Page 79 of This Blood That Binds Us
“Was what he said true? You haven’t been hunting?”
“Kim. I’ve got it under control.” He pulled away from me.
“That didn’t look like control,” I said.
“We need to go. Now. I can’t protect you up here.” His words still sounded harsh. Too cold for his own lips.
“What? What’s happening? Tell me what he said to you.”
“No. It’s better if you don’t know.” He went to the tent, pulled out my stuff, and stuffed it in my bag. “We’re going back to my house. You can stay with me. I thought I could protect you here. ..but I can’t. I have to get you somewhere where I can figure out what to do.”
“You’re really not going to tell me . . . ?”
The breeze made me shiver as I took my bag. I searched the trees behind him, nervously expecting something to pop out. My stomach was still in knots. A fog was settling into the forest and weaved in out of the darkness.
“Kim, can you promise me you won’t say anything to anyone about this? I’m going to figure this out. I’ll make sure you get to go back to the life you wanted, and you won’t have to talk to me again. This will be over for you.”
Sadness stung my eyes. I instantly regretted my flare up of emotion and our argument. I didn’t want to stop talking to Aaron. That was the problem. I wanted to be near him.
After our run-in with William, I was more sure than ever that I was scared of losing Aaron. I opened my mouth, the words lingering on my tongue. But I didn’t say them.
“Yes. I promise.”
“Are you okay?”I eyed Aaron as he held a frying pan to the stove’s flames.
The smell of hot oil and butter loomed in the air. We were back in the frat house kitchen, using an old cooking pan that had seen better days. The kitchen was nice and fully stocked, but it was clear no one had been taking care of the cookware.
“I’ve told you. I’m fine.” He grumbled as he flipped a perfectly made grilled cheese sandwich. “Please stop asking.”
He wasn’t his normal self. He hadn’t spoken much since the campsite. Since we’ve met, there wasn’t a day that had gone by that he wasn’t laughing—at the very least cracking a joke or two. I never thought I’d say it, but I wished Aaron was talking more. Our argument was long gone, and my sudden urge to bolt was a bad memory. I wanted to take back all the things I had said, but it never felt like the right time.
I leaned onto the counter. “Are we still telling your brothers?”
“No. Just give me some time to figure this out.”
His voice cut through me.
Aaron was still refusing to tell me what William said. He said it was because he didn’t want to involve me anymore than he already had. It was so unlike him. Even when I insisted because it involved my life, he stayed silent.
I sighed and moved to sit at the table. The room bustled with people. Tons of boys I didn’t know passed by me, dismissing me as if I was another piece of the modern art deco furniture that littered the house.
“You just couldn’t stay away from us, could ya?” Presley tapped my shoulder from behind and startled me. He grabbed the chair beside me and twisted it around to sit.
“I thought I smelled Aaron cooking in here.” Luke was suddenly on the other side of me, I hadn’t seen him come into the room.
The smell of food was thick in the air. The sizzling oil on the griddle filled our small silence. Their energy breathed much needed life into the room. They even seemed happy to see me, which was oddly comforting.
“So, Kimberly, you and my brother seem to be hanging out a lot. What are your intentions with our boy?” Zach laughed at his own personal joke, leaning against the doorframe.
He watched me with cautiousness. Though it sounded like a joke, the conviction was apparent in his voice.
“Is it the muscles. . . is it the hair?” Presley nudged me.
“Don’t listen to them. They are just trying to be funny, as always.” Luke greeted me with a big, toothy grin and sat across from me.
“Hey, assholes, Kimberly is our guest. Let’s not bombard her with questions.” Aaron dropped a bowl of tomato soup in frontof me, then placed a grilled cheese in my hand. “And we should probably let her eat first.”
Luke leaned back in his chair and folded his arms with a wide grin. “I think Zach had something he wanted to say.”
