Page 3 of Watch Me Burn

Elise murmurs something softly, probably another ‘thank you’ or a pleasant ‘goodbye’, but as I reach for the door handle that will lead me inside of the Sanguine building, she raises her voice.

“Are you going in?”

I pause, glancing over my shoulder. “Uh. Yeah. I saw online that this place might have a studio apartment to rent. Thought I’d check it out.”

Her pale eyes seem to glitter in the afternoon sunlight. “You’re new to the city?”

“Just arrived a couple of weeks ago. Been staying at the Clarity Inn ever since, but I’m hoping to find something a little more permanent.”

“And you’re…” She nods. “Yes. I see.”

“See what?”

Elise grins. It’s a breathtaking smile, turning her from gorgeous to stunning, even if I do notice that the points of her canine teeth play peekaboo with me as her eyes light up. “How I can repay you after all.”

CHAPTER 1

FIRE

SIX MONTHS LATER

My entire life as I knew it changed forever because I broke my nail.

If it was my pinky nail, I could’ve dealt with it. One on my left hand? It wouldn’t have been such an emergency. But the pointer finger? On my dominant hand? When the inch-long tip snapped as I was popping the top on my can of orange soda, breaking all the way down to the quick, I knew that I couldn’t wait until morning to get that sucker fixed.

It’s not even just a vanity thing, though I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t use my nails as another outlet for my creativity. Visiting my manicurist at Shadow Nails once every three weeks is my favorite form of self-care. Angie does my fingers and my toes, and for the two hours I’m there, I can put my pencil down and let someone else do the designing. I was only just there a couple of days ago, but I know me. It’s going to drive me bonkers to have one jagged nail until my next appointment.

And considering the nail appointment is one of my only splurges, I’m not about to cut off the rest of them to match. No.The only solution was to go and see if I could get it repaired, and since Shadow Nails is open until seven and it was only six when I snapped the nail, I figured there was enough time for me to head over, get it fixed, and be back before Elise came home from her dinner date.

That way she would never know I had to leave the apartment after dark on my own…

Considering how we met, you’d think I’d be more concerned over her safety. And I definitely am. It’s been about six months since I interrupted her and Peter outside of the Sanguine… six months since she told me she was actually looking for a roommate to share her two bedroom apartment inside the building… and I’ve caught him sneaking around the front entrance, waiting to ambush Elise to ‘talk’ at least ten times since then. She’s moved on, having a dinner date with another casual fling every few days, but Peter just can’t get it through his thick skull that whatever they had, it’s over.

Elise is too nice to report him for stalking. If it were up to me, I’d go right to the cops, but my first impression that they don’t really have a big presence in Clarity was spot on. Despite being a decent-sized city, the people in Clarity don’t seem to answer to law enforcement. Instead, we have the Cadre to protect us, and to make sure that no one starts any shit in the city.

The Cadre is made up of a group of powerful businessmen who rule Clarity with an iron fistful of cash. They have their base of operations in one of the downtown skyscrapers known as Homequarters. With their fingers in nearly every organization, business, and school in the city, it didn’t take me long to realize that I’d much prefer to have a run-in with the ineffective police force than the man who is the face of the Cadre.

Thorn Wilkins owns Clarity. I’ve seen his face on watchful billboards, have gotten used to his smirk on television. Handsome yet ruthless in his drive to keep Clarity safe, Iunderstand now why Peter balked at the idea that Thorn would find out he was harassing Elise.

Especially since Elise works as a data compiler down at Homequarters and actually has met with Thorn in person.

From what I’ve learned in my time in Clarity, you don’t want to do that. Thorn has the power to kick you right out of ‘his’ city, and not even the puppet figurehead that is the elected mayor would stop him from exercising that power. Piss him off, go against the Cadre, and you’re gone.

My rent is affordable. My roommate is a sweetheart who I get along so well with, I consider her my best friend. I haven’t started dating myself yet, but if Elise’s love life is anything to go by, once I decide to put myself out there, I should be okay.

Then again, she’s a fucking knockout with a gentle personality and a kind heart so maybe I might have to work a bit harder. That’s alright. One of these days, I’ll settle down. For now, I’m just focusing on growing my career and enjoying the last year of my twenties.

I turned twenty-nine in January. It’s February now, and I’m feeling my age creeping closer and closer to the big three-oh. Especially since, to my absoluteshock, I discovered that the fresh-faced, youthful-looking Elise is actually thirty-four instead of in her early twenties like I thought.

All her dates made a little more sense when I found that out. She’s looking for her own forever—that she adorably refers to as her future ‘beloved’—and doesn’t seem to want to wait much longer. Me? It’s been a while since I’ve had a relationship of my own, but with Aunt Maureen finding a second chance at romance late in life, and Elise keeping her chin up about the whole Peter situation, I’m starting to think about it for myself.

Too bad it’s not so easy when I work from home and rarely leave the apartment. There’s not really a bar or club scene in the city, and when I do go out, I’m usually with Elise.

And Elise… well, she’s Elise. I love her, but if I guy has his choice between her and me, I’m not shocked that he’ll hit on her first. There’s just something about that woman that is hypnotic, and it took me almost my whole first month as her roommate to get over it. Shoot, there are some times when she walks into the common area of the apartment when I’m drawing on my tablet, I get a glimpse of her flawless skin and pale green eyes, her supermodel body and her kind smile, and I’m still a little tongue-tied.

But though I’m worried about her from time to time, the reason why Elise thought it would be a great idea if I became her roommate was because she was worried aboutme.

You see, Clarity has these really weird, super outdated rules. The stats weren’t kidding when they said it was a pretty crime-free community, but that’s because most of the citizens know about these unspoken ‘suggestions’. Like how all of the shops, food places, and non-essential places of businesses all close down early—or how it’s not a good idea for anyone to be out by themselves after dark.

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