Page 65 of A Voice In Chains
Trudging inside with a raging headache, I make my way upstairs.
Arkin has his back to me when I enter, and I lean back against the door.
Seconds pass, maybe even minutes while he gazes out the window.
“It’s not what you think.” I wince the second the words leave my mouth because nothing good ever comes from that sentence starter. Arkin must agree because his shoulders hike up. “She threatened to tell everyone about us.” I fidget with the keys in my hand. “She tried to…”
Fuck, why is this so hard? I don’t want him to get the wrong idea. To think I’d go behind his back like that with my ex.
Suddenly nervous, I wet my lips. “She tried to seduce me in exchange for her silence, but I turned her down.”
He’s still staring at the gray weather outside.
“That’s it,” I whisper. “Nothing happened. I wouldn’t let it.”
An eternity passes before he finally turns around to look at me.
“You ran away before I could tell you.”
In the blink of a second, he crosses the room and grabs my face, crushing his lips to mine in a fierce kiss.
Arkin kisses me like he’s scared of letting go, as though I’ll disappear.
“I wouldn’t hurt you like that,” I promise, my hands fisted in his shirt. “You have to believe me.”
“I believe you.” The deep tenor of his unused, slightly raspy voice settles like fire sparks in my groin.
“What if she tells people?”
Arkin throws me onto the bed, climbs on top, and silences me with his hand over my mouth. Then he leans down and roams his eyes over my face. “Shut up!” he whispers, reaching for my belt.
Hours later,we sit down to eat. Mum has cooked her famous casserole. Arkin smiles knowingly at me across the table while we dig into the food. It’ll take time to get used to this happy feeling whenever I’m around him because I’ve never had something good and pure. Something that makes me look forward to waking up each morning.
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end sooner or later. As Dad clears his throat, the warmth in my chest turns to ice.
He wipes his mouth on a paper napkin, then puts it beside the plate. “We have some good news we’d like to discuss.”
Mum takes a sip of her wine, and Dad smiles at Arkin. “A permanent home has been found for you, son?—”
“A permanent home?” I blurt. “What does that mean?”
Dad glances at me disapprovingly for interrupting him. “Distant relatives of Arkin have come forward. They want him to live with them.”
“But he’s staying here with us.”
“Zach…” Mum puts her wine down. “It was only a temporary solution.”
“Only a temporary…” I mumble, unable to fully comprehend what this means. “Where is this place?”
“They live outside Dunkeld.”
I shoot up, startling my sister. “Dunkeld? Scotland? No. Fuck that! That’s hours away. Arkin stays with us.”
My parents exchange worried glances. Dad clears his throat. “Mind your language?—”
“The hell I will! What about Arkin? Have you asked him what he wants?” I turn my attention to him. “You want to stay here with us, don’t you? Tell them.”
Arkin shrinks in his chair, growing paler and smaller than I’ve ever seen him.Please,I think.Say something.
