Page 33 of Calling Quarters

The instant our skin touched, her lungs filled with air, and I stilled. She coughed a few times, her eyes rolling to the back of her head with each attempt she made at opening them. I watched her stubbornly try over and over again to focus on the scene above her and fail until finally, her hand blindly reached behind her head and brushed against the arm that was balancing her in the air by her neck. Heavy lids pried open one last time and those odd-colored irises focused on mine. A relieved breath swept through her body.

“You came,” she rasped, then sputtered out a cough.

The rainfall was getting heavier. I knew it would be a difficult walk back to the house while carrying her through the wet sand, so I didn’t waste any more time. My legs stood us both from the ground and I began the trek back to shelter, silently praying to the gods that Julia and her friends had cleared out. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop myself from killing them all if they braved waiting.

When the thick drops of water began pelting her face, she turned in my arms and buried it into my neck. Soft, hot breaths met my skin and encouraged me to make it through the last hundred feet to our covered patio.

I wasn’t thinking about her being my Counter, or what harm would befall me from not simply letting her die out on the beach and allowing nature to do the job I was too weak to execute. For the first time ever, I wasn’t considering the other Quarters and what it would mean for them that I was saving the one and only soul I’d been tasked with separating from its body.

None of that mattered.

The most important thing to me was getting her safely up to my room without any witnesses and stripping the soaked clothes from her body so she would stop shivering. I wanted to assess and care for her injury before infection took over. Then, when I was sure she was safe and resting, I was going to hunt down that waste of oxygen, Beau, and show him exactly how it felt to be attacked by someone more powerful than he was.

“I’m fine,” she croaked when I sat her up on the bed to look at the back of her head.

Her hair was knotted, half soaked, and caked in thick blood, but I couldn’t find the source of the bleeding. There didn’t appear to be a single scratch, even in the area that the blood seemed most concentrated. It was as if the injury completely healed itself.

Her torso began swaying as her eyes fought to stay open. I didn’t waste any more time on the puzzling injury, figuring I could recheck it when she was finally resting.

I peeled her shirt off her, trying my best to respect her privacy but finding it increasingly difficult when I wanted to inspect her for any more wounds that could have produced that amount of blood. I lifted her arms and checked her ribs, noting that her milky skin was in perfect condition and slowly gaining its color back. She interrupted my inspection by bracing her hands on my shoulders and lifting her bottom so I could do the same with her pants.

Once I was sure she wouldn’t bleed out, I dragged her up to my pillow and rested her head, then covered her shaking body with my comforter.

“Th-thank you,” she whispered through chattering teeth, her eyes already falling shut.

I didn’t bother responding. Instead, I gathered up her clothes so they could be thrown into the wash and offered one last glance to make sure she was okay. Then, I headed out to find Julia.

Chapter 19

Storie

Julia and her group of friends surrounded the table I was just sharing with Hazel. Each of their eyes trained on me and I took turns observing each of their ruffled appearances before finally settling on Julia. She appeared to be leading this infiltration.

“We're going to the beach, and we'd love for you to come,” her falsely sweet voice rang out. The smile her lips spread into never reached her eyes.

“Oookay,” I drawled, scowling at her. Someone walked into The Grind and the Autumn air bit at my arms where my sweater sleeves had been pulled up. None of them seemed affected. “I'm actually pretty busy, so I'll have to pass.”

Every other time she offered to hang out, she was alone and took my rejection with ease. The presence of her posse apparently gave her the courage to insist I come, ignoring every polite excuse I came up with until she gave up trying to convince me and her arm shot out to grab me by the wrist. She dragged me toward a van that was parked just outside the coffee shop.

Her friends were prepared for the quick attack, surrounding us so no one could see that I was being taken against my will. The big one shoved me into the open sliding door and quickly slammed it shut while the others piled in on the opposite side.

There weren't any seats in the back of the van, so we all sat facing each other on narrow benches that were built along the sides. They crowded together on the driver's side, leaving me to sit along across from them.

“What is wrong with you?” I screamed into the small space. My hand rubbed at the sore spot on my arm where Julia's nails dug so deep, they left tiny slits in my skin that were beaded with blood.

“I'm over this cat and mouse game you're playing. You're going to come to the beach with us and have a good time.”

Her pupils were dilated, nearly erasing the color of her irises. I glanced around at the others, noting that theirs looked the same.

The big guy who shoved me in was driving. I heard Julia refer to him earlier as Beau. In addition to Julia and Beau, there were three other girls and one guy. I tried to remember their names from when Julia introduced me at Mabon, but I honestly hadn't planned on ever spending any more time around them, so I didn't really pay attention.

The girl with black hair was staring at me with wide, panicked eyes. “Remind me why we're doing this again,” she turned and hissed to the side of Julia's face.

“Because my mom seems to hold special interest in her, and she's driving me up the wall about it. Miss Perfect can't be bothered with a simple cup of coffee, so we're doing it the hard way.”

Why would her mother even have me on her radar? As far as I knew, I've never met the woman before.

The van turned onto the dirt road that I knew led to Remy's property and rocked us back and forth as Beau carelessly navigated it over the potholes.

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