Page 77 of Caelum

I didn’t know what the fuck was running through Dre’s head, but he was pushing us all away because of Eve.

“I think so. I think she’s just tired.”

He shook his head. “She freaked out earlier.”

“Understandable.”

“Was it?” He scowled. “I don’t think so. It can’t be the first time the Sin Eater has come out to party, not with how long she’s been here now.”

“No, but it’s the first time it’s taken over her.”

He conceded that with a grimace as he reached over and rubbed a strand of her hair between his fingers. I understood the fascination. It was like satin, and the more you touched it, the more you wanted to.

Everything about Eve was tactile, and in a world where touch wasn’t appreciated, where it was actively avoided, she was unusual. And I was fucking grateful for that.

“We should put her to bed,” he suggested softly, his eyes on her hair.

“I think she’s comfortable where she is.”

“You can’t sleep like that.”

“I’ve slept in worse places.” I shot him a stark smile. “We both have.”

“Not for a long time, brother,” he said softly.

“Well, it won’t kill us for one night.”

He nodded, and within seconds, he’d switched off the console and TV, plunging the room into darkness.

“What’s going on with Dre?”

“Fuck if I know. He’s being a dickhead.”

“He’s being more than that.”

Stefan grunted. “Think that’s why she reacted badly today?”

“I don’t know.” Sin Eaters were one of the easiest souls to deal with here. We were safe from the sinners and from those who preyed upon them in Caelum. Her reaction had stymied us until we figured it wasn’t the Sin Eater but the woman who was terrified.

It had taken us a ridiculous amount of time to figure that out since we were all used to blood. Once a week, we had to consume it, and she was no different.

Or so we’d thought. I’d hoped she’d stopped relying on the bags of blood, but we’d had our answer tonight.

She was still dependent on them, even though they provided her with zero nourishment except for scratching the itch the Vampire had.

“Sleep. Nothing we can do for her until tomorrow dawns and another soul takes its place.”

He grunted but didn’t deny I was right. Still, both of us were thinking about her reaction to seeing Dre feed from Stefan earlier.

It wasn’t like they’d been doing anything wrong, but the way she’d freaked out it was like they had. She’d turned white as a sheet before promptly passing out and had been on the couch with us ever since.

Nestling into the headrest and using it like a pillow, I thought of the doors I’d slept huddled in, the benches I’d lain on in the evenings I’d run away from home to escape another beating, all before I’d been brought to Caelum by Damon, and I was grateful that I was here, in the warm room, with a comfortable sofa at my back, a brother to my left, and Eve nuzzled into me as though I were the only thing keeping the nightmares at bay.

Though getting any rest some nights was impossible, with her here, my brother too, it was no wonder I slept, no wonder that I woke up either when the early morning sun slipped in through the window. Nature’s alarm call worked its magic on me as pink striations blossomed through the dawn sky, and when I groaned a little at not having moved the whole night through, I felt Eve’s head shift on my lap.

“Thank you for not moving me,” she rasped, half-asleep like me. She shifted down so that her head was still on the sofa but I could wriggle some life into my legs. Ridiculous, wasn’t it, that I missed the weight of her, the warmth of her, so close to me.

“I’m glad we helped.” I hesitated a second then asked, “Why did you react that way, Eve?”

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