Page 48 of Blood Moon
When class ended, I packed my bag. A strangeness enveloped me as Julian slowed his movements to match mine.
“Is it okay if I walk you to your next class?”
I narrowed my gaze instinctively. “Are you really asking me that?”
Innocence dressed his face as he relaxed into his stance. He nodded, but it wasn’t very convincing. I could have inquired about it, but now that Julian was giving me answers, I didn’t feel a need to.
“Sure,” I said, placing a foot on the chair to tie my shoes, but in one quick motion Julian’s hand was in place of mine, tugging at my laces.
“I got it,” he said, and I blinked a few times, clearing my vision to be sure I was seeing straight.
“I, uh,” I hesitated, trying to persuade myself that this was okay. While alarming, it was kind-ish, and truth be told, I’d always been awful at tying my shoes. Embarrassing, so very embarrassing, but they came undone multiple times a day, which was precisely what had happened.
Julian remained on his knees after, gazing up at me through his lashes. The sight of him cut through my stomach, burned at my thighs. When a smile formed on his lips, I snatched my shoe away, hurried out of the room.Jerk,I thought, and he followed behind, chuckling beneath his breath.
People moved up and down the hallway, and we shifted around them, making space where we could. “I have English next, up on the third floor. What about you?”
“I have a break after this,” he said, taking the lead now, pacing faster ahead. I stopped following, veered to the side of the hall. When he noticed, he came to me.
“Julian,” I started, trying to read him, trying to maneuver my way past the wall he’d formed. Like mine, his barrier was molded from an unbreakable stone. “I don’t … Idon’ttrust you,” I whispered. It was something he needed to know if we were going to continue at this. He managed to dangle everything I wanted above me, and now that he’d loosened his grip, it felt too easy.
“And you should trust that voice in your head telling you not to,” he said. There was no surprise in his tone, and he took a single step, coming forward. “I’mnota good guy.”
“Stop telling me how I’m supposed to feel about you,” I said abruptly, and I wavered between the desire to stay this close to him or move away. His energy drew me in like a mouse to a trap. It was polarizing and magnetizing all in one breath. Likewise, I imagined Julian was fighting an inner battle, too—that perhaps he was caught between a veil of good and evil, unsure if he should move two steps forward or two steps back.
“If you’re so terrible,” I said, finally forcing distance between us. “Then why do any of this? You could let whatever’s destined to happen to me happen.”
“Trust me, I’ve tried.” And I remembered all the times he’d warned me. “But I can’t.”
“And you’re certain there’s no other way you can tell me? Really, if you said it right now, in this crowded hallway, how would they know?”
“They’d feel it through the bond.”
“The bond?” He’d said it like I was supposed to know these things. “Like … a physical bond?” I twisted my lips, reconsidered. “Ormetaphysical?”
“Metaphysical.”Like magic?I wanted to say. “This kind of secrecy hasn’t been spoken in centuries. Iwantto tell you, I do, but I literally cannot.”
I released a long breath until my shoulders sagged, and when Julian moved closer to me, this time, I didn’t move away.
“Will you please keep going, keep asking all the questions? This is something you know. I’m confident of that.”
Another sigh, and I shifted my weight, contemplating. This was what I wanted; I just hadn’t expected it to be so ominous. But if the decision was between playing the game or waiting in anxiety, I’d rather play.
“Fine,” I said, and I walked past him, heading toward the stairs as he followed. “A couple weeks ago, in the woods … how’d you catch me?”
“I jumped.”
I drew in a breath.I knew it.Still, I hadn’t expected him to come right out with it. How long would this honesty last? “Okay, but how is that possible? It was at least twenty feet or more.”
“My bones are different, they’re harder to break.”
Each step came quicker, and I stumbled, almost tripped. “What do you mean your bones are different?” I tried to make sense of it. His response would go against my cult theory, but witches—that was still a possibility. “Are they not like everyone else’s?”
“No, they’re not.” Hands tucked in his pockets as he said it, casually climbing each step while I heaved. When we made it to the top, I turned away from him, concealing the red in my face. This new discovery wrecked me. Yes, our bodies were different. Genetics played a role in that, but ourbones …
“I’m so confused.”
“You’re getting there. You just gotta keep asking,” he said, and then we came to a stop, perched outside the door to my next class. “I’ll see you after.”
