Page 15 of Dead Set on You
Rafael’s laugh is breathless. Shaky. “I so desperately wish I could,” he says before he brushes past me, ready to walk away.
No way he’s leaving without an explanation.
I reach out for him, for his shoulder.
And my fingers glide through his skin, like a boat cutting through water. I gasp or shriek—I can’t be sure which.
Rafael keeps walking.
“Oh God. What’s happening?” My hands. I stare at them as if I’m seeing them for the first time, but they look the same. I wiggle my fingers. They respond. Whatever is happening, it’s Rafael’s fault.
I fold my fingers into fists and tuck them behind me, where I can’t see them. “Rafael!”
“You’re not here, E. I’ve conjured you up.” Rafael doesn’t even turn around as he keeps walking.
“The only thing you need to conjure up is an explanation,” I add. “Several, in fact!”
Heart beating erratically, I march after him.
And trip over my legs.
My heels—they don’t make a sound.
The hardwood floor should be echoing with each of my stomps. But nothing.
I take a deep, deep breath.
I’m sure there’s a logical reason for it—for all of this—and Rafael’s going to provide it.
Despite the deafening roar of my pulse, I follow him and plant myself on the other side of the butcher-block island bisecting his kitchen.
I glare at Rafael’s back.
“Did you hear me?” I snap.
Not bothering to look my way, Rafael digs through a cabinet, picking through a row of medicine bottles. He chooses one of several orange tubes as he mutters beneath his breath, something about hallucinations.
“I’m not a hallucination,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Damn pills.” Rafael tosses the tube into the trash beneath his sink. Then another and another. One bounces dramatically off the edge and clatters to the floor. When he’s done, he braces himself against the counter and stares up at the ceiling like he’s waiting for divine confirmation that he hasn’t lost his mind. “I’m done with them, I swear.”
Reluctantly, I follow his gaze upward to the wrought iron fixture overhead.
It’s clear he’s likely on something … and maybe I am too? Maybe I woke up in the middle of night and took one of his experimental mood-stabilizing, alpha-complex man-pills by mistake?
I imagine the cocktail Imighthave ingested.BroZen Ultra: For men who want clarity, focus, and abs without trying.
Oh God.
I press the heels of my palm into my eyes and take a deep breath.
This could be worse.
I took some pills I shouldn’t have taken, and now I’m experiencing a series of strange symptoms.
Nothing more.
They’ll flush right out of my body in no time. And then? I’m going to kill him.
