves.”

His hand brushes a loose strand of hair out of my face. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you laugh.” His lips press into the top of my head. “I like it.”

“I didn’t know you and Garrett had been friends for so long.”

“We’ve been friends since we were like… seven? Maybe eight? He and his dad moved in next door. We spent a lot of time at my house because at least at my house there was only a chance of getting our ass beat. My mom may have been a crazy bitch, but his dad was cruel. We were left on our own a lot, so we did a lot of stealing. Looking back, I don’t know if we were as good at it as we thought we were. I wonder if the lady at the corner bodega just felt bad.”

I turn, resting my chin on his chest. His smile is bright and warm, and I’m not sure how it’s possible that it’s both. Bright is harsh, warm is soft. He’s a contradiction. I reach up, my fingertips slide down his face, committing his jawline to memory. He swallows and his eyes search mine.

“She’s alive.”

I sit up.

“She’s safe.”

“Cassius, what do you mean she’s alive?”

“The girl. The one you’re looking for.”

“How?” I climb out of bed; the floor is cold under my bare feet. How did he do it? And better yet, how did Rowan miss it?

“Garrett helped, he’s really good at what he does.”

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