Page 42 of The Boy Who Loved Wicked
“Your worth is immeasurable, Phoenix.” It was our last night before returning to our reality. And because I was aroused beyond reason, and because he was mine, I took him right there on the floor of—what he would soon learn was—our lake house.
Chapter 14
Phoenix
“We cannot learn without pain.”
~Aristotle
We were having sex now. And although it had been weeks since our time at the lake house, Bash still insisted on using kid gloves with me. But we were having every kind of sex and that was good, although I wished he would finally let go with me.
I’d overheard Sebastian on the phone with his attorney confirming the date and time he needed to come down to signthepaperwork. Things couldn’t have been better.
Danny, Theory and I were back into our groove, all the awkwardness and secrets behind us. Well, the secrets we had with each other. Theory hadn’t suddenly approved of my decisions, but she didn’t hate me for them either.
And Mom and I had dinner again. That should’ve been the first sign that things were about to unravel.
Bursting through my bedroom door, with Danny and Theory bickering at my back like an old married couple, I wiped the secretion from the corner of my eye as my laughter ebbed. It all started when on our way home from school, Danny thought to fill us in on his workout plan.
“You sweat when you chew gum,” Theory said, poking holes in his master plan to get in shape for the Winter Formal in such a short span of time.
He scoffed. “Judgment coming from the person that thinks the fan industry is responsible for menopause?”
Making a mental note to pick up my tuxedo rental, I left them to their argument and moved over to the window to close the curtains.
“Phoenix?” Theory asked. “Are you okay?”
I swallowed repeatedly, my throat as dry as the Sahara Desert. I couldn’t comprehend her question, or why it was asked, until I caught sight of the white fabric clutched in my shaking fists. I dragged the curtains closed, then dropped my hands behind my back. “Yeah. I’m tired. Think I’m gonna call it a night.”
Theory peered at the window, but unable to see what had me shaken, she was left only to guess. She’d be wrong. Whatever she imagined, it would be wrong. “If you’re sure—”
“Yeah. I am.”
“Dude, that old man’s rubbing off on you. It’s not even five o’clock,” Danny whined.
“Looks like he’s not feeling so good anymore,” Theory said pointedly.
I ignored her, clamping down on my tongue to resist the urge to physically show them to the door.This couldn’t be happening.
As soon as the door clicked shut, I fumbled with my desk drawer, tossing the contents onto the desk in search of my binoculars. It’d been weeks since I’d used them last. Not since Emily had reached the end of the journal. Finding them, I crawled over on my knees and pulled one side of the curtain back.
Emily paced the length of the bedroom staring at a white stick on the bed, waiting for answers. I zeroed in on it. “No, no, no. Please, no.” I fell to my haunches, reaching a hand out to steady myself with the edge of the desk. After I was sure I could stay upright without assistance, I brought the lenses up, and this time, she held the stick in one hand with the other secured around her mouth. Her body jerked as if gagging. I wanted to puke and faint at the same time.
What did this mean?It means nothing. The hand over her mouth probably held back a cry or a scream of disappointment that it was nothing. Or relief. But when her hand dropped from her mouth, revealing a timid smile, and landed protectively over her stomach, my world tilted and the darkness carried me away.
I woke up on the floor and night had fallen. The lights in Emily’s bedroom and the rest of the house were off, and I grew short of breath wondering where she had gone.
Leaping to my feet so fast I had to hold the back of the chair for support, I got myself together and raced over to Bash’s house. My lungs burned as I pumped my legs and arms faster. As the frigid wind stabbed like needles against my skin. I’d forgotten my coat. I’d forgotten my car.
“Phoenix? What the hell?” Sebastian asked after responding to the pressure I’d kept on the door bell. Shaking, I could only lean against the doorway, and he spared no time in getting me inside. “Are you insane?” He squinted into the night as if expecting a pack of wild animals to be on my heels. “Where’s your coat?” He locked the door and placed the throw from the couch around my shoulders and rubbed up and down my arms. “And where’s your car?”
“I–I–forgot it,” I pushed past my chattering teeth.
His hands stilled. Confusion and worry drew lines into his forehead. “Sit, let me start up the fire.”
I tucked the blanket tighter around me and did as he asked. “Are you alone?”
“Of course. Who else would be here?” He tinkered with the fireplace, and I didn’t answer, instead watching him for signs of change. Maybe she’d called. “I was wondering where you were. You’re usually here by now.”
