Page 52 of Our Little Monster
“Whatthehellwereyou thinking, Nox?” Bastian spat as Thorne used a few butterfly band-aids to clean up the nasty gash on my forehead.
“I was thinking me and Serina could go on a fun little date,” Nox said, as if what had happened was like any other day.
“Killing is your definition of a fun date,” Bastian scoffed.
“Was pretty fun to me,” I joked, and Bastian scowled at me over Thorne’s shoulder, while Thorne was trying to hold back his chuckle, focusing on my forehead. But he couldn’t hide his grin as he caught eyes with me.
“That wasn’t my plan; Serina did that all on her own,” Nox replied.
“Well, did you find out anything?” Bastian asked Nox, and he and I shared a glance. I hadn’t mentioned anything about what was said between us in the alley.
“No, I didn’t get to keep any of them for questioning because I killed the last one trying to get to Serina. I thought he was going to kill her,” he said, glancing over at me with that fire in his eyes; I had to look away.
“I propose we stay in tonight. I’ll cook, and we can watch movies. I think you guys have caused enough drama for today, we should lay low. Besides, if we keep this up, she’ll never fully heal,” Thorne said, finishing up with my forehead and helping me off the bathroom counter.
“Agreed,” Bastian said, but Nox tried to argue.
He groaned. “Aw, come on, I promise we won’t cause any more trouble,” he said, but I sided with Thorne and Bastian.
“A night in and movies sounds good to me.” I nodded. “Three against one, you lose.” I grinned at Nox as I started walking downstairs with Bastian and Thorne.
The truth was I didn’t want to be alone with him again, I didn't trust myself if he looked at me with that fire in his eyes like before. I made my way to the couch and grabbed the remote to flip through the movies we could watch.
“Anything but Twilight,” Thorne joked. “Don’t insult us like that.”
I laughed with him before turning on a bingeable TV show and sitting on the couch. He moved to the kitchen.
“I’ll be right back,” he said as Bastian came around the couch and handed me a glass of bourbon on the rocks before sitting down next to me.
I raised a brow at him. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”
“No, but I figured it would help with any headache you might have.” He raised his glass, pointing toward my bandaged forehead, and I lifted mine to his.
“To headaches,” I chimed.
“To headaches. You most certainly give them to me all the time,” he joked as he took a long drag from his glass and I did the same with mine.
My lips curled into a smirk. “I don’t plan on stopping, either.”
“Good. The day you do, I’ll know somethings wrong,” he said, and I settled back on the couch with him, pulling one of the fluffy covers over myself. I didn’t run from the way our thighs touched, nor the arm he draped over the back of the couch behind me.
I felt oddly comfortable. Had I already lowered my defenses so much with them?
I bristled. No, I wouldn't let them in anymore.
Shifting, I moved over enough to where we weren’t touching anymore to make myself feel a little more at ease. Thorne sat next to me on the other side with a large bowl of popcorn, while Nox decided to sit in the over-sized chair next to the couch with his own bowl.
The longer I sat watching TV, the more uncomfortable I felt.
I did my best to keep my eyes on the TV, but every movement between any of them, every word, was loaded.
The air in the room grew thick with an unspoken tension, as if an invisible storm was brewing between all of us. Every word exchanged felt like a carefully placed mine, waiting to explode and shatter the fragile calm.
I made the mistake of looking over to Nox, and his eyes locked with mine, but there was a distance in that gaze, a chasm of unresolved emotions.
The same emotions from the alleyway.
That fucking fire.
