Page 108 of Anathema Codex

This is it.

I recognize the neighborhood, and my skin feels electric as I get closer and closer to Lakyn.

“I’m glad your uncle lives in a safe neighborhood. A girl like you needs to be more careful,” the man in the driver seat chastises.

“I know,” I reply absentmindedly, focusing on the way our little dot is moving steadily toward the address that feels like home.

“I mean it, Bethany. You can’t just hitchhike around. There are dangerous people in this world,” he continues, using the fake name I gave him, and I force a sweet smile. He’s one of the decent ones, which I’m grateful for because I don’t have the energy to deal with one of the bad ones right now. His opinions won’t matter soon anyway.

I just need to pacify him and get to Lakyn.

“I promise I won’t do it again. I just needed to get to my uncle, and I didn’t have any money.” I sit up straight and jab my finger toward the next turn even though the sudden movement makes my thigh throb. “Here! Turn here, this is his street!”

“Okay, what’s the number?” he asks, looking toward the phone, and I let him see the screen. We’re both scanning the house numbers, but a second later I don’t need to. I can see Willa’s SUV in the driveway, and I remember the front of Lakyn’s house clearly.

“There,” I whisper, pointing to it, and the man pulls up to the curb. My stomach tightens, and I lick at my dry lips as I stare out the driver-side window at the front door.

“Okay.” The man throws the truck into ‘park’ and twists to look at me. “Ready to tell me why he didn’t pick you up at the bus station, Bethany?” When he uses my fake name again, it takes me a second to process his question, but I’ve been lying for so long that even with my head tired and fuzzy I manage to come up with a plausible answer.

“I tried his number before I left my boyfriend, but it belongs to someone else. I don’t know his new one.”

“Then how do you know he lives here?” This old guy is tense, protective, and I almost want to laugh. He has no idea who I am, or what I’m capable of, or what I would have done to him if he hadn’t been a decent man.

Time to lie again.

“That’s his car,” I answer, pointing at the SUV as I pull my backpack into my lap and turn on my sweet voice. “Thank you so much for the ride. You absolutely saved my life.”

“No need to thank me,” he says, glancing at the truck before he looks at me kindly, his dusky green eyes creasing at the corners with his smile. “You actually remind me of my daughter when she was your age. I hope that if she was ever in need of help, someone good would stop and help her too.” Sighing, he turns back to the house and then faces me again. “I’ll wait here to make sure he’s home and you get inside. Stay safe, Bethany, and ask your uncle to take you to a doctor. You don’t look well, and I really do think you’re getting sick. Promise me, okay?”

“I will. Promise.” Nodding, I open the door and get out, clenching my teeth hard to keep from making a noise when I put weight on my leg again. It’s always worse at first, but I can handle it. I can handle anything now that I’m this close to Lakyn.

I wave at the man as I head up the walk to the front door, swallowing as a strange, nervous energy fills me up. Being near Lakyn Meyer makes me feel so many things I’m not used to feeling, and I have no idea how to process them. All I know is that I need to be here, with him.

I’mmeantto be here.

I take a deep breath and ring the doorbell before adjusting the straps of my backpack and shifting my weight to my good leg. When I don’t hear anything, I try to finger comb my hair, quickly straighten my shirt, then knock.

This time I heard a voice inside, a male voice, and I’m pretty sure it was Lakyn’s, but it was too far away to make out. Just as I’m preparing to knock again, the door opens, and Ichabod’s expression shifts from annoyed to surprised before his eyes wander past me.

“What are you doing here?” he finally asks when his gaze returns to mine.

“I came back.”

“I can see that.Whydid you come back here?” Ichabod sounds sincerely confused, his brows pulling together slightly, and I hate that I can’t see into the house to tell if Lakyn is home.

“Everything okay?” The man in the truck calls out through his open window and I turn to wave at him.

“Just fine! Thank you again!” I shout back before turning to Ichabod and lowering my voice. “Just let me in so he’ll go away. Please.”

“Fuck. Fine,” Ichabod grumbles, stepping back and holding the door open as he gestures inside with an exasperated sigh.

“Thanks,” I mumble and catch him waving to the man who gave me the ride as I move inside. The door shuts behind me and that tingly feeling has my skin humming and my teeth buzzing. I take a step toward the living room, hoping to see Lakyn,needingto see him, but my fucking leg chooses that moment to give out and I end up barely catching myself against a small table covered in mail.

“Shit, are you okay?” Ichabod wraps a surprisingly firm grip around my arm, and I’m so tempted to shake him off because I want to face Lakyn standing upright, strong, but I don’t know if I can actually manage that right now.

“I’ll be fine. Is Lakyn here?” I ask, glancing at Ichabod. All of the surprise and concern melts away and he suddenly looks incredibly serious, almost sad, but the expression fades when he adjusts his hold on my arm and helps me stand up straight.

“Yeah,” he answers curtly. “He’s here, but you’re definitely not fine.” Ichabod mutters a few curses under his breath and leads me into the living room—which is disappointingly empty. I can smell cigarette smoke on the air and I’m pretty sure Ichabod doesn’t smoke. At least, I didn’t see him smoke during the short time I was here last, but he said Lakyn is here and I don’t think he’d lie about that. He stops me by the couch and nudges me toward it. “Sit down, Daphne.”

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