Page 73 of It's You
Jack crossed the room and stood at the window, willing Darcy not to leave. His fists were clenched tightly by his sides, and his fingers, whose nails had been clipped down to nubs an hour before while she was passed out, ached.Look for me, Darcy. Look up and see me.
He watched as she bent down beside her car, then stood up, holding wet, muddy keys, which she dragged across the thigh of her jeans. He could see that her face was wet from tears. She put one hand on the hood of her car, and the other grasped the keys with white knuckles as she stood motionless. He watched the play of emotion on her face: sadness, revulsion, anger. She pushed her hair out of her face with the back of her free hand, took a deep, sobbing breath that racked her shoulders, and opened her car door. His eyes burned as he stood motionless at the window, light-headed and unfathomably grieved, as he watched her drive away.
He watched until he couldn’t see her taillights anymore, and then he watched for a while more, staring in a daze at the muddy road that led back to town. He may have stood for an hour or more. He didn’t know. He didn’t care.
She didn’t come back.
He felt his claws protracting from the pain in his heart and clenched his eyes shut, concentrating on anything but Darcy. Anything but her face as she stared at him. Anything but her words.You are a monster.He swallowed painfully and flexed his jaw as he tightened his fists.
I will not shift. I will not shift. I will not shift.
You knew things would come to this at some point.
I will not shift. I will regroup. I will not shift. I will regroup.
You’re bound to her. Lean into that. Trust it.
I will regroup. I will regroup. I will regroup.
He felt his body start to relax, and his claws retracted painfully. He looked down at his swollen fingertips, at the neat line of four bloody claw marks on each palm. His phone may have been buzzing for a long time, but he was only aware of it now as he came out of the immediate danger of shifting.
Jack looked down and sighed.Lela.
Disappointment washed over him, and he realized that somewhere inside of him, he had hoped it was Darcy. He definitely didn’t feel like talking to his little sister right now.
His phone quieted, and he held it loosely in his hand, away from the shallow puncture wounds that still bled. They’d heal in a few minutes, and he could wash the blood away.
Buzz. Buzz.His phone started buzzing again.
“Damn it, Lela,” he growled, staring at her smiling face flashing on the screen.
He touched talk.
“What?”
“What? How about…Hello? Bad mood much?”
Jack took a deep breath and sighed. What had happened with Darcy wasn’t Lela’s fault. Her life was tough enough without him taking it out on her.
“Not my best day. What’s up?”
“Are you coming up? This weekend?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Le Rassemblement, Jacques?”The Gathering of the Northern Bloodlands.Shit.
He took the phone away from his ear, grimacing as he shook his head and cursed again softly.
“Is that this weekend?”
“Does a whore fuck in a whorehouse?”
“Charmante,Lela. You have a mouth like a sailor.”
“I had a sailorinmy mouth on Tuesday night…”
“Enough. I don’t want to know.”
